Over the summer, Blue Valley has gone through a transformation. Renovations, new supplies, and new assets have been added for a brand new start for the new school year. Read on to view the new additions to the building and the blueprint behind them.

iPads by ben werner

Portable. Flexible. Intelligent. No, this is not a purse-dog. The BV’s math department waved goodbye to SmartBoards and their complicated wiring to say “hello” to district-funded iPads.

Math teacher Robin Lerner hopes to utilize the iPads’ flexibility and portability, but after years with her SmartBoard, she is apprehensive.

“I’ve been using my SmartBoard for so long that learning a new platform will take some time to adjust to,” she said.

Since the spring of 2020, Lerner has been loaned an iPad from the science department.

She said, “I’ve used mine to make videos for my Honors Algebra 2 classes. I expect I will continue to do that with the new iPad.”

In the past, Lerner used Zoom and screenshared with the iPad to record the video.

“The old iPad wouldn’t record my voice for some reason, so recording through my computer was the only way I could make videos,” she said. “I’m hoping the new iPad will make it easier to create my videos without having to use Zoom.”

Fixed Forum by sami sandler

Each new year of school brings changes for the student body at BVHS, but this year in particular brings many changes to the BV building itself. In May, the FACTS classroom began a major renovation. FACTS teacher Savannah Williams shares the benefits of this renovation.

“They are changing our kitchens from a home style kitchen, where we have lots of cabinets, to a more open, industrial style like you would find in a restaurant,” she said. “We’re moving from the home based kitchens to industry level, because we are trying to create students who are wanting to go off into the future and do something in the world of culinary.”

“Everything is brand new,” she shared. “Baking and Pastry is our most popular class that we offer and [new] heating machines will speed up the time that it takes for our yeast to activate.”   

In order to expand, something had to give and in this case it was the Fixed Forum.

“The Fashion, Interior Design, [and] Child Development classes are moving into there and it’ll connect my classroom,” Williams said. “It’s definitely going to be a bigger space, but it won’t allow for more students, just because having more than 24 students would be a lot.”

All these shiny additions will increase engagement by students. “With the remodel, they’re seeing new things that they want, so they’re going to come check it out, and when they see [the advancements,] they’re going to want to take our classes,” she explained. “Our hope is that we are able to produce students who are wanting to go out into the world and do something.”

Jumbotron by paige faulkner

Each new year of school brings changes for the student body at BVHS, but this year in particular brings many exciting upgrades to the school’s athletic facilities. Newly appointed Athletic Director, Jonathan Jost, has been playing a role in communicating with coaches and construction companies about some of the work being done.

“One of the biggest changes this year will be the new video board in the football stadium,” Jost said. “Additionally, we should soon be breaking ground on a new weight room. These will be two great additions to an already great department and facility.”

The video board has already been completed and will certainly bring the hype to the football and boy’s soccer games this fall, but the weight room is just in the early phases of construction.

“The weight room is supposed to start in August and should be done sometime during the school year,” he said. “[It] can always change with construction though. The weather and schedules play a big role.”

The plans for both of these new additions have been in the works for a few years, and each were made possible by various forms of funding.

“[The video boards] are part of a sponsorship with some local businesses,” Jost said. “The district started with boards in the gyms, and now we will have them in all district football stadiums.”

“The weight room has been in the works since the district passed the last bond issue,” Jost explained. “Big additions like these usually take time to plan and get funds together before work actually begins.”

Jost highlights some new changes that will come to outdoor sporting events due to the installation of the video board, saying it “just enhances our already great sports atmosphere.”

“The video board will be keeping up with other districts in the metro. It will have tons of capabilities, including video replay, to enhance all sporting events held in the stadium,” he said. “Video replay will be great for soccer and football games, and the ability to display track results quickly will help the fan and athlete experience at our sporting events.”

The new weight room will be near the west entrance to the south gym, taking the place of the circle drive.

“The weightroom will help all of our athletes by having a better space to train. The footprint [of the old weight room] was limited when it was built,” Jost said. “The space has been great, but has a weird layout. The new weight room will be better suited for athletes and students to train.”

Although the old space will no longer be used for weights, it will still serve an important purpose for the sports teams at BV.

“The [old] weight room is supposed to become a multi-use facility,” Jost said. “We hope to have some meeting space for teams to watch video, as well as some room that can be used for Girls Wrestling in the winter and other sports in other seasons. We are hoping it can be a great space for a lot of people.”

Windows by ben werner

Caution and a side of panic unfolded when staff noticed the safety concerns caused by the 200 and 500 hall flex spaces during lockdowns.

Students and staff in the 200 and 500 rooms had to relocate to another during lockdowns, traversing through the hallway because the windows that lined the classroom’s walls, provided a clear view in,.

“You’re in a situation I hate to think about,” Assistant Principal Mollie McNally said. “I don’t want to cross the hallway; I just want to get somewhere safe behind a door.”

Unlike local middle and elementary schools, which could perform a lockdown by sealing doors in the halls, closing off grade-level pods or areas of the school, closure to the flex spaces was not necessarily possible.

Moreover, the lockdown routine is to lock your door and stay down. If one section of the building strays from protocol, it can confuse people.

Collectively, this posed a threat to students’ security, and construction happened over the summer to install doors as well as remove windows to replace them with walls.

“This is being done to make rooms 226 and 519 lockdown rooms,” McNally said. “The classroomson those sides of the halls can file into those rooms.”

Furthermore, the rooms opposite the renovations in the flex space pose no exception.

“The outer ones are already like that,” McNally said. “Instead of trying to cram a bunch of classes into one, now it’s just three.”

Less effort is required for students and staff to get to safety after great effort was expended to make the school a safer place.

“Everyone can safely get to a room without going in the hallway,” McNally said.