Students get sneak peek at changes to Naperville Central
Many Naperville Central students see a bright future after touring the building for the first time Tuesday evening.
They liked the freshly painted bright walls but most of them commented on the high levels of natural lighting allowed into the building through increased glass ceilings and windows.
Senior Safa Dada compared the hallways just outside of the new commons and cafeteria area to the original hallways near the north addition.
"All of the hallways used to be dark and dingy like those, so it's awesome that it's so bright now," Dada said. "It will definitely wake everyone up in the morning."
Junior David Oliver agreed.
"It's cool to see what they've done and how everything is arranged by floor," he said. "But by far, the biggest single change is how bright it is in here."
For Dylan Rogers, a freshman, he's never known another Naperville Central so what he thinks "looks really cool" isn't even recognizable to his older brother Kyle, a junior.
"This isn't even like the same school," Kyle said while standing in the new Learning Resource Center that was once a cafeteria. "It's going to be awesome."
A genuine excitement among high schoolers about returning to school in the fall is not always common but junior Shaza Loutfi insists it's real.
"We're all excited to see what has been done for us. We're excited about new modern classrooms. We're excited about this commons area overlooking the fields where we can hang out in the morning before class," Loutfi said. "We're just seeing it all now, but I'm sure we'll be more awe-struck as we see and learn more about this place as the year goes on."
When classes resume at 7:45 a.m. (this morning) about 3,000 students will return to the school at 440 W. Aurora Ave. with a three-story, $87.7 million addition that will house all major subject areas. It also will have infrastructure upgrades, a new learning resource center, new athletic and music spaces, improved traffic flow inside and out and synthetic turf on the football field.