Due to the interest in and discussion of future renovations, the high school held two visioning meetings for administration, faculty and invited students. These meetings were held on September 9 and September 16 in the school library to support planning for possible high school renovations.

“[Visioning meetings] are opportunities for a group of teachers, students, administrators and other school personnel at all levels to consider the future of education at Farmington High School and what this means for the facility/building in which teaching and learning will take place in the next several decades,” Principal Bill Silva said.

The purpose of the meetings was to discuss FHS Building Committee proposals for the potential development of a new building or other major renovations of the school and how that could benefit the school community.

“They showed us both blueprints and photographs of existing schools to help us conceptualize the various options for a new build. The main idea was to have more space that is used more wisely,” Social Studies Department Leader Nichole Richman said.

Richman believes the ideas presented at the meeting could modernize the school environment.

“I am extremely excited about the prospect of either a new building or a significant renovation of FHS. I feel that we can make significant improvements on the already high standard of teaching and learning in the school if we had a facility that was more in line with 21st century needs,” Richman said.

As of now, the future of major renovations at the school is uncertain. The FHS Building Committee and town members are currently working on deciding what can be done to improve the learning and teaching environment for both students and faculty and staff.

However, the high school has not lacked not some renovations. This past summer, the high school underwent some small renovations in addition to routine maintenance.

“There were very few summer projects planned for the high school due to the Farmington High School Building Committee that is looking into options to renovate the high school facility,” Superintendent Kathleen Greider said.

According to Director of School Facilities Maintenance Timothy Harris, these renovations included a small conference area that was added in room 412 and a new dish washer in the kitchen.

“The most notable [renovation] was the removal of the inaccessible rooftop greenhouse and the supply of power and water to the new greenhouse in the center courtyard,” Harris said.

For students, however, that the most influential addition were new water fountains in the cafeteria and outside the New Gym. The fountains detect when a bottle is placed under the hole. When one is detected, the water fills up the bottle. The new water fountains allow for easy access to fill up water bottles as well as the option to use the traditional fountain.

“They are really helpful during volleyball practice because they are really cold and multiple people can use them at the same time,” junior Julia Conturso said.

As the year progresses, the high school anticipates making additional decisions about future renovations.