Tuesday, Patch took a tour of the new addition to Waterford High School, which is part of the school’s $68 million renovation. Students are expected to move into the new addition after April break, which is the first week of April.
Some highlights:
-The field house has been painted and two giant LCD projectors were installed. There are also cameras in the field house that would allow the school to play sporting events live on public access television, according to Assistant Superintendent Craig Powers.
-The auditorium has been revamped. There is a new sound system, new drapery, new rigging, a new catwalk and new lights, according to School Building Committee Chairman Alan Wilensky. The Waterford High School auditorium holds more than 1,100 people, which is more than New London’s Garde Arts Center, Powers said.
-The cafeteria will have a serpentine counter run down the middle of it, according to Powers. There also will be outdoor seating just outside the cafeteria, he said.
-The first floor holds the main office, the media center and technology education classrooms. The media center will be 5,000 square feet. For more information about the media center, click here.
-The second floor will hold the English and social study classes, Principal Don Macrino said. The third floor will hold the science and math classes, Macrino said.
-There will be a television studio on the first floor that rivals the television studio Metrocast in Waterford has, Powers said. Morning announcements will be done from there, he said.
-There will be three entrances to the school, Powers said. Visiters will have to be buzzed in at all three entrances, much like the town’s other four schools, he said.
-Once students move into the new addition, the old wing will be closed off, Project Manager Gus Kotait said. Kotait said that will allow workers to abate the old building, before eventually demolishing it.
Bob Wade