Last week, temperatures rose to over 100° F, with the lowest being around 70° F.

11 am, the temperature ventured into a “Extreme Caution” zone. With us being in that zone it was very important to make sure athletes were getting an appropriate amount of water, and a good number of breaks to cool down.

Alex Murillo, a GCHS soccer team member, expressed that they “take a lot of water breaks. If we practice after school the coach tries to go easy on us so we won’t get as hot, but we’ll still get the job done.”

Shannon Andrews, assistant coach, added, “we monitor the heat index and increase the length and frequency of our water intake and breaks.”

Most games end up being delayed because of how high the heat index level rises. Although, if the temperature is 105° F or higher, games and practices are required to be postponed or cancelled. The Sports Director or Sports Coordinator will make those decisions as we near the end of August.

The extreme heat also played a role during the school day as the HVAC system struggled to cool down the building. For a few days, some teachers even found themselves without air conditioning and had to resort to high power fans.

“It was hot, to say the least,” said English teacher Alex Miller. “We had to have the fans because it was so hot, but I felt like I was having to yell over the motors.”

“I’m very thankful for our maintenance  staff and the extra hours they put in to resolve the issue. They do their best to make sure our students and teachers are comfortable.”