Crescent Heights High School students Dax Savard and Cassidy Maerkl-Harvey are seen on their laptops in the school's cafe after it received upgraded seating and tables as well as a new projection screen and renovations to its student kitchen.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Crescent Heights High School students have an updated cafeteria space to hang-out, eat and study this semester following summer renovations that include new seating and tables, a large wall monitor and a modernized kitchen space.
New comfortable blue coloured seating and matching tables provide a “post-secondary” atmosphere along with a brighter screen used for sharing daily announcements and school news.
“I do think it has that post-secondary feel. One of our challenges of a Grade 7-12 school is sometimes the high school kids feel like they’re still in junior high,” explains principal Shonna Barth. “So we wanted to make sure that they felt a little bit more mature.”
Previously the school’s cafeteria was outfitted with large fold-up tables. Now students can find a variety of seating opinions, including booth-style seating similar to restaurants that creates a more inviting and inclusive space for students.
Barth explains the school hopes the changes will foster a sense of belonging and encourage students to spend their lunch hour on campus.
“We wanted to show high school students that it’s a place you can hang out and be comfortable and feel a sense of belonging here.”
Similar to the fold-style chairs and tables used in the past, the new seating and tables are easy to move, allowing the space to be used for dances or silent auctions for the theatre.
“We can still do that in there, but we just wanted kids to be able to do some work, work in groups or just hang out and chill,” says Barth.
It’s also a space to grab a bite to eat. New kitchen renovations include new energy efficient ovens and steam table as well as a stainless steel countertop used to serve students.
The school employs a sous chef who works with students who are interested in pursuing culinary arts and provides its students a hand-on opportunity to earn school credits and work toward their apprenticeship to become a Red Seal chef.
“I am teaching this student some culinary business,” explains Hector Valle, sous chef. “He is learning how to run the facility and how to serve his customers, how to clean up after himself and prep and serve food.”
The kitchen offers students a variety of healthy food choices on its menu and also serves up students’ favourites like pizza and fries. The school also has a partnership with Breakfast Canada that allows them to charge students only a minimal price.
“We do our best to make sure there’s lots of good choices and they’ve (kitchen staff) really upped their game,” says Barth, who explains that students are more aware of what’s in the food they eat.
Last year, Grade 8 design and discovery students pitched the idea of updating the cafeteria to school staff and helped with its design process.
