By: Katherine Callaway
On Friday September 29th, 2023 the news hit that there had been a massive change in the high school. The rain had been very heavy and as a result the cafeteria started to fill with water. Who knew that we were getting a pool! Kidding, the situation was actually quite serious. Building officials made the decision to remove all students from the area and started to plan for the rest of the day. In a twenty-four hour window Port Chester got several inches of rain, most of it pooling at the bottom of the Cafeteria.
However, the flooding in the school affected a small amount of faculty and students as it was well contained. Once word got around to teachers like Mr. Glazer, they were instantly there to help alleviate the situation. Assistant Principal Mrs. Barone felt very grateful for her fellow faculty members. When asked her thoughts on the flooding she said, “Rain allows us to have Rainbows! I am thankful for an amazing faculty and staff that can always find the silver lining, pivot, and ride out any storm”. While Mrs. Barone found light in our situation other teachers like Mr. Guido found humor. When Mr. Guido was asked his opinion on the flooding, he joked “it’s just H2O”. Can you tell he’s a chemistry teacher? On the other hand, some students were happy to hear this news as they thought it might mean early dismissal. Instead of early dismissal the school opted to move lunch to the auditorium. While it is not the most ideal solution since theater classes and Orchestra are normally hosted there, it seemed to work for the day.
As the school day came to an end, everyone came out unharmed. Overall the staff here at the high school did an amazing job with handling the chaos. This day definitely reiterated that PCHS is an older building, and that comes alongside with many issues. It’s definitely a worry to its alumni how the high school will adapt to future weather conditions since over the past few years we have experienced hotter temperatures and more severe storms. This past Friday showed us that the school is clearly not able to handle these new challenges and action should be taken to find a more permanent solution.