Last year, the construction around campus was an unmistakable staple of our school that we greeted everyday, and it’s finally coming to a close this year. The addition to the science building is being utilized to its full potential, but students are still left unsure as to why the front entrance of the school was renovated entirely. With changes to where each office is located and how students enter the school – the students were definitely kept in mind when making these key changes to campus.

“Really there was the security aspect and then the functionality of the front office,” principal John Sloan said.  “The design wasn’t the most functional either, and so now with the redesign we have an attendance office and a receptionist area that are both accessible for anybody coming into the school. You don’t have to walk into the other hallway to get to the attendance office.”

The reworking of the reception system allows for a greater sense of control of who comes into the building, and who goes out. CPHS takes school safety a step beyond the campus building’s integrity, though. With these architectural changes come revamped safety policies for the faculty that make the safety of our students a top priority.

“They’re putting alarms on all the doors so if doors are propped open an alarm will sound to alert us that a door is propped open,” Sloan said. “Because with the front vestibule, that front area is secured, but if doors are propped open around campus, then it quickly negates any security that we have.” 

Along with these security implementations, Sloan addressed how the staff themselves can ensure student safety.

“Really the biggest thing is the human factor and having eyes and ears and people on campus that are looking for any signs of potential threats or a potentially unsafe situation, making sure that if you see something you say something,” Sloan said.

Safety is one of the many aspects we take great pride in here at CPHS, and even if the changes are confusing to some, they were made with the students in mind.