Old Halls to New Walls: Students’ Thoughts on Moving Schools
Photo Credit: Yearbook Archives
This year marks the end of an era. At the end of June, students will say goodbye to the school for more than just the summer, as Hamber moves into the new building for the 2024–2025 school year.
Since its opening in 1962, the current school has seen countless school dances, plays, spirit days and events, and holds a lot of memories. As students and staff prepare for the move to the new school, conversation has sparked about what will and will not be missed about the current school and what concerns Hamberites have about the new school.
Mathieu Jung (10) is going to miss the “maze”, the series of hallways surrounding the drama studio. “It’s going to be pretty sad leaving it because of all the memories I have.” Jung said that he had a great time eating lunch in the space, adding that “it was a unique and fun place.”
Mason Liu (9), who expressed a disliking for the maze’s lack of sunlight, will instead be missing the atrium, which he described as feeling more open and pleasant. “It’s really big and it feels fancy there,” he said. Sam Pratt (9) agreed, and will especially miss the concrete bench in the space.
Madi Wong (10), like Liu and Pratt, is a fan of clean, modern interior design, and looks forward to the new school building for this reason. She is worried, however, that it might get too cramped, especially around the school’s new half-size lockers. “I don’t want them to be any smaller!”
Liu agreed with the concern about space in the new school. The new building will be roughly 15,000 square metres in size, which is 26 per cent smaller than it is currently. “I’m worried that [the school] is going to be too small and it’s going to feel super cramped all the time,” he said.
Other than concerns about the size of the new school, students seem hopeful about the move. Jung, Pratt, and Isabella Chen (9) are particularly excited to see the new gym, whether it be for PE class, volleyball, or school events.
The move is a bittersweet close to this chapter of many student’s lives. “I’m sad about leaving the school because I love this building,” Chen said. But she, and many others, are happy to have the chance to be in the new school next year.