By Andrew Goodman
As winter break approaches, many may be wondering when the renovations for West High will be completed. Some want the cafeteria back while some just want back their parking spot. Jeff Kinsler, Head principal of Morristown-Hamblen High School West, shared the following information.
Completion Date
The date of completion for the renovations have been the biggest question. Kinsler stated, “The final completion date is actually in March, but it looks like the construction company may finish earlier than that.”
Use Of The Cafeteria During The Pandemic
With Covid-19 being a major factor, there has been the question of whether students will be able to occupy the newly renovated cafeteria. Kinsler replied, “Full dining occupancy will certainly be determined by Covid-19, vaccines, and number of cases. We hope to be able to prepare and serve lunches from the new kitchen area in January. It is likely that students will still have to eat in classrooms, however.”
Setbacks Due To Covid-19
There has been the question of how much Covid-19 affected the timeline for the renovations. Kinsler said, “Some of the HVAC equipment and some electrically components were held up in production and in shipping due to Covid-19, but nothing that actually occurred on site.”
Use Of The Old Administration Offices
With the new administration wing being added, there is the question of what will happen with the former administration office space. As mentioned in a previous article, there was the idea to move guidance into that space. Kinsler has shown that is still an idea stating, “While nothing is written in stone, we have tossed around the idea of [moving] guidance and related services (speech therapy, Occupational Therapy, etc) to the existing offices and moving Special education to the existing guidance area.”
Scheduling
In a previous article, Tim Landefeld, assistant principal, mentioned the idea of the schedule changing. Kinsler has added to that idea saying “A primary goal of the expansion of the cafeteria was to create a schedule that could more completely match our schedule with that of East High School.Hopefully, this will enable more students the ability to take classes at either school while minimizing lost instructional time.Because of this, I believe that moving to 3 lunches is extremely likely to happen.While we are always looking for more opportunities to provide academic help to students, we have not finalized the notion of expanding Academic Assist in its current form.”
Kinsler added “I just want to thank the entire student body for their patience in dealing with this construction project. It has certainly not been easy to deal with the lack of parking, extra noise, and changes brought on by construction while also dealing with the chaos created by the pandemic. I remain convinced that we have the best teachers and students in the state, and their willingness to pull together in these uncertain times certainly offers proof.”
Below is a gallery of photos showcasing the progress of the renovations so far.