Students Show Enthusiasm About Construction Progress
December 17, 2015
MHS gave approximately 40 students the opportunity to tour the building addition currently under construction.
The tour took place after the school day on Friday, Nov. 20, and was led by Principal Dr. Anthony Kroll, Science Department Chair Dr. David Greenwood and Project Superintendent Jim Feltz. This was the first time a group of MHS students has been allowed inside the building since construction started.
“I like looking at what’s to come for the future of MHS students and like seeing [the construction’s] progress,” said Ashley Nensel, senior, a student who was a part of the tour on behalf of the yearbook staff. “It’s definitely more modern [than the existing building], with a lot more space. It’s very, very nice, chic and modern.”
Unlike the rest of the school, the majority of the exterior walls of the building addition will be windows.
“The building is designed to use daylight harvesting,” Feltz said on the tour. “Any time it’s too bright outside, the lights in [the building] dim down. When it’s real dark outside, the lights come back up.”
Feltz said that the purpose of this design is to create a space that conserves energy. Another feature of the building is the third-floor patio that is being considered for multiple purposes, such as an outdoor learning space.
The patio is situated on the building south side to maximize the exposure to sunlight.
“It’s going to wind up with a glass hand rail up here and patio pavers, so essentially it’s an outdoor teaching space,” Feltz said.
This will be the only place at MHS with panoramic views of Mundelein. The uniqueness of this building is not only the patio or the design; it’s that the new building will make MHS the only school in Lake County with a modern STEM research facility.
“None of [our neighboring high schools] have a massive physics and engineering labs, none of them have nanotechnology labs, so we’re going to have all of those things,” said AP Biology teacher Jed Doyle.
There are a total of eight new STEM courses available to students that will be in the new building, which will open for the 2016-2017 school year. More information on the classes can be found at www.tinyurl.com/newMHScourses.
Nensel said, “If I were a student next year, I would definitely take the engineering class or the nanotechnology. There are a lot of cool classes I wish I could take, but can’t as a [graduating] senior.”
See behind-the-scene photos of the STEM addition by clicking the link below:
Inside the MHS Construction- slideshow (1)