With the Performing Arts (“B”) Building packed up in mid-December, students and faculty officially said goodbye to the last structure from the original 1960s Skyline. Choir, Theatre, and Instrumental Music had to be out by December 15, creating tight windows for their winter performances.
The mid-year move was planned so that construction can be completed by the start of school in Fall 2026. During winter break, the B Building underwent asbestos abatement, preparing it to begin tear down in January. If all goes well, new classrooms and stages will be ready for use in August.
Some are skeptical, however, that the main auditorium will be finished. “I think that we’ll get a new auditorium, if we’re lucky, January [2027] […] just based off looking at how Cyprus was able to build and their auditorium still isn’t fully functional,” Dance teacher Kristin Breding said. She added, “If it is [completed] and all of our dreams are fully actualized and everything comes, it’ll be so wonderful truly, because then the kids will be able to have this new space and finally have this home where they can perform and express themselves, but I’m kind of planning on it not being open.”
Regardless, the current situation has left the Performing Arts displaced and has created less parking spots and drop off space. Choir classes are now held in the testing center, Instrumental Music has been pushed to the cardio room, and Theatre is relocated to the SBO room. All of the programs, as well as Dance, will be proceeding with their spring performances thanks to the help of surrounding spaces and schools. For example, Skyline Drama’s play The Hunting Party will be having a six show run during February in Olympus’ black box. Similarly, Dance Company, Dance Ensemble, and the Ballroom Team will perform their spring concerts on Churchill’s stage.
The construction development led the main faculty parking lot to be fenced off. This also created reduced student parking, a further away drop off line, and a new walking route from the parking lot. The new route takes students down a metal ramp and around the football field’s outer track. “I feel like a mouse going through the little gates,” Senior Serenity Kunz explained. “I don’t mind, because that’s the only way I can get in, but when it’s so cold in the morning and it’s dark and it’s icy…” While the situation is not ideal, it means that the Skyline community will be able to have full parking starting in fall.
Beyond parking, Skyline will also see a shift with location changes for events such as RISE Lunches and assemblies. The lunches will be held in the testing center and become ticketed. Free tickets should be available from teachers and RISE Ambassadors in the week prior to an event.
Assemblies will be held in the gym, similar to how the Hello Day assembly was structured earlier this year. SBO Assemblies Chair Brooke Vorwaller said, “It’s actually kind of easier, just ‘cause with the new technology in the gym, I’m able to just aux things straight off my phone. […] I think what’s hard about the gym is there’s not really a stage. There’s less seating, for sure, so I feel like less kids show up. But, plus, the fun thing about having a stage is everyone can see the same. They have the same view of what’s going on, but with the gym, it’s hard to know which way to face so that everyone can see what’s going on.”
As construction comes to a close and anticipation grows for the new building, the impact of the old building lingers. As a member of Dance Company, Vorwaller said, “I keep picturing that I’m gonna have my Senior dance showcase in that B Building, but it’s gone.”
The American Sign Language (ASL) classes’ play on December 15 marked the final performance in the old building. Kunz, after a long week packing up costumes, props, and tech for the Theatre department, worked lights for the show. “We were able to sign the stage, and that was kind of final goodbye,” she said.
She added, “I miss it. It had character. It was fun, and I made so many new connections and new friends on that stage, and I learned so much more about myself and what the world, what people, can create. […] It became a nice center and a nice, just, island for those good memories that I can’t not think of the building without thinking of my friends or the shows or what I love about Theatre in general.”
