Our Sea King Center: The new and improved gym

In recent months there have been many new upgrades to the gym, including a new name: the Sea King Center. 

Other more material upgrades include two new media boards on either side of the gym, new paint, a mural on the outside and a fully updated sound system. 

Associate Principal Dane Hill and Principal Trista Ramirez came up with the new name, intending to make the gym a more versatile place. 

“The space is not just meant to be a gym, but a space where all students can enjoy different things, such as the recent speakers during Red Ribbon Week,” Hill said.

The most noticeable installment are the new media boards on either side of the basketball court. 

Keith Propst, Administrative Assistant for the Athletic Department, has been trained to work the boards during games. 

“It is generally easy to use, however the part that I’m still learning is that there is a website where content is uploaded in order for it to be displayed,” Propst said.

These new improvements have been noticed by people on campus and have a positive impact on campus, especially for athletes. 

“The new paint looks amazing, and the updated sound system and big screens are a cool way to incorporate more school spirit at Class Comps, games and other events,” sophomore Avery Cardenas, an outside hitter on girls’ JV volleyball, said. 

The new screens are also beneficial to students as they make it easier to identify who is playing. 

“When you score they will put your name and number up on the screen sometimes,” said junior Jake Otto, a forward on the boys’ Varsity basketball team. 

“When scouts are watching, the screens help to highlight individual players.”

Despite the numerous upgrades to the gym, some students expressed their desire for more change. 

“Especially during the warmer months of school, some kind of AC system, or overhead fan would be a great addition to the gym,” Cardenas said. 

Audience members cheering at games have also appreciated the new technology. 

“I think that [the gym] is creating excitement within the students and parents. Parents get really excited to see their kids pop up on the screen,” Propst said.

The Creation of the FabLab

With the start of the recent school year, PVHS has seen many new changes on campus, one of the more notable ones being the installation of PVHS’ newest facility: the FabLab. 

With 25 new desktops, a laser cutter, 3D printer, and vinyl cutter, the FabLab was built for one sole purpose— to give everybody the chance to fabricate whatever they want. 

PVIT advisor Lorraine Norris was a major contributor to the process of creating the FabLab. 

“I wanted a digital fabrication area the entire school could use. Students always came up to me asking if they could use the equipment, but the problem was they weren’t in PVIT,” Norris said. 

With the FabLab being open to everyone, Intro to Engineering teacher Jennifer Kim was one of the first to take advantage of it. 

“The technology in that room is a huge upgrade from what we’ve had before,” said Kim. “Everything is running more smoothly with the computers not crashing and loading quicker, which is important for Intro to Engineering classes.”  

Students and staff alike are enjoying the new engineering space. 

“I think it’s amazing that we have access to such powerful equipment and professional licensing of digital software,” freshman Dean Choi said. 

Besides giving all students the chance to dip their hands into engineering, the FabLab also supports the continuing excellence of the PVIT teams.

PVHS hosts a multitude of PVIT teams, and the FabLab will also greatly support all of their endeavors. 

“We wanted a university-level facility because students were doing university-level work. Some of the teams are even competing against universities, so they needed a better facility,” Norris pointed out. 

One such team is ROV, led by junior Andrew Moore. 

“[The FabLab] helps us put all of the machines together. It’s much more convenient than what we had before, and it also comes with new machines that I’m excited to learn more about,” Moore said.

But this is just the start. 

“The FabLab is still not done. We’re still raising money for more equipment,” Norris said. 

With the newly created FabLab and possible future improvements, like-minded students will now be able to gather and make things they are passionate about together.