SCHOOL NEWS
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West Construction 2022/23 By Aidan Olson and Alex Vakar Photographer: Gabriel Coen If it wasn’t made obvious by the overcrowded stairways and the brand new, well-lit, graffitied bathrooms, West is currently undergoing construction. Rumors circulated throughout the school concerning the extent and duration of these plans, leaving everyone with a different idea of what our school is going to look like. The most noticeable of these construction endeavors is the lack of third-floor access. At this point, it’s not uncommon to see a sign with the words “Construction Area, NO ACCESS” in almost every corner of the building. The majority of the third floor is closed off, from the end of the old Language wing to the 2nd Physics staircase. While students are and should be very grateful for the renovations, the unbalanced student per square meter ratio is undeniably uncomfortable. It’s not as if we had that much space to begin with; our building's horse-shoe structure has previously impeded the flow of students filling our halls for decades. Even now, those heading to a class on the third floor from the Physics or Biology classrooms have been forced to adapt a different route from previous years: lowering down to the second-floor, walking the perimeter of the second floor hallway completely, and then going up the stairs once more. The Van Hise office has now become a Van Hise closet, our new bathrooms don’t have doors while our old ones have thin, suspicious-looking pipes, hallways surrounding the cafeteria lack ceilings, and every single person in the building is confused about where they can find a counselor. What comes next? In an interview with Ms. Schacht DeThorne, the assistant principal shared plans for the renovation. To start, Schacht DeThorne is normally the Highland SLC principal and has recently taken on the role of coordinating the majority of construction-related issues along with Principal Kigeya. They have been working with Findorff and the MMSD's building department. The transition to a building under construction hasn’t been flawless, despite West’s administration, staff, and Findorff’s best efforts. There has been some adjusting to do, but Shacht DeThorne emphasized that West and Findorff are working together to ensure West is a school first and foremost, rather than a construction site. Now comes the exciting part: what is going to happen to West in the coming months and years? Every room is set to receive at least some kind of update. This could include anything from new carpets and/or furniture to tearing rooms down to the studs and redoing the walls. All bathrooms will undergo “heavy renovations” and there will also be gender-neutral bathrooms installed throughout the school to make them more accessible. In addition, after extensive renovations, the library will be relocated to the old Study Hall area. The Science wing will be completely remodeled. The administration hopes to create two more Science classrooms through the renovations, providing students and teachers with valuable space. These renovations will begin once the current blocked-off section is completed, the Science wing renovations will begin. The current blocked-off section’s renovations are scheduled to be done mid-November and after they are completed the Science wing will go into construction mode. West’s historic building (dating back to 1930) will also receive an addition: two new gyms and a pool! In case you haven’t noticed, the foundation for these additions is, at least, partially laid on the old basketball courts and field (on the corner of Regent and Highland). The pool will be a cross-course pool; teams will be able to train short course yards and short course meters. Within this new space will come new locker rooms and other facilities to support West athletics. This addition is planned to be finished in the fall of 2023. This may leave you wondering: what will happen to the old pool? “The Pond” (West’s current pool) is scheduled to begin construction after the boys' high school swim season (around February 18th). This entire area will be transformed into new classrooms and instructional spaces. Additionally, a new Welcome Center will be built to replace the current one under the stairs. This construction wave will also revitalize the theater and music rooms. As eager as the students may be to see new renovations and hear an end to the background noise, our concerns pale in comparison to the hard work being put in by Findorff employees and our accommodating West staff. Construction workers are contributing their time and effort to the improvement of our school. Teachers especially have been adapting and doing their best to create a standard learning environment amidst the chaos of construction. Thanks to them, our jobs as students are much less hectic. With 15 new classrooms, new athletic facilities and new, modern bathrooms, it’s clear that this investment will be worthwhile. |
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West Science Olympiad Returns from Hiatus By Paloma Ortiz-De Ferrari West High School’s Science Olympiad team has always been successful, but has not gotten enough recognition in our community—that is until an unprecedented setback was brought upon them. Science Olympiad is a national science competition covering 23 different science topics ranging from biology and environmental science to math and engineering. There are around four or five competitions from November through March. Students work in teams of two and three to complete a question set, finish a series of tasks, test things they’ve built, or do a lab. The National Science Olympiad organization dates all the way back to 1985, the very year when West High’s team earned a second place spot at state. The successes of West’s Science Olympiad team hasn’t died down; the team has never placed below 3rd in state, and has gone all the way to nationals 24 times. This long-standing tradition of success only made it more surprising when, in 2022, the West High team was banned from competing for the season by both Wisconsin and National Science Olympiad. In 2021, schools around the world slipped into virtual learning, and National Science Olympiad followed suit, establishing virtual competitions for the season. For the first few competitions, there was a policy barring internet usage during test taking. However, for the state competition, several other participating Wisconsin high schools inquired about the rule, and were informed that the state competition was open-internet. Wisconsin Science Olympiad did not make the rule change public knowledge to schools that hadn’t directly asked, so while West’s team was preparing for a completely offline test, other participating teams were gearing up for the new rules, one team even setting up dual monitors. West placed 2nd—still very honorable considering there were multiple teams using computers during testing—but one dedicated West coach felt that the lack of information was an injustice. This coach sent an email to Wisconsin Science Olympiad and was dismissed, so he and other coaches attempted to take legal action by signing a document of protest.This resulted in the West team’s one-year ban from participation, and a lifetime ban for the three coaches who signed. The loss of this very strong coach proved to be a big blow to West’s Science Olympiad community. Students found him to be passionate and dedicated, spending a large portion of his free time facilitating the education of the young science students, a process which included recruiting UW graduate students as tutors. Last year, the new West Science Olympiad captains used the year off to try to revamp the team; more specifically, to find a new coach. Thankfully, this summer they discovered that West teacher Mr. Flowers was starting at West in the fall of this school year, just in time for the new competition season. The captains secured him as a coach, but that was just the beginning of the high demands the club had for them. Captains Chloe Allan, William Noguera, Able Liang, and Tim Li have spent the past several months scheduling meetings, figuring out funds, and taking on the task of finding UW graduate students tutors/team aides. Their dedication ensures that West Science Olympiad competitors can preserve their former passion for the upcoming season. This year, with a new head coach and new competitions to take on, Science Olympiad at West is in full swing. There are exciting new event topics this year, including Green Generation and Ecological Principles, as well as technology and engineering tasks like car and plane construction. With plentiful studying and new prospects on the horizon, captain Chloe Allan states that the team is “really excited to be back, and hope[s] this year is better than ever.” If you are interested in joining the Science Olympiad team at West, it is open to all. Email any of the captains, including Chloe ([email protected]), or Mr. Flowers with inquiries. Sources: https://www.uwstout.edu/about-us/news-center/madison-teams-sweep-first-places-wisconsin-science-olympiad https://scioly.org/wiki/index.php/Madison_West_High_School |