Post #10 – Junior High Gymnasium

Post #10 – Junior High Gymnasium

Eagle Vision II

The high school gymnasium is currently used for state mandated Physical Education classes for both junior high and high school students.  This gym is also used for sporting event competitions and training/practice sessions for all high school indoor extra-curricular sports.   Typical Physical Education class sizes are in excess of 100 students per session.  Whenever possible PE classes are conducted outside to provide adequate space and opportunities for students to participate.  However, during inclement weather days, classes must be conducted indoors.  Physical Education instructors work diligently to provide meaningful and challenging PE sessions on these days, but find it extremely difficult to effectively engage 100+ students in such a small facility.  Before and after school hours, the gym is utilized for high school athletics training sessions and competitions.   Because of the multiple sports utilizing this gym, the gym is typically booked on school days from 6 to 8am, and 4 to 9pm daily; and 8am to 4pm on weekends.  The gyms are also used for spring sports practices (softball, baseball, tennis, and track) on inclement weather days.  Many times, practices must be cancelled for some of these sports.  

High school sports activities completely occupy the gym schedule, therefore Junior high students are forced to utilize the Newton Elementary gym and multi-purpose room for their practices and competitions.  Those students are transported from the JH/HS to NE daily for practices.   Similarly, the available gym time at Newton Elementary is consumed by junior high athletics.  Consequently there is not adequate gym time available to handle extra-curricular sports practices and competitions for 5th and 6th grade students, or to host after school sports activity programs.

To address these deficiencies the Renovation and Expansion Project scope would include the addition of a second smaller gymnasium on the JH/HS campus. This gym size will include a regulation size gymnasium with seating for approximately 600 fans (current high school gym seating capacity = 1,200.)  This second gym will:

• Provide a dedicated gym and locker rooms for junior high students participating in Physical Education classes, and will thus minimize the interface between junior high and high school students in both PE classes and locker rooms.  
• Provide additional gym space to conduct meaningful indoor Physical Education classes for both junior high and high school students.
• Eliminate the need / cost to transport junior high students to NE for practices, saving approximately $10,000 / yr. in transportation costs.  
• Allow some overflow of high school sports practice sessions to the JH gym, while strictly maintaining separation between JH and HS students.  This option should minimize the need for early morning and late evening training sessions for these students.
• Allow Newton to host conference tournaments for both IESA (junior high) and high school sports activities, reducing team transportation costs and generating some ticket office revenue for these events.
• Allow the Newton Elementary gym to be utilized for 5th and 6th grade extra-curricular sporting events and Elementary student after school sports programs.

A conceptual building drawing of the overall JH/HS facility layout is shown below followed by an expanded cut-out of the planned Junior High Gymnasium.