After school, many girls can be found sitting on the floor of the lobby either waiting for rides or for sports practice to begin.  This year, however, administration had the opportunity to purchase some comfy furniture for the students to use.

“We do have a number of students who have to wait for activities and rides in the lobby entrance, and most of the comfortable seating is closed off to them,” said Associate Principal/Operations Mr. Larry Baker. “We also wanted to have a place where girls could collaborate in a semi-private environment.”

A donor provided money for the new furniture– as well as for the renovation of the Drama Hall courtyard– through Witte’s Wish at last year’s auction. Over the course of the summer months, Mr. Baker worked with several people to create the new furniture.

“We had our architect design the tables and chairs, and the Art Dept. chose the colors for the fabric,” said Mr. Baker. “More modern renovations to schools are geared towards teaming up with others, and that was the inspiration with the configurations we have set up.”

Currently, only one half of the lobby is furnished, but Mr. Baker said more furniture will arrive soon.

 “This is only part one of the renovation,” he said.  “We plan to have the other half furnished, as well.”

For now, students can enjoy using tablet arm chairs, booths, and elevated tables to study or chat with friends.  

“It’s a good place to eat and do homework instead of sitting on the floor,” said sophomore Isha Ganguli. “It caused a lot of problems for me because I can’t sit on the floor and do homework, so this is a nice way to change that.”

Whether or not students will be permitted to use the lobby furniture during school hours has yet to be announced.

Update 9/8/15: Mrs. Tarplin has announced that students can now use the lobby furniture during school hours.