The new gym at Parras Middle School has been a wonderful gift and is changing student life a little for the better. There’s a fun exercise room students are eager to use and a rock-climbing wall. If it rains outside, the gym now is large enough to accommodate multiple groups of students for physical activities.
Perhaps most significant is the fact that the gym is large enough to allow for one school assembly whereas in the past, administrators had to hold three separate assemblies. And with a stage attached to the gym, students can now put on productions with parents in attendance as well as their classmates.
However, there aren’t enough seats in the gym.
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The bleachers only hold about 400 students, said Principal Lars Nygren. For a school with 905 students, that means the rest of the students have to sit on the floor. And when parents visit to see a production, that means breaking out the old metal folding chairs to accommodate everyone. Unfortunately, these metal folding chairs not only are uncomfortable, but they also scuff up the brand new gym floor, Nygren said.
So Parras school officials are hoping to do away with the old metal ones and purchase 500 upholstered folding chairs, which are both comfortable and won’t scuff up the wood floor. The donation drive is on.
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The gym’s completion in November was a major milestone for the school, especially the students.
“The kids are really grateful to have it and they always want to go in there,” Nygren said.
The gym, which cost between $3-4 million, and was constructed with a modular design as opposed to brick-and-mortar, is a part of a $145 million bond measure voters approved to modernize the district’s facilities. The gym contains more than 30 skylights, which reduce the need for electricity. Renovation of Parras will continue this summer when the library is remodeled.
