By Erin Eagle ’17, Staff Writer

While students were enjoying their summers out of the building during the months of June, July, and August, major construction was occurring within the doors of Newark Academy.  Although the behind the scenes work that goes on within this community is often overlooked, the new science labs and the middle school construction has not gone unnoticed.

Yes, hallways were blocked off and lab spaces were unable to be used during the end of last school year, but the state-of-the-art science wing is now being completely utilized and enjoyed.   Even though it took “a lot of work on the part of the science department, maintenance staff, the administration, and fellow colleagues,” science teacher Ms. Hone is excited about the change, and she believes that “it was well worth the wait.”  She adds, “the labs are roomy, have lots of light, plenty of spaces to conduct experiments, and the classrooms are a pleasure to teach in.”  Not only are the teachers excited, many students who have experienced the pre-renovation labs have been very impressed.  Madison Jones ’17, noticed a huge difference immediately, stating “the new lab spaces are perfect, especially for the class I am taking—Biotechnology.  Because this class is lab based, having good facilities is so important.  The lab space, especially compared with that of last year, is a bright, lively learning environment that we are definitely taking advantage of.”

The new middle school building, on the other hand, is still under construction, but according to middle school principal Mr. Ashburn, it should be complete by the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year.  While the middle school students will be benefiting from ten new, modern classrooms, three science labs, and two separate common rooms, the upper school students will also be able to take advantage of the change.

For example, the limited amount of space in the cafeteria will be alleviated soon—the current middle school common room will be opened up into the cafeteria to add some extra room.  For those who have had to share chairs during lunch, those days may be over within the coming year.  Not only will the cafeteria expand, old middle school classrooms will be used to enlarge the auditorium within the coming years and science classrooms in the middle school wing will shift into high school physics labs.  The one mystery that lies in this soon-to-be opened area, however, is the middle school office. An in-school committee is working on deciding the future for that space.  All in all, the upper school will hopefully enjoy some new perks after the middle school students move into their separate wing.

As one may guess, Mr. Ashburn is hopeful that the change will bring about endless possibilities and opportunities for the students.  He believes that “the new facility will allow [the staff] to build a stronger middle school community and program overall.”