A woodpecker severing electrical circuits, an exploding HVAC system, a fallen bird’s nest, and a squirrel chewing through power lines were among the rumors circulating campus Tuesday afternoon after a sudden power outage left the school in the dark. Administrators report that the cause of the outage was a transformer blown near the gym and tennis courts.
At first notice of the outage, the school resorted to backup power operations. However, they were not sufficient enough to fully power the entire campus, leaving many classrooms without light, Wi-Fi, and air conditioning. After the HVAC systems shut down, a fan in the small chapel continued to run, generating a cloud of smoke. Although there was no active fire, the sight of smoke leaking out of the small chapel doors alarmed students during second lunch and sparked rumors. However, administration acted quickly, managing to get power restored by 11:15 p.m. for school Wednesday.
Although the events were unanticipated, teachers adapted quickly. Senior high English teacher Rachel Carroll described using a pack of candles she had been saving for a project to light her classroom.
“When the power surge came through, I knew it would be difficult to continue to work,” Carroll said. “We held them to the paper and worked by candlelight, it was a lot of fun.”
AP social science teacher Lisa Dykes was also resourceful, quickly transitioning from online to textbook work after the outage.
“When everything shuts down unexpectedly – when it comes back – it doesn’t always come back pretty,” head of junior high Melissa Euziere explained.
Although the transformer had since been replaced, internet connectivity remained inconsistent in parts of campus after as systems continued to reboot on Wednesday. While Wi-Fi was available in the Ideas Institute, service was reported to be spotty throughout the rest of campus, particularly in the 200, 300, and 400 buildings where typical instruction was impacted in many classrooms.
Dykes explained that the outage was particularly strenuous on AP and single semester classes because of their strict curriculum schedules. “I pivoted to using big sticky notes and just hand-writing all the notes because I didn’t want to miss another day of lecture,” Dykes said. “A lot of times it’s hard for students to write with me just talking, so I wanted to have a visual.” Similarly, Traci Retter brought her AP Literature classes into the Ideas Institute forum to write their research papers with the Wi-Fi.
While the outage sparked confusion and frustration, it also revealed the adaptability of both students and faculty when faced with sudden disruption. According to head of senior high Cyndi Buist, new power switches had to be ordered and are expected to arrive on Thursday to fully restore the Wi-Fi, and the school, back to normal.
