By Jolie Jackson
The year-long construction process at Friendswood High School is coming to an end with the start of the new school year.
Many different facilities received larger spaces to conduct learning.
“The renovations in engineering, fine arts, and other areas give kids a learning space that allows them to do a lot more authentic work,” Principal Mark Griffon said. “Those kids get to work on things that they’re passionate about, which will relate to outside the classroom as well.”
Renovations included constructing new areas and moving departments to accommodate larger learning spaces. One example is the band hall moving to the old auditorium and the auditorium moving to a new fine arts building.
“The new band hall has a lot more space to store and practice our instruments,” senior drum major Marina Gerges said. “Last year we did not have a band hall due to construction, so it is very nice being able to have that space to get better.”
According to Griffon, providing students with real-life and spacious outlets in school helps promote learning.
“If kids are doing something in class that they’re passionate about and have interest in, they’re going to want to come to school more and be involved,” Griffon said. “They’re not going to want to miss, and this is the key for us so that their attendance is a hundred percent.”
As an added incentive to boost attendance, the school is bringing back finals and exemptions.
“We used to have finals before COVID but the school felt that the pandemic made everybody too stressed,” attendance monitor Leticia Cantu said. “They did not want to worsen mental health.”
According to Cantu, discontinuing this part of education had negative effects.
“We started hearing from parents that going easy on students in high school was not really helping them in college,” she said. “Students were not ready for the stress that came with studying and being prepared for finals.”
Staff have made these changes and renovations throughout the last year to give students the best chance at success after high school.
“We’re very, very thankful to the community of Friendswood for supporting this construction project because it created great learning spaces for our kids and our teachers,” Griffon said. “It’s going to be a huge positive for the school.”
