The student news site of Bernards High School

The Crimson

The student news site of Bernards High School

The Crimson

The student news site of Bernards High School

The Crimson

An Update on the New Media Center

An+Update+on+the+New+Media+Center

Over the last few months, construction on the old auditorium by the main entrance has gone smoothly. The old auditorium is being converted into a media center, replacing the current library. However, the details about what will be in the media center and how it will look like have been kept relatively secret.

When construction started at the end of the last school year, the initial deadline had been in October. Due to delays in permits, that deadline will not be reached. However, the second floor is has been constructed, and they will be pouring concrete soon.

This means that the media center should most likely be done this fall. The media center will be made up of two floors, with the main entrance being straight across from the main office.Upon walking inside, to the left of the main entrance will be a café study area, where snacking while studying is allowed (lunch is not allowed in the café). To the right of the main entrance will be a three desktop printing station; these will be the only three desktops for printing.

Instead, there will be chromebooks and wireless printers to print from. In the center of the first floor will be a semi-quiet area with soft seating. The soft seating will consist of lounge chairs in clusters of four with a flip-up laptop desk attached and low coffee-tables in between clusters. Behind the lounge chairs will be a big couch with another coffee-table.

The goal of the seating is to make studying relaxing while being productive, and Mr. Neigel himself personally sat down in all the furniture to make sure it was comfortable. On both sides of the soft seating will be bar-like chairs with high tables. Left of the soft seating will be a reading nook for those who want to quietly read.

The right wall of the first floor will have a projection screen, which teachers can use when they sign out the center area. All the bookcases, which are situated behind the bar seating and the walls, will be low as to create a feeling of openness.  Moving towards the back of the first floor, there will be six co-op study rooms; four of them will be able to be signed out by students who are working on group projects or would like to study together.

The other two will be used completely silent rooms where those who truly need to study for a test and need to concentrate can go.In each room will be a conference-like table with mesh swivel chairs and a TV on the wall to display powerpoints or documents. Students or teachers can also sign out these rooms.Moving upstairs can be accessed from two ways. Across from Ms. Gray’s room in the A-400 hallway will be the multi-purpose classroom, which teachers can use for socratic seminars and other conference styled activities.

Giving languages a whole new way of teaching, the language lab, across from Mr. Simoneau’s room, will only accessible from the A-400 hallway. Inside the media center, there will be stairs to the gallery, which will most likely be a space that is reserved for upperclassmen (juniors and seniors). There, there will be bar seating similar to that on the first floor and lining the left and right walls. Towards the back of the gallery will be the same lounge chair clusters as downstairs.

The most exciting part about the gallery will be the huge, eight-shaped couch that will be our school colors.Finally, two last two benefits of the media center are its hours and charging stations. While tentative, the media center should be open until five, allowing students to use it to its full capacity. In the plan, there are lockable charging stations where students may sign out a station, lock their device, and come back later.

As Mr. Neigel said, “The new media center is designed to meet an array of academic and social needs among our students…Students at BHS will finally have a space that is comfortable, functional, and aesthetically pleasing.  The new media center will allow our current and future students to work to their full potential in whatever endeavors they pursue.” Students seem to be excited, as Madison Case said, “The new media center will be beneficial to everyone at BHS.”

Senior Griffin deMarrais said, “I wish the school had this when I was a freshman. There are so many resources offered in the new media center that can further a student’s education.”English teacher Mrs. O’Brien said, “I’m looking forward to a center that the whole school can use to hang out, do research or school work and I am very excited to see it when it’s completed.”Although this in the plan, some aspects are not officially finalized.

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