WOODBURY – It’s a refuge between periods. It’s a makeshift bed for the exhausted athlete waiting for a ride. It’s an invitation to have a conversation with a teacher. Every passing period many students walk by the “bench.”
Added to the building following NHS’ 2020 building renovation, the bench means a multitude of things to a multitude of students. The lobby just outside of the auditorium is a place where students and teachers can congregate, but its significance is a difficult thing to measure.
Many students at Nonnewaug high school enjoy sitting on the bench, talking to friends during passing periods, doing work while sitting on a chair-much more comfortable than a chair in the regular classroom.
Freshman Harriet Balius and Cadence Sweeney sit on the bench mostly during the fifth period, and choose to sit on the bench to focus more on work.
“It’s definitely way more comfier than the classroom,” Balius and Sweeney said. “In our classroom a lot goes on and my brain just can’t focus. It’s just easier to sit out here. Less noise, and definitely quieter.”
Alternately, Junior student at Nonnewaug, Jadyn Heron feels that the bench acts as a place to get together with friends between periods.
“The bench is almost like a meeting place, I always meet my friends there after class during the passing period,” Heron said. “I like to sit there between classes and study hall because I get to see my friends who walk by, talk to them. I sit there after lunch before I go back to class just to reset and take a minute. It’s just fun to talk to people who I wouldn’t normally talk to and don’t see in my classes.”
Although “the bench” is a highly accessible and flexible refuge for students, it has presented challenges to students and staff.
Senior Noah Zupan sits on the bench a lot between class periods before the bell and after lunch. He doesn’t understand why the administration is putting a lockdown on no students on the bench.
“Why make a bench and a nice area to relax and take a break if we aren’t allowed to sit there,” Zupan said.
But the question all of these students have is: What is the reason students are not able to sit on the infamous “bench?”
Assistant Principal, Declan Curtin isn’t opposed to having a place to sit for students, but there are many factors that get in the way of having a seating area.
“I agree with the concept of a senior lounge area, but the biggest issue with that is security,” Curtin said.
With the bench’s high visibility and the lack of adult supervision, Curtin sees the bench as an oasis for students, but only during select times.
“Shepaug Valley High School has a lounge area that ,I believe, is only a privilege for seniors to sit in,” Curtin said. “However, they hire professional security to manage that building since they have to supervise the area. With our bench, it can’t be unsupervised.”
While the bench remains a coveted shared space for students, there’s potential for other areas for students to utilize next year.
“There is very little space right now that is free throughout the entire day,” Curtin said. “There has been some discussion that the life skills room could be used as an area for a lounge for students, or will become a teacher lounge. The problem with that is, sometimes we want to hold that space in case there is a student coming in who would need that room.”
With every classroom occupied and space already at a premium, “the bench” will continue to be a go-to locale for students until another creative option presents itself. Until then, “the bench” will reign supreme.
“I wish we had a designated space for seniors, maybe we can look into next year if that room is available but not at this moment,” Curtin said.
