By Tooba Ghias, Staff writer

 “Construction is over—for the most part,” says Principal Herzfeld. “All that\’s left is Mr. Bivens\’ class (Room 241) in the A bungalows.”

 Other than finishing Mr. Bivens\’ room, district and maintenance staff will have to check for errors and make finishing touches.

 “Construction crews,” says Principal Herzfeld, “will be putting in the last of the baseboards, moving cabinets, or changing the electrical outlets.”

 Offices in the boys and girls locker room still need air conditioning units installed, but once they are, coaches will finally be able to comfortably relax when the team finishes training. With the removal of the A bungalows scheduled for mid-February, PE students and coaches will have more room, one of the many upgrades that the athletics department needs. Basketball or volleyball courts will be installed in the bungalows’ place, depending on the decisions of the PE teachers and athletics director, Mr. Hollinden.

 The B bungalows, however, are here to stay as the need for extra classrooms grows.

 “We are also looking into getting a synthetic track and field,” says Mr. Herzfeld. “Those projects are up to the district and are presently on hold because of the economy\’s current state. The district is also busy fixing the stadiums at Westminster and Huntington Beach high schools.”

 Sophomore Phoebe Bui says, “It will be great if we can get an all-weather track. Our dirt track is too dusty, and it turns to mud when it rains.”

 Keeping the FVHS campus clean is also one of Mr. Herzfeld\’s top priorities, so the district has placed an order for fifty new trashcans.

 “Now, my main concern is to get students to throw their gum into the trashcans instead of on the cement,” says Herzfeld.

 The last development will be the replacement of the old fiber glass picnic tables with blue metal mesh tables. Upon completion, students will be able to eat on cleaner tables which aren\’t cracked or off balance.

 “I think it\’s a great idea,” says junior Mariyam Ahmed. “I\’m always either wondering if I\’ll get a stomachache from all the dirt or fall off because of a missing table leg.”

 With what seemed like endless construction, students and staff can finally breathe a sigh of relief, though still crossing their fingers just in case, as the sound of screeching saws and pounding hammers draw to a close.

By Zack Bernardin, Staff writer 

People usually expect to find shade under shade structures. However, a student venturing under FVHS\’ new shade structures during school will find rain or shine—but rarely shade. 

“I think they look out of place and that they don’t provide much shade,” says freshman Shawn Carroll.  

This new structure, unlike the semi-leaky old flat top structure, will not provide any rain protection. “They’re useless and don’t cover anything at all. What’s the point?” asks junior Jazmyn Martin. 

Many FVHS students, especially upperclassmen, have found themselves wishing for the old gas station-like roof shelters. However, the structures were old and threatened student safety. Earthquake and building standards had changed since its faulty 1960s design, and the roof was starting to fall apart.  

“The pre-existing shade structure was at one point roped off because it was so questionable as to its structural integrity,” says FVHS Principal Chris Herzfeld. “You wouldn’t want to be under it during an earthquake.”  

Approval for a more “modern” structure came from someone at the district level, and FVHS was not given a choice. 

“When I was doing early surveying with the construction crew and district members, they told me the shade structures were coming down and described to me what they were going to put in place of them,” says Herzfeld. “I told the district members it wasn\’t sufficient because our students needed something that would protect them from rain and actually provide shade.” 

The original plans actually called for a much smaller structure. It would have been divided into two sections, similar to the previous one with the gap in the middle. Principal Herzfeld decided to it was necessary to have at least a say in the design, but when he realized it would be impossible to change the entire plan because the district had already approved the plans for the airport like shade structure, he lobbied for an elongated one. 

As Mr. Herzfeld puts it, “To un-ring the bell would have been impossible.” 

Not everybody is disappointed, though. 

“They’re blue, which is better than the green ones in Edison,” says junior Matt Nguyen.  

One can see many people sitting under the shade structure during lunch, but because of its design, the limited shade moves throughout the day according to the sun\’s position.  

“It looks like people are enjoying it, but other than that, I don’t see any practical point to it,” says junior Tashina Webster. 

The new shade structure is sufficient now, but it seems that come winter rain, Barons will have to find refuge from the elements somewhere else.

They are the only students who are not accustomed to the harsh noises of the jackhammer and electric saw.

But no worries. They soon will be. It is a new school year, and students will have to bear with the presence of yet more fences.

Junior Mariyam Ahmed says, “Fences bother me a lot because I don’t like going around them…when all fences are gone I will be so happy!”

The shade structure in front of the 200s building is being constructed and will be larger than the previous one. However, it will have a nylon covering instead of a solid one, so it will not keep students dry when it rains.

“The shade would be good,” says junior Vivian Tran, when she was informed about the nylon shade structure, “but I think it would be better if it were water proof so everyone doesn’t have to crowd around the buildings and in the cafeteria to escape the rain.”

Tthe shade structure may be completed before rainy season.

Principal Chris Herzfeld says, “I would be surprised to see it done before winter break.”

The north hallways of the 200 building, such as the 220, 230, and 240 hallways, are near completion.

Four rooms, however, are not ready because of minor changes. These are Rooms 241, 235, 234, and 236. Room 241 was initially a computer lab and Room 235, a science classroom. 235 was ultimately deemed too small for a science class.

Herzfeld then received approval to turn 241 into a science classroom. The computer lab is now moved to Room 302, and 235 is under construction to become a regular classroom. The other two rooms under repair are 234 and 236. There are structural problems with the walls.

The staff parking lot is repaved, and there is new concrete around the bowl. The gym floor is finally reconstructed after damage from last fall\’s rainstorm.

The A and B bungalows will stay until all students are in their new classrooms in the 200 buildings. The A bungalows will be removed, but most of the B rooms are expected to stay. The removal of the bungalows will be either right after the students move into the 200s, or near the end of the 2009 school year.

The resulting empty space will be repaved for basketball and volleyball courts.

“The shade structure is the last major fenced in area,” says Herzfeld, “but you can expect temporary fences for minor construction.”

No longer reserved for hippies and tree huggers, being environmentally friendly is encouraged for all. Fashion, celebrities, cars, and yes, even schools are joining the movement. Fountain Valley High School, as a whole, is making an effort to reduce, reuse and recycle as long as it’s cost effective.

Students are taking notice of the negative environmental effects of their actions.

“Our goal is to inform others about the environmental problems that are affecting our world today. We don’t want to just talk about making changes; we want to act on them,” says president of Greenleaf Society, Rosie Said (’10).

Greenleaf Society is an environmental club on campus that promotes awareness of environmental issues.

There is much controversy last year surrounding the abundant waste of resources during Edison Week. Mountains of paper are wasted on posters. After this immoderate behavior, a solution arose – reusable posters made of cloth. Only a limited amount of paper will still be used.

“I don’t like that we’re wasting so much paper. We’re going for quality not quantity this year and focusing more on murals,” says ASB publicity member, Jessica Hutton (’09).

Junior Taylor Milligan, also on publicity, agrees, “It’s a big tradition at our school and I just wish we could recycle the posters.”

ASB plans on cutting down on its paper usage and is hoping to start making posters on cloth by next year.

“I think that we can see all around us that students, parents and teachers are becoming more aware of the damage that’s being done to our environment,” says Principal Herzfeld.

“Awareness is up at levels that we haven’t seen since the 60\’s or 70\’s when some very big changes were made in the nation to get more environmentally conscious. It’s on everybody’s mind and it’s something that we’re taking a look at in every way that we can,” says Herzfeld.

The 400 building uses skylights and has faucets that automatically turn off. These save water and energy. Initially, they were not put in to be eco-friendly, but rather to save money and discourage vandalism.

However, administration is doing its part to save the planet – one piece of paper at a time.

LCD projectors are placed in classrooms so teaching visuals can be shown without having to print multiple copies.

Last year, ASB and a few clubs placed recycling bins around campus.  Unfortunately,  bottles and cans weren’t the only things going in them.

The addition of an all weather track is currently in discussion. By having Astroturf instead of grass, a lot of water can be saved.

 Please remember, trash goes in trash cans. It’s hard to recycle without your help. By throwing your bottles and cans into a recycling bin or using reusable water bottles, you can make a difference.