This year, West has not only welcomed several new staff members but also introduced multiple new features to the school. From an updated parking system to brand-new gym equipment, West has been busy upgrading its facilities over the summer.
Each year, West typically receives new gym or sports equipment to improve the performance of students and athletes alike. With the addition of the equipment, Athletic Director Dana Krilich improved the facilities of the field house.
“Every year, all athletic curtains, bleachers, and hoops get inspected by an outside company. This process goes through our buildings and grounds department. Our old curtains were in disrepair – they were outdated, hard to get up and down and ripped in many spots. Last year’s inspection showed that it was time to replace them,” Krilich said.
Not only was new equipment added, but a new art design was also introduced in the weight room. Physical welfare teacher Thomas Dellota decided it was time to change and brought in a more meaningful art design to the space.
“In the back, there was a mural, and we all collectively thought it needed some freshening up… So I came up with an idea. My culture means a lot to me, so I decided to incorporate that into the design. Two African American wolves are facing each other, almost as if they are in a fight. It’s meaningful to me and something I also want to share with my students,” Dellota said.
West has struggled with its parking situation, whether that was students parking in other students’ spots or there not being enough spots for everyone. Since there is currently construction where the main office used to be, the smaller teacher parking lot has been taken away. This has caused those teachers to take up a third of the student parking lot. Principal Steve Parnther discusses the thought process behind creating this system.
“Our only solution was to use part of the student parking lot for teachers to still have a spot. We have free bus routes for kids without teachers at school, who can’t teach. After the construction is done the parking lot that was by the main office will open back up, and students will gain the whole parking lot back,” Parnther said.
There have been some other minor changes made to West: the vending machines have been moved to outside of the contest gym and near the south lobby, the testing center is now in 1750 and the staff lounge has been fully revamped so it can be used to enjoy lunch and allow teachers to be more collaborative with one another.
