Column: Worthington Middle School in midst of plenty of planning

• District 518

District 518

Talk about it

WORTHINGTON — There is a lot happening at Worthington Middle School these days. Not only will basketball, gymnastics, hockey and wrestling be starting soon, but all of our clubs are busy with activities and charitable work. Many of our students are also involved in dance, swimming, ice skating, youth groups and much, much more.

The biggest thing happening this year is all of the planning we are doing for the additions to the Middle School and the move of the fifth-graders from Prairie Elementary to WMS next year. So far, most of those things are going on behind the scenes. Floor plans are being drawn and redrawn so that we can get the most out of the spaces we are adding. There have been discussions about brick color, carpet, tile, lights, technology and bathrooms. The list goes on and on. Soon the bidding process will begin with a final board decision expected in February.

You can look forward to a whole new look to the front of the building and a more secure entrance. What is now the front, or east, courtyard will be filled in to become the new office area. Any visitors to the building will have to come through the office to check-in before going to any other part of the building. The current office space will be remodeled into some classrooms and offices for our Special Education department. The back courtyard, on the west side of the building, will be filled in with eight to 10 classrooms.

That’s the easy part. We still have to figure out what teachers will be making the move. Mr. Besel and I have asked teachers at both WMS and PES if they are interested in making a voluntary switch to a different building or grade level and will have that worked out very soon. Then we can start talking about scheduling, specialist classes, lunch, recess and curriculum. We also will need to determine the placement of the grade levels throughout the building. Don’t tell the teachers, but they probably all will be in different classrooms next year. We need to take into account the flow of traffic, location of lockers and still keep the older students separated from the younger students as much as possible during the day.

It’s a lot to think about, but it certainly is exciting. Everyone at WMS is excited about and supportive of the move. We are looking forward to adding some wonderful new members to our already incredible staff, and what fun it will be to have all of those fifth-graders coming through our doors. It will be a lot of work, but it will be a great benefit to the students and families of our community.

If you have any questions, or if you’d like to see some drawings of what we have planned, please stop in and I’d be glad to show you what’s in store for WMS next year.

Jeff Luke is principal of Worthington Middle School.

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