Hollow Hallways
With all the new changes coming to Hempfield Area High School, one of the most evident is the lack of people walking through the hallways. The emptiness of the hallways is caused by the class of 2027 being relocated to Harrold School. The hallways at the high school have always had a reputation of being packed and crowded, especially around the stairs and turns in the school. Conversely, this year at the high school, the hallways are more open and extremely easy to navigate, making it easier to get from class to class.
Although the lack of students traveling through the halls has been convenient for getting to class on time, many upperclassmen wish for more school spirit. Junior, Carys Short explains that [the high school] “doesn’t feel the same as previous years.” Only having grades 10-12 in the building has created a calmer but less enthusiastic atmosphere.
The future construction process is unknown up to this point, and there has not been an announcement as to when all grades will be back together in one place. Officer Slater notes that without the freshmen class, “there is way less noise and not as much bumping into people, throughout the day.” The changes have been of course both good and bad for all of the staff and students throughout the building.
The Harrold Experience
Has the school ever felt smaller? That may be because a whole grade is not up at the high school this year. Due to the renovations, all incoming students going into 9th grade have been moved to Harrold. That means that all the middle schoolers who would’ve attended Harrold, now attend one of the two other middle schools, West Hempfield Middle School or Wendover Middle School.
The experience for the freshmen’s first year of high school is completely different from the experience of every other high school student at Hempfield. Ava Deguffroy, a freshman states, “I actually don’t mind being at Harrold; its a new experience and honestly not as bad as people say.”
For some students, being separate from the high school may be a little disappointing because they won’t get to spend their first year with grades 10-12. They won’t be able to interact with new people outside of their grade level or get the “freshmen experience.” Freshman, Shayna Ofchinick states, “although Harrold isn’t bad, I still wish I could spend my freshman year at the high school.”
Reconstructing and Relocating
The construction of the new and improved Hempfield Area High School was supposed to start this past summer. As anyone can tell, that’s not the case. Many teachers had to totally relocate classrooms in the building. Mr. Davis, a loud and energetic staple to the main hallway, has been moved to the basement. While his voice can be heard echoing from the bottom floor, his presence is missed in 133. Davis says, “It is what it is.” Students now have to adjust to the anatomy of the high school changes.
With the construction pending, more and more questions develop. Will it even start this school year? It doesn’t seem promising. However, if it does begin, changes will occur. According to the 2023-2024 Grade Level Meetings slideshow, “All PE classes [will be] the field house gym,” “Field House parking lot [will be] closed,” and the “Road between the high school and stadium [will be] closed.”
Overall the high school has gone through many significant changes due to impending reconstruction, but everyone must come together and do their best to make it work.
