By Rachel Booth, North Thurston High School Intern to ThurstonTalk
North Thurston High School, home of the Rams, has recently begun construction on its new remodel. Considering the last remodel was in 1983, both students and staff are looking forward to the update. In 2014, a bond passed approving a $75 million upgrade to the school. Nearly every school in North Thurston Public Schools will receive improvements through 2022. Along with the construction of the new Salish Middle School, North Thurston is the most extensive project by far in the district currently. Target completion date is set for fall 2018.
Construction on the project began in May. The first phase includes an extension of the 1995 James Koval Center for the Performing Arts facility to house the music programs. The Koval Center extension will give dedicated rooms to band, and orchestra, which will be shared with the choirs. There will also be additional instrument storage.
A new building behind the stadium will house the gyms and fitness classrooms. The project will also include a new school building, which will eventually replace 16 portable classrooms and add extra rooms to accommodate the growing student population. Sports fields and facilities will also be upgraded as funding allows. Some of the softball fields will be replaced and the tennis courts adjacent to the pool will also be repaired or replaced.
The demolished gym is being replaced temporarily by the recently vacated Bally’s Athletic Club building. The space is now called the Sleater-Kinney Annex, located across Kasey Keller Drive. Students will access the new building in November 2015 using a crosswalk until the new gym is completed. PE classes, as well as athletic events, will be held in the new facility. Students and community members will enter through the North entrance on Kasey Keller Drive. Aspire Middle School for the Performing Arts is scheduled to move into the Annex as well in 2017.
Outbuildings for welding, horticulture, and other programs will receive selected upgrades as the school experiences major modernizations. The next phase of the project will improve parking, safety systems, and technology on campus.
Students, who are already being rerouted to their classes, are excited for the remodel nevertheless. “It’s going to be a big change,” junior Veronica Emmerson says. “I won’t be here to see most of it, but I can’t wait for the new orchestra room and it will be great to have some more space.”
The process is a long one, and students will definitely be affected, but Courtney Schrieve, director of community relations says that “living through construction take patience, flexibility and sometimes humor.”
This year, North Thurston High School boasts over 1,400 students and 74 teachers. Since the original school’s construction in 1954, the school has grown immensely and is North Thurston Public Schools’ oldest high school. Though Timberline High School, remodeled between 2006-10, has a higher student count, North Thurston campus holds the Koval Center and South Sound Stadium, both of which are shared by all of the NTPS high schools.
Steve Rood, the current North Thurston High School principal, says “With each phase, we will create a plan to keep everything moving with the school and continue to communicate to students, staff and parents,” says NTHS principal Steve Rood, citing the common theme in the remodel plan.
As the school rebuilds both physically and as a community, the 2015-2016 ASB team has themed this year as “Construct Your Future: Zone In.” The theme is designed to encourage students to keep working hard despite distractions. The five goals of the year are recognition, spirit/energy, communication, support, and environment. The ASB team, led by President Andrea Luper, said, “We knew that with the school being remodeled, we wanted to incorporate construction into our theme. While working hard over the summer, we truly grasped the idea that ASB not only means ‘Associated Student Body’, but ‘All Students Belong.’”
The remodeling of North Thurston High School will be vital to strengthening the school’s spirit and confidence, and is eagerly awaited by all!
To learn more about the modernization project at North Thurston High School, click here.
