Moeller Seniors Look Back on Major Changes Over the Last Four Years

Ethan Holley’s spin on the ever-changing facilities

Ethan Holley poses for camera during his busy work schedule

Over the past 4 years at Moeller, there has been a great amount of change that we seniors have experienced. Big or small, these changes have all affected us in different ways. Specifically, I want to comment on the physical changes to the facilities around Moeller.

To start, clearly the most evident change has been the classrooms. Our sophomore year when we first got a glimpse of classroom 2.0 featured in room 225, we were all excited for what was to come. Then our junior year we got to experience a good amount of our classes in the new classrooms having the entire second floor being renovated (of the main hall). Now in our final year, we have every single classroom upgraded and looking fresh. For most of us seniors, we appreciate the changes after experiencing the classrooms we had our freshman year, which had no air conditioning, small desks, and a lack of technology.

Another big change that many Moeller students have appreciated is the new weight room we had redesigned in January 2018. The overall design was shifted, it got a new paint job and a couple of new pieces of equipment were added. Many student-athletes, especially football players have said that is has changed the overall vibe of the weight room and has bettered the productivity of those putting in the work.

Along with big changes, we have had small ones such as new bathrooms on all the floors, and a new floor and scoreboard in our main gym. All these changes have had a great effect on Moeller and overall, has increased the Moeller experience for all that goes here, even the faculty and staff.

I think the changes have shifted the learning environment at Moeller. Students seem to take things a bit more seriously after seeing the school’s emphasis on improving education. I like the fact that Moeller has done this because it attracts more students which is the overall goal of the school.

I do think that Moeller has had some type of shift towards selling the physical aspects of Moeller to prospective students instead of the overall experience. My freshman year, I shadowed Moeller and St. Xavier, I was right in the middle and I really could have gone either way. After shadowing at Moeller, what sold me was the feeling I got while being at Moeller. Not how nice the classrooms were, not how good the sports teams were, nothing else besides how I felt walking the halls and what that meant to me. I feel like the focus has shifted away from that and has been redirected more towards what we have in a more tangible sense.

I am not saying though, that the classrooms are bad in any way. I do like them and think they are a benefit to Moeller. However, coming from a student that came here for more than just the classrooms, I can say that what makes Moeller great school is beyond just the physical rooms and amenities.

Moeller has emphasized continuing to better their physical changes whether it be something small like a new bathroom here and there or even something big like a new weight room or many new classrooms. I think it has all benefited Moeller and I am excited to see what is next.

Tim Coyne talks Academics

Moeller has changed so much while I have been here as a student. When I walked through the front doors in the fall of 2016, Moeller was known as the daycare school or the jock school where all the students were only here for sports and that was it. Over the last couple of years Moeller has done a complete 180-degree turn. Instead of having various students joke that the school is a daycare, Moeller has vastly improved its standing from an academic standpoint.

The administration tackled this in a few different ways. First, the school hired an administrator that’s wholly responsible for improving the school’s academics. Since then, changes have been made to scheduling, GPA scales, and classes offered. All add up to a rejuvenated focus on day to day academic success.

Tim Coyne posing while researching on the New weighted GPA.

In 2018, Moeller hired Dr. Christine Brookbank to be the Dean of Academics, a position that has not existed at Moeller in many years. I believe that hiring a person whose job is solely focus around managing student academics is a good thing. She has changed the way Moeller has moved through the academics. I have seen Moeller evolve over the last couple of years, going towards a school where more students are focused on their academics. I can see in the halls that more and more students care about what they are getting on test and quizzes, and you can see more students engaging in classes.

One of the biggest changes that took place was the change of our GPA grading scale this year. Moeller now has a weighted and unweighted GPA ranking for each student. It may not seem important to you that the GPA scale went under work to become a weighted GPA but I am telling you that the weighted GPA is going to help out every student when applying for college. This should make Moeller seniors more competitive when applying to colleges.

One of changes that Moeller has implemented that a lot of seniors at Moeller have enjoyed is the semester classes that the students can take for their English credit. This elective policy is well ingrained in the curriculum now, but only took effect when our current senior class were freshmen. I know that I enjoy the opportunity to choose different English and Religion classes that interest me. Being able to take classes you want to take allows the students engaged more in the class and changes the learning environment. I believe most seniors enjoy picking classes and narrowing down what exactly we would like to study. I believe this is a good way to give seniors a college-like experience when choosing electives we take before going to college.

Throughout our four years at Moeller, the class of 2020 has seen many positive changes in the school’s academics. What we’ve managed to put in places has improved the attitudes towards academics and also the quality of education.