Imagine a hallway, fully carpeted, whiteboards and windows used as walls, and workspaces down the whole space. It has an open feel, and students flow in and out of the classrooms. This is the newly renovated third floor in the middle school.
“The hallway space benefits students because they can do group work, homework, or studying,” said World Cultures teacher Jennifer Veatch.
“I think they renovated the space to see how it would work and to create an interactive learning space,” said eighth grade boy Hewlett C.
The hallway is used for many classes and not just for one subject, allowing a variety of students to take classes there, like Hewlett, who has two classes on the floor.
The space was renovated for many different reasons, but some people have contrasting thoughts that range from learning possibilities to just a timely upgrade.
“I think they wanted to just try something new for the students,” said eighth grade girl Anyssa P.
Westminster is always looking to get the chance to make the school into a “family” or an all inclusive community.
“One of the things we wanted to do is make Westminster more transparent and have a more communal, interactive feel,” said head of middle school Danette Morton.
They achieved these things by adding windows to the walls to make a brighter feel, so someone can look into the classroom. This is to try and connect the hallway with the classroom which gives a more open feel.
“Westminster has been thinking about how we can upgrade and make the school fresh and relevant to the way students learn and teachers teach,” said Mrs. Morton.
Mrs. Morton would love to eventually try and upgrade the whole middle school, but there are other buildings such as in the high school that are older and have priority over another middle school renovation.
Some teachers are fearful that the windows can be distracting to the students if one class is taking a test or another important assignment. All the teachers within the third floor have met together and tried to solve this.