Students getting final look at portions of Naperville Central

Once the sledgehammers start swinging at the end of the month, Naperville Central High School will never look the same.

That's why the school is giving current and former students the chance to tour the halls they roamed before crews begin gutting the school's three-story wing as part of a major renovation project.

"We're really giving people a last look at the old building as they might have known it," said Lynne Nolan, dean of student activities.

Tours will be offered from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 25, at the school, 440 W. Aurora Ave.

For alumni who may want a souvenir of their old stomping grounds, there will be a garage sale at the event with old yearbooks, dance memorabilia, dishes from culinary classes and more.

Some of the bigger memorabilia, such as classroom doors and a few pieces of Redskins gear - the school's nickname before switching to Redhawks - will be available at an auction from 3 to 8 p.m. June 13 at VFW Post 3873, 908 W. Jackson Ave., Naperville.

Proceeds from the garage sale and auction will go toward the school's Honor Garden, an outdoor space that will serve as a memorial to members of the Central community who have died. The Honor Garden also will have a special sensory area for special needs students and performance space.

Central families and alumni who attend Tuesday's tour and garage sale can share their memories of the building on videotape, adding to a documentary being produced by communications teacher Keith Carlson and his students. Nolan also hopes to create an archive for the school organized by decade and said Tuesday's event is a perfect time for reminiscing.

"For so many graduates who are in our community and haven't been back here, it's fun when they come back and the memories start flooding back," she said.

Crews broke ground on the $87.7 million renovation project last May. The work includes a three-story addition that will house all major academic subjects as well as a new kitchen and cafeteria. In the old building, crews will relocate and update the learning resource center, reduce building entrances, create new athletic and music spaces and upgrade infrastructure.

Last fall, workers replaced the old football field with synthetic turf and created an eight-lane track around it.

Students in recent days have been signing the school walls they know will soon be coming down. In fact, they'll have a chance to help bring the walls down themselves. On Wednesday, the school will hold a "Bash the Building" event in which students can pay $2 for two swings of the sledgehammer.

Proceeds from that event also will go toward the Honor Garden as well as the Give Global 203 program that gives loans to entrepreneurs in less fortunate countries.

For more information on the tour, garage sale or auction contact Nolan at lnolan@naperville203.org.