By George P. Hassett

Before Somerville High’s 1,400 students returned to classes today, school officials were busy preparing building facilities and adding new features to enhance their education.

SHS Principal Tony Ciccarello said the new paint job Рhallways painted in bright gold Рwill add to “a lively, pleasing learning environment. We want the school to look like a building where young adults can come and be excited to learn.”

More important, Cicarello said, is the learning and the work that goes on in the classrooms but bright, clean facilities “compliments our mission.”

Administrators are even adding learning options for students outside school – literally. On Oct. 1, a new outdoor classroom will open in a space that once hosted only overgrown weeds and plants. Ciccarello said the space will be a classroom and a play area for the school’s life skills students.

And the school’s auditorium finally has top-flight equipment ‚Äúto match our talented performers,‚Äù he said. Two new Bose speakers now hang from the ceiling.

Cicarello also has a plan to cover the walls of SHS in history this year. He said he plans to hang old photos of students and scenes from the high school, some a century old, next to pictures of the Somerville students of today, “the contemporary face of Somerville High School.”

It is all part of Ciccarello’s plan to make Somerville High a place students are proud to learn. ‚ÄúWhen you have a building that is clean looking, the students will have a sense of pride. The key now is upkeep and maintenance. Our goal is to keep this upgrade going,‚Äù he said.

Photos by James Norton