— Second of a Series —
Tuesday, Sept. 1, 1998
Ah, my first day of high school. As I walk through the halls looking for the gym I look around and notice how disgusting this school is compared to Chippens Hill Middle School. The gym floor looks ancient and the floor was so bumpy. The gym teacher informed us that because of the swamp underneath Bristol Eastern it is pushing the floor boards up. He also informs us that the
floor will be redone and I definitely think it is in need of it. The gym floor seems inadequate for P.E. students and basketball players to be using. Hopefully the next time I have gym it will be in the gym and not in the bottom of a swamp.
— Bethany Raffanello, freshman, Bristol Eastern High School
Monday, Sept. 14, 1998
It’s the start of a new day and I’m on my way to Mr. McMahon’s English class. Up the stairs and around a corner, I find myself in the midst of a cave-like hallway with no floor or ceiling. The
concrete is gritty under my new Steve Maddens and I’m deathly afraid that a strange, unknown substance is going to fall from the ceiling and ruin my hair. I push through the mass of students when I spot the room and step inside. I take my seat and reach into my bag for my textbook. Half an hour later, I am rudely interrupted from reading about Walter Mitty’s secret life with a loud,ear-piercing BBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPP! I look up, startled, and realize that it’s just the construction, and go back to reading about the great Waterbury trial.
— Liz Tinker, freshman, Bristol Eastern
Wed., Sept. 16, 1998
A few days ago, my entire gym class had to run a few laps on the outdoor track. While some people breezed through it, I’m not athletically inclined and I huffed and I puffed the whole way. When I finally finished that fourth lap, I collapsed on the grass. A loud rumble stirred me from my rest and I sat up a little to see what it was all about. I saw that a few workers had attached what appeared to be a giant slide to one of the windows. Huge chunks of plaster were being deposited into the chute in a flurry of chalky white dust, and the rubble was emptied into a giant dumpster. It was an interesting distraction to the boring gym class!
— Natalie Minor, freshman, Bristol Eastern