Principal Charles Blanchard recently announced the opening of the school’s new A and C buildings to allow faculty members to begin setting up their classrooms and work spaces.
“There have been some logistical challenges that we will continue to work through, but I am happy that we are getting close to the end,” Blanchard said.
Blanchard said the new building will create better learning environments for students. The interior of the school boasts “big open spaces [and] lots of natural light in the hallways and classrooms,” he said. “Almost every classroom has an exterior window that either points outward to the outside, or inward towards the interior campus.”
With the interior of the school nearly complete, teachers have begun the process of moving in.
English teacher Tom Stanfa said the move-in process was “a little chaotic,” but he believes students will “be in love with the new courtyard.”
The new school is a closed campus where the surrounding buildings enclose the courtyard. The courtyard will support a greenhouse, an outdoor amphitheater and enough seating for students to study, eat and socialize with their peers.
“I can’t wait for [students] to get back on campus and start experiencing some of what is waiting for you here,” Stanfa said.
Teachers are permitted to enter the new A and C buildings to begin unpacking, but teaching virtually on the new campus is currently optional.
Aaron Ideus, a math teacher, has unpacked a large portion of his classroom and plans to commute to the new building for office hours on Wednesdays.
The math hall is in the new C building, which is located in roughly the same area as the old math wing. Ideus said he likes the spaciousness of the new math wing.
“We won’t be going through the narrow corridors of [the old] A building with thousands of kids in not-so-wide hallways,” he said. “After you get into the math wing area, it really spreads out.”
On the opposite side of the new campus, Media Center Specialist SaCola Lehr said the opening of the new library has involved a lot of work, but students will be able to use media center resources soon.
“Right now, I am working on getting books back onto the shelves and making sure they’re in order,” she said. “We’re going to start doing a curbside pickup where you can request books, put them on hold online, and then you can come at a designated day and time to pick up your books.”
The new media center will no longer include a space for study hall classes nor temporary ISS.
Lehr has worked on the renovations of many media centers in the past but said she is particularly proud of the influence she’s had on the new library.
“I’m just excited about creating a new space,” she said. “This has been a work of love for the past years—this has been the first media center I have been able to do from the ground up and work with architects on. I’m excited to get the ball rolling.”
Culinary instructor Clarence Dillard said the new culinary lab features more space, allowing for a better flow of traffic around the kitchen. Some particularly exciting new amenities of the lab, Dillard said, include a larger pantry, professional gas ranges, a high-speed dishwasher, and a combination steam oven.
“I am so proud of our new lab,” he said. “Our lab is now considered a professional work kitchen as we will start being graded by a local health inspector.”
Dillard did point out that culinary students will “still be able to share our table with the Tiger community.”
Several seniors have also shared their positive impressions of the campus.
Karolina Orocz described her initial reaction to the new campus as “great shock” when she saw the “pristine and modern” buildings. She said she pictured herself “walking through the new hallways and going to the new library.”
Rinke Dingemans noted how “big and spacious” the new campus is compared to the old one and noted how many more windows were installed in the two new buildings.
The construction of the new Chapel Hill High School campus is not quite complete, but the community will be able to experience the finished project at its new address at 9217 Seawell School Road.
“It is a beautiful building,” Blanchard said. “I think the community is going to love it. Our students, families, and teachers are going to love it.”
