Classes Move into New Science Classroom

After six long months of waiting, Las Lomas eased the burden on its crowded campus. The new science classroom is finished.

“Even before the STEM movement in our society and the high interest in taking science, there was a need and a recognition that Las Lomas needed additional science classrooms,” said Principal Matt Campbell.

“All our rooms were used every single day, 100 percent. There was no more room to add more. So, the district felt that it was appropriate to give us a room,” said Mr. Morgan.

Science department chair Jeff Merken saw great benefit in having another science classroom.

Las Lomas had only had six science labs and needed another with the components of a typical lab science room. Since science classrooms have specific needs such as lab tables, science courses cannot be told in just any classroom.

“It actually helps a lot in the science department. We’re still going to be moving or sharing classrooms. Three teachers will have their own classroom and the rest of us will be sharing,” Merken said.

Scheduling classes and teachers into classrooms is complicated for administrators.

“Class size is not something we can control. That’s something that’s sort of set in stone because that’s dictated not by how many rooms we have, but by how many teachers, how many sections we have of each class,” said Associate Principal Dave Granzotto. “Even though we have so many teachers and so many sections of like biology or whatever, they don’t have their own space to teach it in.

The new classroom is being used by science teacher Jessie Polivka, and she is the sole teacher using it.

“I was so excited about it but it’s also been a lot of work getting all the science supplies put away and unpacked, but my students helped and it was awesome,” she said. “We got it done in two periods.”

Polivka is relieved to finally have her own classroom to teach in.

“Oh my gosh, it makes it so much easier because all my stuff is in one spot and so I don’t have to move classrooms right now and I can be really organized,” she said.

Polivka plans to give the room a calm atmosphere when she decorates it.

“The lights dim so I’m gonna dim the lights and like hang some little Christmas lights and stuff to make it peaceful.” she said. “There’s a lot of space, so they’re excited,” Polivka said, regarding her students.

Junior Nessa Ordukhani was anxious to move into the new classroom once she found out Polivka was teaching in it.

“You know, it’s kind of cool being in a new place with, like, new facilities,” Ordukhani said. “It’s more spacious.

The new classroom has all of the components of a typical high school science room, such as lab tables, eye wash station, etc.

The cost of the classroom and the landscape surrounding it was approximately $1 million dollars.