In June of 2017, we said goodbye to the beloved “Old Apex” and made the move to our temporary home on Roberts Road, feeling like heading back to Laura Duncan was a lifetime away. But here we are now, with only one quarter left in the Green Level building, and the anticipation for returning to the real Apex campus is amplifying.

The AHS class of 2020 is special in that it is the only class that will have experienced the old Apex, Green Level, and soon the new Apex campus. For this reason, it’s interesting to hear class of 2020 students’ perspectives on attending school at three different campuses in only four years, their opinions on how the old Apex compares to Green Level, and their thoughts on moving back to the brand new Apex building.

Paige Dunn, a member of the class of 2020, explained that experiencing multiple buildings has positively impacted her high school career, detailing, “It makes it a little bit less repetitive by not being in the same building every year. This makes it easier to get through high school.” Dunn’s opinion is interesting because most people jump to the conclusion that having to readjust to three different buildings within four years is a drawback, but when you actually experience it, having a change of scenery is incredibly nice, and both Dunn and I prefer it to being in the same building all four years. Dunn is also super excited to head back to the Laura Duncan location, reasoning, “The building is a lot closer to my house, so I’m going to walk to school which makes things much more convenient.” She has also missed the courtyard a lot and can’t wait to get it back, especially for use on days with gorgeous weather.  

Missing the courtyard seems to be a common theme among class of 2020 students as they all really enjoyed it their freshman year but have gone without it at Green Level. Junior Kendal Lund even said that the one thing she has missed most from Old Apex compared to the Green Level campus is getting to eat outside in the courtyard for lunch. Improved options for lunch is one of the things students are most excited for as we return home as Lund explained, “Places are going to be much closer than at the Green Level campus, and I’m excited for new options like Zaxby’s.” Being closer to all of these lunch options will also relieve a lot of the time pressure students have felt at Green Level when going off campus to eat. Speaking of time, the school start time is being moved back to 7:25, which makes many students quite happy!

There are some concerns about the new Apex that both girls mentioned. Dunn talked about her fear of the building not being ready on time and concern about staff not having an adequate amount of time to get settled in and set up rooms. Lund mentioned the new student parking situation, saying, “I will miss the Green Level campus because of the student parking lot. I feel it works better than a parking deck that is going into the new school.” Both of these worries are valid, and change is always difficult, but we can be sure that everything will work out fine. Tight time for transitioning to the new campus and adjusting to new parking procedures are definitely obstacles, but the elation that comes with having a brand new facility to call our own exceedingly overshadows these bumps in the road.

The 2019-2020 school year is right around the corner, and it’s fair to say that the entire AHS community is incredibly excited and ready to get settled in the new building. There truly is no place like home; see you soon Laura Duncan!