As PHS welcomes new and returning students back to school, l.

As PHS students return from summer break, they are welcomed back with fresh changes to the school.

The past couple years have brought with them a number of major construction projects at PHS. Most recently, the construction of a new wing of the school behind the weight room has been the largest one. Now complete, the new wing

As PHS welcomes new and returning students back to school, there are a few changes which they may notice in the building - OG

Maybe the most significant of these changes is the introduction of new, furnished study halls aimed towards group work, offices for current gym teachers, and new facilities for specific PHS sports, which are all located in the area past the Tiger Cafe.

The 27 million dollar referendum which funded this expansion originally passed in December of 2018, including a ten million dollar plan for the construction of these new spaces along with upgrades to the school’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Although there have been changes in the supervision and leadership of the project, along with many delays, it was still able to be completed in time for this school year.

“After Principal Gary [Snyder] left, Principal [Jessica] Baxter was here for eighteen months, Jared Warren for six months, and then Mr. Chmiel took over last year. So the institutional knowledge of how things happen has been lost a little bit,” said Matthew Bouldin, the PPS district’s Business Administrator. “It was very slow and it took two years plus for this particular addition, but the building was still built as intended.”

The idea for this new space was first imagined after administrators saw the need for an open area, one where groups of students could freely interact and collaborate with each other, thereby fostering student growth.

“It's always supposed to be about the kids. And the thought was that the [Learning] Commons was always a popular place to study, but this is a place where you can do more collaborative things,” Bouldin said. “As education improves, workplaces are different [and] we want to focus on that.”

Now that the expansion is complete, the students are enjoying the new environment, with large windows allowing natural light to fill the room, creating a different aesthetic from the rest of the building.

“I particularly like the really cool view in one of the rooms where you get a full view of the football field and tennis courts,” said Beatrice Cai ’23. “The whole vibe is very fresh and feels like a different building than the usual PHS.”

Soon, the surrounding area will be filled with athletes as well. Until now, many PHS sports did not formally have a space to practice and the expansion hopes to help work to solve that problem. Among the parts of the new wing are a dance studio, wrestling room, and fencing area.

Students are not the only ones able to benefit from the new wing though, as many gym teachers were able to relocate to newer, brighter offices. Before the construction, gym offices were located on the basement level right underneath the old gym. With no windows and lights that barely worked, this created a very gloomy environment to work in.

Lenny Goduto, one of the gym teachers, was pleasantly surprised by the renovations in the beginning of the year and believes that the new offices bring a new type of unity to the Physical Education Department.

“As far as I know, coming to work and having a new space is amazing. It raises the morale and makes you feel like, ‘Hey, we got a home again’. It just feels nice,” said Gaduto. “It also allows the department to kind of come back together as a whole. Before we were kind of spread out in five or six different spaces the last two years.”

Along with the new offices, Goduto also believes that the new wellness centers and rooms will yield a more positive teaching and learning experience to students and teachers alike.

“I think it's going to be incredible. We have a dance studio, we have a wrestling room, and a wellness Lounge, which will all be used for physical education. I guess what it does is it opens up more teaching spaces and is more conducive for learning for you kids.” Goduto says

Overall, this renovation has been quite a success. Looking into the future, Bouldin encourages students to voice their opinions about their needs from the school and the community in order to create a favorable environment for learning.

“What value do you place on education? There's a high value, of course, in Princeton placed on education. In the end, you guys are the ideas, you know, it's always supposed to be about the kids,” Bouldin said.