The green and white hallways of B-wing will be back open to some teachers this week as furniture is moved into the classrooms and students return from portables. As found in C-wing, all the rooms now have new dimmable LED lights, vinyl tile flooring, paint, carpet, ceiling panels, window shades, and a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.

As many have noticed, the new accent color for the wing is a light green. The color can be found in the halls, and in the bathrooms.

“They should have used a dark yellow or a light yellow … because it’s too bright. … Other than that the design (is nice), it’s just the colors that really throw it off,” sophomore Elijah Sellers said.

However, not all dislike the change.

“This green is kind of growing on me. I think that was the goal, to give it a different look, which I like… I think it adds a brightness to the building. I like the gray. I love black and gold, but I like the lightness (of the green),” principal Erin Savage said.

Savage said she doesn’t know what colors A-wing and T-wing will have, and it has been up to the architects who designed the renovations to decide.

The wing also has a grip tape and a vinyl cover on both staircases and renovated bathrooms.

The upstairs and downstairs restrooms have new floor and wall tiles with green accents, new sinks, toilets, soap dispensers and toilet paper holders.

“We renovated them…. The bathroom accessories (are) new,” project manager Brian Ward said.

Teachers are looking forward to moving back into B-wing. English teacher Christopher Mosher said he is excited to have an actual classroom again, and he heard B-wing was nice.

“Someone told me it’s like a beautiful color. So, I’m excited to see a nice pop of color,” he said.

Spanish teacher Lydia Harless said moving back to B-wing will make it easier for herself and her students.

“The restrooms are way too far away. It’s cold, and we are far from everything,” she said.

While there are new standing bookcases and shelves in the rooms, the built-in cabinets and sinks were not replaced in classrooms or teacher planning areas.

“Keep in mind, it’s a renovation, not a construction. So we did not get leveled and built up from the ground like some schools. There’s some new, and some old,” Savage said.

In the middle of the upstairs hallway, there is a new construction cover on the floor. It looks like a silver speed bump, and extends into the classrooms on both sides. The cover, which is not found in C-wing, protects against expansion and contraction due to temperature.

“We put in what is called a mechanical construction joint, it allows the building to move, and it slides with it. … The cover is new with the different flooring material. We cleaned the joint, and put the new cover on it,” Ward said.

AJAX construction company plans on starting renovations in A-wing and T-wing as soon as the students and teachers have left. However, not all of T-wing will be moving out. Robotics teacher Jason Ness and his students will be staying put, as his classroom was recently renovated in 2020. The administration felt it would be best to let the class stay in T-wing due to the nature of robotics and difficulty moving equipment.

“The administration found a way to let me stay, and still allow the kids to safely access the room. … It was simply a situation where we can’t move this program over,” he said. “It’s like moving a woodshop; you can’t just move to a portable. It just wouldn’t work. We would have to be done with robotics for the rest of the year if we did that.”

Ness said though he’s happy to stay, he anticipates some complications along the way.

“We just lost power for example. All the (3D) prints that were started shut down because they’re doing something with the power out there,” he said.

Similarly, the Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) staff offices won’t be immediately renovated. That will be held off until school ends, and students are gone. Until summer, accommodations will be made for students to safely access the offices and Ness’s room.

“We have a special route. … There’ll be a little avenue. It won’t be totally kid unfriendly,” Savage said.

• SNN staff writers DJ BILLUE and JEREMIAH WALKER contributed to this story.