With the new renovations to the school, one unintended effect is that the counseling office has had to deal with darkness, heat and temporarily losing their office.

For counselor Chris Wallace, losing the counseling office’s window, and the light that comes with it, has been a major adjustment.

“You lose that natural light coming in, so getting used to a darker environment, … with only the fluorescent lights up above was kind of an adjustment,” Wallace said. “We are very relieved that we are getting our windows back … [because the windows] open up the space and provide … a better setting than simply being in a closet of sorts.

In addition to losing the window, Wallace found it difficult to adjust to a warmer environment due to the lack of air conditioning at the beginning of the school year.

“Getting into [the counseling] office without the AC was pretty tough,” Wallace said. “I tend to prefer having a comfortable environment to work in.”

Although parts of construction has made their jobs more difficult, Wallace feels that temporarily moving to the media center was actually beneficial. 

“In some ways there was a benefit to being in the media center together,” Wallace said. “Being able to work together and talk with one another easier was actually a way to make it a little more enjoyable.”

For Wallace, any setbacks that the construction brings is worth it for the overall benefit of the school

“I look at it is a minor inconvenience for a long term gain and I am absolutely willing to tolerate it for the time being, knowing that the end product will be worth it for our students and community,” Wallace said.

With a 6A competition gym and theater being built, many parking spots are no longer available and many busing routes have been changed to deal with the construction. This has caused many students to rethink how they get to and from school and many bus drivers to change their drop-off and pick-up locations.

For sophomore Addisen Chezem, who did not receive a parking pass, the lack of parking spots has been a huge inconvenience for her morning cheer practices. 

“[The construction has] affected me mostly for morning practices because I feel bad having my parents or other people taking me once a week,” Chezem said. “I have to leave my house by 5:45 and that’s been really hard for the people taking me.”

In addition to affecting her morning routine, Chezem feels the construction has made it harder for her to get home quickly after school.

“I have been parking … [at my] friends whose house backs up to school … but I still have to walk,” Chezem said. “It’s kind of difficult when I have things that I need to get out quickly for … work and it takes away some time that I could have [had].”

Although many are facing the problem of not being able to drive, bus driver Scott Schau is adjusting to new drop off and pick up locations.

“Until they’re done [with construction], loading into Mill Valley has to be done on the south side of Mill Valley instead of the front bus route,” Schau said. “That is tentatively scheduled to end by the end of October.”

While Schau manages  the temporary adjustment, it has made getting in and out of the school more difficult. 

“[Construction] makes it harder to get into the school in the mornings because we have to wait at the stoplight … [and] watch for all the pedestrians in the crosswalks and all the other traffic,” Schau said. “We have to wait longer to get pulled in with all of the other traffic as opposed to pulling into the circle out front.”

Although Chezem does not get to park at the school, she still feels the construction is important for the school.

“I think it will be worth it, Chezem said. “The new gym will be nice because it gets really crowded in [the main gym] during games, and I think we needed to have a bigger gym for the size of our school.”

After the temporary closing of the weights room, students in strength and conditioning have been temporarily displaced to the field house. 

For sophomore Nick Brubeck, the class has not seen a major impact from the construction so far, but he expects that to change.

I don’t think the construction has affected our weights class that much yet, but I [think the construction]… will overall cause more [problems],” Brubeck said.

Although the inconvenience has been manageable so far, come winter time Brubeck expects the weight room situation to be much worse for students.

“Once it gets colder it will cause more challenges,” Brubeck said. “Getting into the weight room when it’s freezing will be tough and keeping the room warm will be [difficult].”

In addition to affecting the class, Brubeck feels many sports such as volleyball and basketball are suffering from the lack of a suitable weight room to accommodate everyone.

“For soccer, we haven’t really been affected,” Brubeck said. “But I bet volleyball and basketball …  practices will be harder to get scheduled.”

Although the inconvenience is only expected to get worse, Brubeck is still excited about what the new construction’s completion will mean for the school.

“In the long run, the new construction …  will be worth it because … [it] will cause more good opportunities than minor setbacks,” Brubeck said.