This school year, renovations rocked Norwin High School. The largest construction project, the new Knights Football stadium, began in early November, and massive renovations of the theatre and library began almost simultaneously. These projects and their consequences have been inconvenient for Norwin students this year, but the important renovations will benefit students for years to come.
Over the summer, renovations began in the library due to the discovery of mold in and around it. According to a school board meeting in August, the library had a clogged condensate line which led to the initial mold outbreak. As a result, both the library and its surrounding rooms, including the Tech Turret, had to be remodeled.
“They finished one room this summer, Room 125,” said Norwin High School librarian Katherine Kauffman. “But this, the library was a lot bigger of a project.”
The new paint in the library was done by Votech students in the Restoration and Design program at CWCTC. The lighting and the flooring were both done by professional companies.
”We’re switching all the lights to LED,” said Kauffman.
The library has been closed for the entire 2025-2026 school year, and no definite date has been given for its opening. The closure of the library has affected the daily routines of many students.
“It’s made my day a little less exciting,” said sophomore Ryann Seese. “The overall atmosphere of the library is just brighter and happier than my normal study hall… I looked forward to going to the library to see my friends and sit in a more comfortable chair.”
Despite the disruptions this year, the library will hopefully remain a fun place for students for years to come.
“They’re still working through all the details, but it will be arranged a little bit differently,” said Kauffman. “I hope that it still has the same type of feeling as the old library, because I feel like people want to come here.”
Beyond the library, Norwin High’s auditorium has seen major renovations. Both the main auditorium and the Large Group Instruction rooms attached to it (typically used for study halls) are being redone. The technical improvements to the auditorium give far more creative control to theatre directors.
“We’ve switched all the lights to LED which gives us color on every light, and we have new moving lights, which gives us a lot of flexibility in our productions,” said Norwin theatre tech director Todd Leighty. “The sound system has been hugely upgraded— we went from an undersized sound system to a 50,000 watt sound system.”
These improvements greatly increase the technical capabilities of the Norwin Theatre Company, allowing Leighty and crew to put on far more complex shows.
“We no longer have to rent lighting,’ said junior stage crew member Athena Daugherty. “The most important part [to the crew] would honestly be the sound [system], it’s really good and much easier to use.”
These renovations are coming at a perfect time for the Norwin Theatre Company’s showing of Mamma Mia, opening March 19. Mamma Mia is set to be the first NTC show in the newly renovated auditorium.
In the LGI (large group instruction) rooms, a small wooden desk has been installed on every third seat. Added at the end of every aisle of seats is an outlet for charging. These improvements help to create a far more comfortable study hall experience for students.
“I’m personally very excited for this new addition of desks to the auditorium chairs,” said senior student Gianna Cavallaro. “It will be very helpful instead of having to throw all your stuff on the ground during study hall or assemblies.”
Although some students see them as a positive, public opinion is very divided over these auditorium desks.
“I think the seats look uncomfortable and the desk is just a waste of money,” said junior lacrosse player Gaige Jones. “It’s too small to actually do work on.”
There is currently no definite date for the auditorium’s opening, but it will absolutely benefit Norwin’s theatre and performance programs.
The largest of Norwin’s construction projects this year is the brand new stadium. Rather than the aforementioned library and auditorium projects, which were just renovations, the new stadium project required a full demolition of the pre-existing Norwin stadium. The district plans to build a new and improved football stadium for the fall of the 2027-2028 school year.
The demolition of the stadium has affected many different groups of students within the high school.
The school’s spring sports teams typically practice in and around the Norwin Knights stadium. This year, that is impossible due to the entire stadium area being marked as a construction zone.
“Stadium renovations are definitely an inconvenience for our sports teams, but in the long run, it will be worth it,” said girls’ lacrosse coach Mrs. Courtney Abbondanza. “We’ve been trying to seek out some alternative options, so we found some turf that we’ve been using at All-American Fieldhouse in Trafford.”
However, a majority of both the girls’ and boys’ lacrosse practices will be held on the grass fields above the tennis courts and next to the baseball fields on Norwin’s campus.
”It’s a little bit of a different type of facility, but it will still make do for us,” said Abbondanza.
Lacrosse is not the only sport with a changed schedule due to the renovations.
”It [the construction] definitely makes it [track and field practices] a little more difficult,” said track and field coach Timothy Van Horn. “We’ve been able to use some of the hallways, the campus itself, and an outside source [Vault Athletics] where our jumpers are able to train. It’s definitely been difficult, but the kids have been awesome.”
Although the stadium construction is guaranteed to be a lengthy project, Norwin’s construction crew has been making great progress.
”We already began construction [after the demolition], we’ve already put in some beams, and we’re going to start putting some concrete soon,” said Norwin athletic director Mike Burrell.
Regardless of its numerous impacts on the school district, these construction projects will create new and improved facilities for Norwin students to enjoy for generations to come. Although the library is primarily accessible for Norwin students, the auditorium and stadium projects serve to benefit Norwin alumni, current students, and community members.
”[The new stadium] is the centerpiece of our district. It’ll benefit our youth, and all of our community groups will have access as well,” said Burrell.
