The construction of the new NC cafeteria that began this past summer continues to progress as students adjust to eating in the temporary cafeteria in the Vaughan gym.

“I think that our kids have been amazing, but it has been really uncomfortable,” Associate Principal Kevin Brown said. “It’s been really hot, which makes the way kids have been handling it even more amazing. You see lots of people just trying to make the best of it, and we knew they would.”

Making the gym into a cafeteria didn’t happen without some changes being made. Obvious adjustments include the temporary floor that is rolled out over the existing gym floor and the temporary ramp installed to bring in hot food from SC.

“I expected it to be worse than it is,” Jamie Carney ‘15 said. “The setup is nice and makes it feel less like a gym.” Additionally, new drains were made to allow for running water.

“It wasn’t like one day we were all going to head over and start eating,” Superintendent Dr. Timothy Kilrea said. “When you’re moving an entire location across the street that feeds 2,000 kids a day, I’m certain that there have been a few hiccups, but I think our staff has done well, the Sodexo staff has done well and most importantly, I think the kids have adjusted well.”

The construction contract states that the cafeteria will be done by March of 2015.  “We’re hoping for sooner,” Kilrea said. “We have been told that we can count on March, and anything we receive before that is great.”

Students can expect many differences in the new cafeteria compared to the old. It will be extended further into the courtyard, which will allow for more student seating, and it will have a two story wall of windows to bring in natural light. Also, students will no longer stand out in the hallways while waiting to purchase lunches, because the serving line is being reconfigured to be like a food court style line. Other changes include a new kitchen and the installation of air conditioning.

“You get to watch little by little in the courtyard how it’s progressing,” Kilrea said. “You can get a feel for what it’s going to look like.”

In addition to aesthetic changes, there will likely be a change made to the schedule beginning in the 2015-16 school year. Having more seating in the new cafeteria enables the schedule to be changed from having five lunches to four. With this, students will likely be given 25 minutes for lunch and 25 minutes of time to be used for things such as tutoring, talking to teachers or doing homework.

“There’s nothing better about having four lunches until you start making things better for students, teaching and learning,” Brown said. “I’m very optimistic that we’ll find lots of great ways to use this.”

For more photos of the cafeteria construction, visit lionnewspaper.com.