Regarding the biggest change to Terra Linda High School’s since its birth, many students and staff have opinions, worries, rumors, and questions. What used to be an ampitheater full of benches where people would sit during lunch and was used for graduations is now under construction for a new building and quad.

Terra Linda Assistant Principal Rob Celli discussed everything needed to be known about both the Quad and Innovation Hub, “We’re going to start from scratch, we’re going to have pathways, we’re going to have places for students to sit. We’re going to have sunshades out there, anything that just invites people to come!” Mr. Celli also explained that, “[The New Quad will have] the music room, the small theater, and the student commons which will AKA be the cafeteria. That’s all the first floor. The second floor will have the library, the college career center, ASB will also be housed in there, (and) the staff lounge… It’s going to be a big part in addition to the center of our campus now.”

So, will the Innovation hub connect to the new theater room? “There will be doors that you can walk out and then walk into the new building, but I don’t know if there will be a covered hallway to be able to move freely in between the two and really the only time they would ever do that is for theater and music during performances: They could warm up and then actually move into the performance hall without being seen. They will be able to do that just through the back or some of the backstage doors but I don’t know if they will be connected per se.”

Another big question is when the Innovation Hub will be complete? Mr. Celli remarks, “We look at each project as about 2 years old… We’re probably about a year and a half away from completion.” 

Mr. Celli also noted how much this will impact the school stating,“When you look at it overall, this (The New Innovation Hub and Quad) is the biggest change this campus has seen since it was first built… And they’re not done! Once that building is done, they’re going to take down the cafeteria and the temporary library and that’s gonna be a new gym.”

Mr. Celli concluded the interview saying, “I mean one of the things when we talked about landscaping, you wanna think that when everything’s done, the whole interior of our campus will be re-landscaped… We have the innovation hub, you have the new student commons, library, music, theater; that will all tie in to the performance hall as well, and then the new gym will also redo how the front of the school looks, so it will just have a much more welcoming atmosphere at TL. Since 1960, you guys are seeing the (school’s) biggest change.”

While most are excited for future changes, some are perhaps disappointed that they have to deal with the construction and have it get in the way of their life at TL. Junior Nicole Service recalls her Freshman year where she would have lunch in the quad saying, “When they pulled everything out, I had nowhere else to sit, so I went behind the school to the tennis courts, and then after that it started to get cold so my friends and I would bounce from class to class to class to class… It was really frustrating.” Senior Joel Lavallee shared that the construction work, “…is definitely in the way, especially because we used to stand out there at break and especially eat lunch Sophomore year.”

The new changes  are bound to cause some controversy for all the people who come here daily. Some want to keep it the way it was to cherish the past, while others are excited for change. However, with how old this school is a new exciting building is needed to keep the school new and fresh. All of TL would love to thank the construction workers for their hard work and risking injuries just so we can have a brand new building we can call our own! Thank you very much for your service, time, sacrifice, and dedication in making Terra Linda High School better than before!