Home of the Eagles

Mary Denise O’Brien and Doris Williamson stood in West Valley High’s newly remodeled commons area and joked about the school’s new cafeteria seats.

“You could use that as a planter,” Williamson said to O’Brien rather seriously. “You could put that out on the porch and use that as a planter, put a pot on that, maybe paint it.”

O’Brien thought about her friend’s comment and then responded: “Except I wouldn’t do it.”

“No, me neither,” Williamson agreed and they both erupted in laughter.

The pair visited the school’s campus last week at an open house. O’Brien, 79, and Williamson, 80, are graduates of the West Valley High, class of 1945. The longtime friends were meeting other alumni from their class to tour the school together – a sort of minireunion.

Waiting for their classmates, they sat near the two-story, glass-enclosed granite and marble archway at the school’s entrance, preserved from the original 1924 school, complete with carved reliefs and two solemn owl statues at the top. The words “West Valley High School 1924,” is carved on the base of the column on the left side of the arch with “West Valley High School 2007,” carved on the other.

Several architectural elements from what the ladies refer affectionately as the “old school” were preserved and used in the new building, a project that finished under budget and on time, taking two years and $31 million to complete.

The reception to the building has been warm, said district spokeswomen Sue Shields.

“A lot of “oohs” and “ahs” and “how cools” – that sort of thing,” Shields said. The school has about 800 students enrolled this semester but the now larger campus can fit approximately 1,200 students.

For the last two years, West Valley High students studied in a construction site, dealing with shared facilities, chilly outdoor walkways and hallways crowded with construction workers. But the inconvenience was well worth it, according to the students.

“It’s amazing. I love it,” said Laura Larson, 16. “I feel really lucky.” Larson volunteered at the open house as apart of the school’s Link Crew, an organization that helps freshmen to become oriented with the school.

“I think the school was overdue for a nice remodel,” she said. A junior at West Valley, Larson remembers the start of construction during her freshman year.

“It was really crazy … fire alarms would go off 10 times a day,” Larson said about the construction. She does not miss having to walk outside in the cold to get to classes.

Sophomore Kelly Losavito agrees.

“We don’t have to run outside, we actually have hallways to maneuver through,” she said as she waited in the cafeteria line with her friends on the first day of school Wednesday. She also approves of the school’s new campus. “It’s awesome!

“We actually have a cafeteria!” she said, laughing. Last year, students had to eat in the gym while the commons area was being remodeled. Besides the cafeteria, Losavito’s other new favorite area is the theater, which has been expanded by 275 seats to a capacity of 405. A new banister guides visitors to the seats. It is made of marble salvaged from the original campus theater window sills. Two granite peacock reliefs, also saved from the old building, decorate dark paneling on opposite ends of the room.

“Oh my god, I love it,” said Losavito, who can’t wait to perform with the drama class in the new theater. Last year the class had to perform in the school’s choir room.

Mary Pat King, who teaches art and pottery at West Valley, will have to argue that one of the best rooms in the building is hers.

The black and orange sign on her door reads, “Welcome to the most incredible art room ever.”

“I feel so spoiled,” she said, adding that project manager Dave Smith gave her permission to request the structures and equipment she needed. With rows of new shelving for materials and huge windows providing lots of light, King, said she is in love with the room. She even has a clothes washer and dryer for washing towels from plaster projects. “For when they spill their lattes on their shirts in the morning,” she joked.

Shields said Smith’s 16 years of dedication to the school district is what made this project so successful. He stepped down as superintendent to be the project manager.

“Knowing the people, knowing the culture, knowing the kids – he knew just what to do … I think that’s why everyone’s been so happy,” she said.

There are still a few snags left to take care of. The textbook distribution room wasn’t ready yet, so students went to the library media center to get their books.

The empty trophy case was waiting on the trophies, which were still in storage. But nobody seemed to mind.

“So far from what I’ve seen, it’s beautiful,” O’Brien had said at the open house. Although the school now has flashes of orange and black everywhere, the school colors were different when O’Brien attended the “old school,” now the location of an Albertsons at Trent Avenue and Argonne Road.

“I still have my school sweater, burgundy with a white eagle. I can still wear it,” she said.

O’Brien and Williamson greeted other classmates with hugs and clutched hands.

“They’ve changed so much,” Williamson said, laughing. “All gray here now.”

She recognized the familiar granite peacocks from her high school, back in 1945, and touched one of the gray theater seats.

“I hope the kids take care of it. The seats are so nice.”