A whole new way to look at school life

Window for main office provides window on WMS world

CATHERINE H., Watertown Splash staff
January 15, 2015

    New school years bring new activities, new learning methods, and new facilities. For those returning to Watertown Middle School, they might walk past the main office and wonder, “Why is there a hole in the office wall?”

    In place of the trophy display near the lobby, there is now a window, about 4 feet by 5 feet, looking into the office.

    As one of Mr. Coppi’s last school projects before his retirement, he helped with the shelves and painting in the third week of August.

    Security is one of the main reasons this new setup is being used. It is easier for those in the office to see people coming into the building from the new window.

     It also removes the need for a volunteer to watch the door all day, directing parents and guardians to the office. When kids come into school tardy, it is easier to deal with the crowd this new way, instead of having them all come into the office.

    At the moment, parents still need to go into the office, but soon there will be telephones and a computer at the window.

     As if it can’t get any fancier, one-way windows will be installed as part of the security measures. The window will allow those in the office to see out, but people can’t see in. It will slide open, so if there is a need to see the person in the office or collect papers, a person can do so without needing to go into the office.

   Where did all the trophies go, you ask? Right now, they are on top of the teacher mailboxes and varies shelves in the office, but they will be put back in the display case and moved to the bare wall opposite the door to the courtyard.

    “We still have the trophy case,” said principal Kimo Carter, “and we will be moving it outside. It will be installed the same day as the sliding windows, probably.”

    This way, the inside office will be less cluttered with awards scattered here and there.

     So the next time you are walking to band class, or to lunch, or get called to the office, keep an eye out for the changes in and around the office. Especially the soon-to-be one way glass windows.

–Jan. 14, 2015–