The ribbon was cut last Thursday on a new outdoor patio just off the cafeteria at the East Hampton High School that has shaded lunch tables with built-in seating, along with multiple charging stations with outlets and USB ports.
Although a statewide school cellphone ban is set to take effect in the fall, students will be able to charge their laptops and work outside.
“This is 15 years in the making,” the district’s superintendent, Adam Fine, said at the ribbon cutting, adding that until now, the school had been lacking an area like this. “It’s a great outside environment for learning, for kids to socialize, for the community to use, so I couldn’t be more pleased.”
Melanie Vizcaino, Stella Brecker, Saffron Zeff, Maya Taveras, and Griffin Beckman, all juniors and leaders of the East Hampton High School student association, were on hand last Thursday; Griffin had the honor of cutting the ribbon with a pair of oversized scissors.
“I think we’re all just really excited,” Saffron said after the ribbon cutting. “We’re juniors, so we got to see the school when this space wasn’t utilized for anything, and now that it is, it’s really exciting that we get to use it and the years coming up get to use it as well.”
“When you think about this as an outdoor space for learning, for eating, for gathering, and just these sails where you’re in the shade, it’s just a great opportunity,” Mr. Fine said.
“The best thing I can say is that it’s great for the kids,” the school board president, J.P. Foster said. “I mean, I wish I had this when I was in high school.”
The district used capital reserve funds for this project. Following voters’ approval in May, it will tap the same fund to renovate the playground at the John M. Marshall Elementary School and construct a new science research lab at the high school.