The Gryphon Gazette

By: Alexandra C. ‘28

As all Crystal students know by now, our mansion is undergoing a major renovation, which includes getting an elevator, new and updated classrooms, a new PET and robotics shop, and more. Therefore, the mansion is currently under construction and closed off to all, which has affected the entire school community in different ways:

1. We now have modular classrooms for English, World Language, and other classes. 
2. One of our tennis courts is inaccessible due to the construction equipment being stored there.
3. The hubs have been moved around and combined.
4. We have a miniature library located on the bottom floor of the Uplands building.
5. There are fewer parking spaces, and more students have to park at St. Barts or Downtown.
6. A lot of our events, like Haunted Mansion, Music in the Mansion, and school dances, have been moved to off campus venues

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Now, here is what several students and PAC think of the mansion remodel:

School Life

One sophomore mentioned that the mansion remodel allowed for less of a commute between classes due to not having to climb the stairs. She likes that it’s colder in the modulars in comparison to the mansion, where temperatures often get too hot, and that there are also bathrooms located close by. She also liked having homecoming at the College of San Mateo and thought it was a great venue. 

Ms. Miller, an English teacher, said that she is very excited to see the transformation of the mansion, believing that the new and improved structure will better serve everyone in the community. She mentioned that it is fun to be in a humanities hub with colleagues whom she didn’t get to see as often, and like the sophomore student, she appreciates not having to walk up all of the stairs. Although it is challenging to keep track of all her papers for classes because she teaches in 3 different spaces (2 in the modulars and one in the Uplands building), this temporary change has encouraged her to practice thinking ahead and staying organized. Overall, the more “compressed” campus has created a sense of cohesion in the community. 

After School Sports

The Crystal girl’s tennis coach, Coach Art, stated that the mansion remodel has impacted our tennis team negatively due to the loss of a tennis court (out of only 3) on campus. As a result, the girls’ tennis team has a limited number of courts to practice on or host home games. Coach Art also mentioned the opportunity to make a JV team this year, but ultimately deemed it impossible due to only having two on campus courts for 30 girls to play on. 

Robotics

One student from robotics said that although the remodel of the robotics shop will be very beneficial in the long run, this year’s relocation to GC1 has proven difficult. There simply isn’t enough space to properly work, and the team has had to use faulty/smaller tools because there isn’t sufficient storage to hold bigger tools. In general, everything became unorganized and cramped, with most of the tools having to be stored outside. This isn’t practical, and could potentially be harmful because most of the tools are made out of metal, which rusts easily. 

Parking

One senior mentioned that the mansion remodel has negatively affected the parking. For example, seniors can only park once every 3 weeks, and even then, there are barely enough spots. Furthermore, all the parking spots in the senior spaces are very close together, which can lead to accidents, especially among newer drivers. Furthermore, dropping people off at alternative school sanctioned parking spaces, such as St. Barts, adds a lot of time, especially in drop off and pick up traffic. 

Overall, the mansion being under construction has affected our community in both positive and negative ways. The mansion was a special place to the Crystal community, serving as a nice place to study, relax, and have classes, and we are sure it will become even better after the renovation. In the process, we have become more connected with one another and learned how to be flexible and adapt to the new changes.