by Esther Animalu, contributing reporter
Mounds and mounds of construction work, ripping tiles, restoring wood, and plastering the floor, the gymnasium is under maintenance for the whole year.
WJPS is not the only school dealing with this construction work, however I.S. 25 is taking the heat too. This tedious construction work is destroying the physical education of active students.
Although correcting the gym’s sudden errors is beneficial for the students’ renovation of energetic space, many are skeptical of what exactly triggered the destruction. They also wonder why the gym is being constructed very early into the school year, when the yearly Fitnessgram is soon to occur, and modifying the entire gym could’ve transpired months back.
Many feel that students shouldn’t be deprived of their vital area of physical activity.
“The only thing that kind of annoys me is that its not guaranteed that we’ll play activities everyday, because we don’t have a lot of space. It might not always be suitable to go outside because of the weather,” freshman Robyn Landolfi said.
Students as well as the physical education teachers are fed up with these infractions that are greatly affecting the space and scenery that students encounter during gym class.
The annual winter break is around the bend, therefore it is seemingly critical that our P.E. teachers test as many students as possible for the Fitnessgram in order for students to get involved in more fundamental activities.
“I think the gym construction operations are a positive thing, having a brand new gym is something that would put the school more in shape. But the only thing is that I don’t like how it’s somewhat getting in the way of our physical education,” freshman James Panagakos said.
Additionally, the construction in the gym is making testing the physical strength of students much slower and uncomfortable. As a result making the phys ed teachers assess and concoct physical activities to a limited amount of students at a time, rather than all at once.
Students must now succumb to having “gym class” in the auditorium. Occasionally students are brought outside for gym class, however winter is steadily approaching, meaning often the weather is unpredictable and harsh.
“I’m disappointed because we’ll be cooped up in the auditorium for most of the time. Even though we’re able to go outside, what if rains or snows? Which means we won’t play any physical activities and just stay inside,” freshman Larraine Casey said.
Since an abundant portion of the gym is under construction, students are unable to engage in team activities such as basketball, soccer, kickball etc. In the auditorium, everyone is clustered together and students would knock into one another if these sports were to take place. As a result, developing good teamwork skills among the students is not actively practiced during the period of physical education.
“I think it’s a positive thing because it will improve the school and there will be more benefits to any gym activities that will be occurring in the future,” eighth grader Gregory Gravador said.
According to helium.com, teamwork is essential to a smooth running society. In many instances, teams fall apart and the impact can range from collaborating ideas to the dissolution of the school itself.
Taking the subject of teamwork seriously is vital. Ineffective teamwork can negatively impact students cooperation as well as their communication skills between teachers and their peers in general.
Moreover, students are unable to change into their gym uniform, as a result, they must now come to school in their gym clothes and stay in them until the school day is over.
“It also bothers me that we wont have locker rooms to change into our gym clothes, we’ll have to come to school in our gym uniform and stay like that the whole day,” freshman Beatrice Igboekwe said.
Many may agree that the construction inside of the gym is advantageous because it’s making the gymnasium in tip top shape, however correcting hardwood errors shouldn’t be happening during the school year for all of the students. This may result into safety accidents, rerouting exits during urgent drills, and altercations among students due to the feeling of being crammed.
“The gym construction is kind of outrageous because, they’re fixing it during the school year. I don’t understand why the gym couldn’t be renovated over the summer. In order for it to not interfere with other students’ physical education,” freshmen Autumn Legunas said.
Instead of the students concentrating and giving their undivided attention to the P.E. teachers, all their curiosity is going towards other irrelevant things as they ponder about why the construction happening inside couldn’t be solved earlier in order to prevent invasion of the gym.
“It kinda worries me that we won’t have a gymnasium for a long while, because if it’s cold, raining or even snowing outside then we would have to stay inside and basically do nothing for the rest of the period,” freshmen Melanie Salazar said.
In the long run, the construction or as multiple students may refer to it as the destruction, that’s taking place inside the gymnasium is affecting the physical activity for students as well as teachers. It’s seemingly unpleasant to seal errors in the gym while the students are yearning to start to conduct physical education like how it once was before.
“I think that the construction is a huge positive thing. Getting a new, fresh start is always good. The gym was old, outdated, and in dire need of repair,” phys ed teacher Mr. Maroney said.
Likewise, the faculty and staff wouldn’t agree with having a giddy clown in the front of the room performing intriguing tricks during a prestigious state math exam. In similarity, physical education should be looked upon as just important as any other curriculum subject.
Theses abrupt modifications are taking a heavy toll on the gymnasium, physical education teachers, students, and the athletic aspects of the school as a whole.
