As a center of learning, our school, as well as schools across the country, strives to create an environment that is conducive to learning for each student. However, distractions that create large amounts of noise in central areas of a school can have potentially harmful effects on students.

This is currently happening in our high school, with major construction undertakings taking place in the auditorium and classrooms in the science wing.  Construction in the auditorium, one of the school’s most central locations, has caused noise disruptions that travel down the middle floor’s main hallway and to the music department and drama club at our school.

With no functioning auditorium and the school year in full swing, events like the school play and both of the music department’s student performances must be moved to the Weber auditorium.  In the case of the music department’s performances, what becomes complicated with this situation is the necessity of performance time at Weber, which must be done during school.  The result is that chorus, band, and orchestra students must miss part of class to attend a mandatory rehearsal at Weber.  Moreover, they will ultimately be performing in a space that they have minimal practice in, perhaps resulting in lower levels of performance.

In the case of the drama club, they also had to secure performance and practice time in the Weber auditorium.  Not only does this inconvenience Schreiber students, but it also inconveniences those who attend Weber.  The construction is also disrupting science classes whose classrooms are being remodeled in the middle of the school year.  The result is that courses like AP Physics 2 must be taught in a different order, as teachers do not currently have access to the equipment needed to best explain given units.  This too could be avoided without the construction.

The construction is not disrupting school happenings to an incredible extent, but the existence of these disruptions is indisputable.  For the future, The Schreiber Times supports more timely construction undertakings.  This change will benefit students not only in the long run, but also in the short run as they will not disrupt learning or performing processes and will help the student body to thrive.