As summer comes to a close, TJ welcomes its students back to a newly improved school.
The TJ gym was completely gutted and replaced during the summer.
While Spartans have taken time off and enjoyed their summer vacations, work crews have been laboring with renovations and construction underway on the gym, parking lot, heating system, main office upgrades, and in the auditorium. TJ’s recent 50th anniversary has lead to improvement projects in and around many of the school’s most frequently used areas, and the replacement of many of its original fixtures.
The gym floor was scrapped nearing the close of the 2010-2011 school year with crews working to install the new one throughout the summer. Replacing the floor proved to be a harder task than was planned when the old floor was pulled up and revealed an uneven surface. Construction crews have worked diligently with the school to solve the gym’s surface problems as well as to put in much safer, new bleachers. The original bleachers posed a hazard to sporting event crowds, and were past their prime. TJ put in new brown and gold bleachers that are more crowd friendly with smaller steps and handrails. The school hopes the new floor and bleachers will create a more positive year within sports and evoke more spirit within the crowd. “We got a one hundred percent face lift in the gym. The new bleachers will be much safer and more comfortable for the crowd. I think the remodeling will also draw larger crowds and create more enthusiasm in the fans. We haven’t had a new floor or bleachers in 50 years, so I’m pretty excited about it,” said Basketball Coach Grant Laman.
New blacktop was installed in all the TJ parking lots.
Perhaps the highest area of travel at TJ, the parking lots, also received a makeover this summer. The parking lot once marked with potholes is now a thing of the past. Construction crews near the beginning of the summer break unearthed the cracking and eroding parking lot and repaved it with fresh new asphalt. The spaces and markings were repainted, speed bumps were remade, and new signs were installed. The school aims at having smoother ride in and out of school each day for its students, parents, and faculty members. “We were in desperate need of a new parking lot. I think the new parking lot is awesome; the ride into school will be much less bumpy and it looks great,” says Assistant Principal Scott Lessard. The seniors were also thankful for a new, pristine pallet for their personalized senior parking spots, which they were able to decorate prior to the opening of school.
The school’s heating system also received drastic improvements over the summer, repairing and replacing vents and heating units. “All the renovations and work around the school pales in comparison to the amount of money and time spent on the heating upgrades. It cost over 1.8 million dollars. The school will be much more comfortable this winter,” said Lessard.
The TJ auditorium was not left out of all the upgrades, receiving an updated sound system, lighting system, and a new electronically controlled curtain for its stage. For many of the shows put on by TJ’s drama department in the past, sound equipment was rented. TJ’s auditorium now is equipped with a new sound system and sound booth. “We got an all new state of the art stereo with all new amps and a new digital soundboard. The speakers are 15000 watts and are concert quality. They are truly amazing,” says Theatre Director Michael Palmieri.
A new electronic stage curtain system enhances the Spartan auditorium.
The lighting system in the auditorium doubled in size with new LED lights and overhead stage lights. “We can control each light in the auditorium from 0% to 100% brightness which is great for shows. The students this year get to work with so many more aspects with lighting. We also got a new backdrop screen and lights to create different backgrounds and moods,” said Palmieri.
The old curtain in the auditorium was held up by counter weights that were manipulated during shows by students. The new curtain is held up and moved electronically. “The new curtain is much safer and smoother for students to work with this year. It is completely computer controlled and touch screen navigated,” said Palmieri.
