On Monday, October 17th, Assistant Principal Mr. Parker offered an update on the large construction project outside Door A, a canopy for students, staff, and more.
The canopy is a large project for Penn, but many aspects make it a positive investment. Most importantly, it gives people a place to be covered during Penn’s “three layers of security,” as Mr. Parker exclaimed.
“The first layer is being buzzed in, then showing ID to the staff member, then being buzzed through the second set of doors in the final layer. So if we (Penn) are gonna make people wait outside to be buzzed in, we should have that covered.” With so many layers of safety to enter the school, giving students and visitors a place to protect themselves from the elements is important.
It also helps with maintenance, as Mr. Parker stated “less shoveling will be needed by Door A, which means less work for people, and then less slat will be drug in, which tends to deteriorate the floor around Door A.”
According to Mr. Parker, the construction has gone “mostly according to plan.” The only significant roadblock, he claimed, was the “time it takes to get materials, as concrete is a big problem. Not just here, but across the United States, so we’ve had to push a few things back, but most of its on plan.” However, concrete is not stopping too much of the project. The end date is still in “the middle of November,” as Mr. Parker stated.
Currently, the canopy is still under construction, which shows that there has been a few hiccups along the way, but work is still being done, and most likely to be finished soon.
For more information, you can check out the full interview here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y-cDr4FxTiHESUGTZzBFyV8wrP25LkrH/view?usp=sharing
Melinda Kiner 
Diego Sotelo Gonzalez 
Marie Roach