<![CDATA[The Mountaineer]]> <![CDATA[The Mountaineer]]> /Portals/2/logos/__TFMF_piuskb45lsmoeu55zr2du555_7cc2c3bc-2eb4-459f-b772-aecc2be7358a_0___Selected.jpg en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Tue, 21 May 2013 08:09:01 GMT 15 <![CDATA[Mixed Opinions on New High School]]> By Emily Harchar


Is there a difference??

On the morning of September 14, 2011, students embarked on the highly anticipated school year at the brand new state of theart Dallas High School, in suburban Dallas Pennsylvania. After years of intense planning, the newly designed campus was ready to take on traffic, students, teachers, and the remaining construction vehicles. The broken, crammed, and dirty old Dallas High School, which started to come down in June 2011, was just a memory. It seemed like most of the community was anticipating this day to see the features of the brand new school, while some were dreading losing their old school. However, is it really that much better than the old Dallas High School, which was criticized for being run down and filthy? Students and faculty voiced their opinions. “It’s a cleaner and better environment all around”, commented Danielle Spencer, a current junior. The school houses a massive commons areawith large glass windows and a courtyard, resembling the letter “D”, where students can eat or do homework while being monitored by the new camera system. “I appreciate the use of natural light, but they went to the extremes in some areas,” commented Gates Pallissery, a current junior. Spencer commented, “Round tables make you sit too close to people, there was more privacy in the old school.” Now, bathrooms with only three stalls are a thing of the past, with some lavs encompassing ten or more stalls. “I appreciate clean bathrooms”, commented Pallissery. Pallissery was referring to the fact that the old bathrooms were dirty, wet, and barely useable. The school is also complete with elevators, a store, a new gym and team rooms that replace racks for sports equipment in the hallway of the old school. Concerning the classroom, blackboards are long forgotten. Now, whiteboards dawn the walls with new Promethean boards, aswell. “I do not like how they got rid ofall the chalkboards,” said Pallissery. There are completely new two-piece desks, unlike the old desks, with an attached chair and no gum on the bottom. Now every teacher has their own room, as opposed to some teachers traveling to a different room for every class. “I like having my own classroom”, commented Mrs. McAllister, a Science teacher. There are three floors with a different color scheme for each floor; blue on the first floor, green on the second floor, and maroon on the third floor. “The colorscheme is uninspiring,” commented Mrs. Richardson, an English teacher. Compared to most of the lockers in the old school, the new lockers are about the same size or smaller. Students are trying to get used to a school with three floors and trying to find their way around the many hallways. “It’s more complicated than the old school, but I’m getting used to new stuff,” commented Dana Yu, a junior. Many of the students are dissatisfied by the fact that they do not see friends and teachers in the hallways anymore because there are three floors. With the new school also come new rules, such as not being able to carry backpacks, and hall monitors patrolling hallways instead of sitting down. At the old school, the walls were dawned with murals and posters creating a friendly atmosphere, however, some feel that the new school is not homey enough. “It’s big, bright, beautiful, and gorgeous, but a lot of the finishing touches are missing,” commented Mr. Connors, a physical education teacher. “It’s not very homey, and I do not like the setup, but’s it’s definitely better than the old school,”commented Mrs. Richardson. Many are also dissatisfied with the quality of the new school. “I am dissatisfied with the bothersome building materials and floor scratches, but I really enjoy the view from my classroom,” commented Mrs. McAllister. Students have been asked to keep the building clean, however, there are already noticeable scratches, not to mention the paper-thin walls. As the year progresses, students and faculty will get used to the new school and new memories will be made. By the end of the year, final opinions will be made as to if the new school is everything everyone anticipated. ]]> Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:01:08 GMT