By Jocelyn Tolpin, Middle School Staff Writer

On the corner of the middle school hallway and the arts center is a room made of glass. It resembles a fishbowl, except without the water, and the fish. It used to house a store to buy Newark Academy products, writing utensils, and books. Now it houses many desks lined up against the walls and pushed together in the middle. An office has moved into the glass room. This past year, the middle school office relocated to the big, glass box on the corner of the middle school hallway and the arts wing. Teachers and students find the new office to be nicer because the room is more spacious, easier to meet with teachers, and more centrally located.

The new office is spacious and allows all the middle school teachers to be in the same office together. Mr. Huber who has a desk in the middle school office says, “It is great to have most of the middle school teachers congregated in one space.  It makes for regular connections and a well-informed faculty.” They also like the glass walls because they can see around the school now. Mrs. Johnson said, “[I] love the new middle school office because I feel part of the school now.  I can see things that are going on and not just who is walking past a doorway.” The spaciousness also allows for tools such as the copier and the printer to be in one area. It is also more convenient for meeting with students because the office is more spacious and because the office is more centrally located.  Mrs. Johnson also said, “The office is much roomier, so the teachers have a lot more space to meet with students.”

In general, students also like the new middle school office. They say that it is closer to all the middle school lockers and not just the ones in the middle school hallway. Therefore, it is easier to meet with teachers. Jen Huo in the seventh grade says, “We can easily meet with the teachers because they are so close to our lockers and it is more convenient.” The students also like the appearance of the new office in addition to the position. Sam Fishbein in the eighth grade says, “I like the look and location of the new place.”

The new middle school office is great for the teachers and the students. It is nicer for the teachers because they can all be together, yet it is still spacious, and it is nicer for the students because it is so easy to meet with teachers as they are so close to the lockers. Students and teachers agree that the new office is a great idea, yet it has been questioned whether or not the office resembles a fishbowl. Teachers do not find the office to be a fishbowl, they like the openness of it. Students, however, find the office to resemble a fishbowl. In the end it is all a matter of opinion, however, everyone agrees that the new middle school office is a great improvement in many ways.