Walking into the school is a different experience for everyone this year. The halls are lined with new artwork, showcasing the various activities and accomplishments happening at The Park. 

Much more branding for Kingwood Park is scattered throughout as well, including the KP logo, panther eyes and panther faces.

“There’s some really nice things that we’ve put up,” principal Wes Solomon said. “I think it looks great and makes it look a whole lot better.”

Around the halls there are photos of students, inspirational quotes and murals. The main thing students noticed when walking around were pictures of themselves on the walls. 

It was an unexpected surprise for many, including sophomore Jeremiah Head, who is pictured as the mascot.

“It just made my day better,” Head said. “It makes me smile thinking about how out of a bunch of photos, they chose one of me.” 

The athletic building has a full wall mural that includes volleyball and basketball photos, which were taken by students on the newspaper and yearbook staffs last year. 

Included on the wall is sophomore basketball player Rionna Martin, who was shocked to see her photo. Seeing it, however, has motivated her.

“It kind of pushes me to do better in anything I do,” Martin said. “My coach told me, ‘You’re an example now.’ Anytime something happens, people will know.”

These decorations were put up to help make the school look more lively after having gray floors and gray walls last year. The new additions were meant to help give the school a “facelift.”

“I think it just is a more welcoming environment,” Solomon said, “I mean, that’s what you want when you walk into a place that you’re going to spend approximately seven and a half, eight hours a day. You want it to be a welcoming, warm, safe environment.”

* Fallon Head contributed to this story.