Below is a letter sent out by Principal Trafford:
October 10, 2007
Dear Parent:
Back in March we asked our elementary students to draw their “dream” playground. Some of the answers were fantastic: a pirate galleon with a walk-the-plank twisty slide and an outdoor stage. Others wanted animals, musical instruments, and zip lines. This winter we are going to make their dreams come true. I am asking every FSUS family to “Save the Date for MLK ’08” when we will join together, Friday, January 18 through Monday, January 21, to rebuild our elementary playground.
With our children’s drawings as their inspiration, Learning Structures, Inc. has custom-designed an entirely new playground that will challenge and inspire our students. They will send a team to supervise our construction of this one-of-a-kind playground. The scene will resemble an old-fashioned “barn raising” with over 400 volunteers from our school and local community lending a hand to make our children’s dreams a reality. I am asking you to volunteer your time and energy for one day or all four days to help create something wonderful for your child, our students and our school.
We need your help!! There is a role for everyone to play:
Not very handy with tools? We need advance help with volunteer recruitment, food and hospitality, materials and tools acquisition, publicity, child care and fundraising.
Do you own a business that might make an in-kind or monetary donation? We will need donations of food, tools and materials, and will accept donations and sponsorships for some of the elements on the playground.
Lots of workshop skills or have professional construction experience? We will definitely need your expertise as a Team Leader on one of our structures!
We need all skill levels throughout all four days of the build. Whether you are checking in volunteers, supervising children in the child care, serving food, hammering, drilling, using a circular saw or supervising a small crew of volunteers to build one of the structures, there is a job for you.
Please fill out the attached Volunteer Application. We are sponsoring a ‘We Have a Dream’ Classroom Challenge, and the winning class with the most volunteer hours for this build weekend will be the first class to officially have recess on the new playground.
This will be the most challenging and exciting event our school has ever undertaken since moving from the FSU campus. I am looking forward to seeing you at the build!
T. Neal Trafford
Elementary Principal
Playground Steering Committee Co-Chair
‘We Have a Dream’
A Call to the FSUS Community
Before we all depart for a weekend of family, friends and food, please remember to sign up and volunteer for the elementary playground build over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, January 18-21, 2008. This is a great opportunity for students to earn service hours and for all of us to come together and do something wonderful for our school.
Learning Structures, Inc. has designed our new playground and will send a team to supervise our construction. By building the playground ourselves in the spirit of an old-fashioned barn-raising, the cost will be significantly less than purchasing pre-fabricated structures—plus it is being custom-designed from artwork by our children. By working together as a school and as a community, we will show our children that with determination and teamwork dreams can come true.
We need volunteers for the following:
Team Captains to lead teams of volunteers to complete specific playground structures. A Team Captain needs to attend a Planning Meeting the night before the build on January 17 and to supervise the volunteers for the Sunday and Monday of the build.
Volunteers of all skill levels.
Volunteering is easy. Complete a Volunteer Application and turn it in to the Front Office. The elementary classes are competing to see which class can bring in the most volunteer hours for the build. Mr. Trafford will update the standings at our next Fun Friday, November 30.
MLK ’08 Holiday Weekend | January 18-21, 2008
January 18-19: Friday and Saturday are our “Framing Days” when we prepare the site, set the poles and frame the large structures. We will need our Level Three and Level Four volunteers out in force on these two days.
January 20-21: Sunday and Monday are our “Raising Days”. We need as many volunteers of every skill level as possible to come together to raise these structures and then to put on the finishing touches.
Volunteer Needs
Anyone can help, and we need as many volunteers as possible to make this project a success! The following are the skill level categories:
Level One
§ Fun to be with.
§ Can help with volunteer support such as food and hospitality, child care, volunteer registration, tool check-in and tagging.
§ Can help with construction tasks such as raking, shoveling, sanding and sealing.
§ Level One Skills are needed every day of the build, especially during the “raising days” of Sunday and Monday.
Level Two
§ Basic Skills.
§ Can operate hand tools such as hammers, drills and wrenches.
§ Level Two Skills are needed every day of the build, especially during the “raising days” of Sunday and Monday.
Level Three
§ Basic Carpentry Skills (i.e. building a deck).
§ Can operate a circular saw, level and square.
§ Level Three skills are needed every day of the build, especially during the “framing days” of Friday and Saturday.
§ We are looking for Level Three Volunteers who can serve as Team Captains for specific structures. The Team Captain would attend a meeting Thursday, January 17, prior to the build and then supervise a team of volunteers during the “raising days” to complete the structure.
Level Four
§ Strong Carpentry Skills or Construction Skills.
§ May have professional contracting experience.
§ Level Four skills are needed every day of the build, especially during the “framing days” of Friday and Saturday.
§ We are looking for Level Four Volunteers who can serve as Team Captains for specific structures. The Team Captain would attend a meeting Thursday, January 17, prior to the build and then supervise a team of volunteers during the “raising days” to complete the structure.
Other Skills
§ Art. We have several murals to design and complete.
§ Landscaping.
§ Face painting, storytelling and other entertainment for our child care area.
To learn more about the FSUS Playground Project visit www.fsusplaygroundproject.org
To Volunteer please contact Kasey Chapin at ka_chapin@yahoo.com
For Sponsorship Opportunties please contact Lori Fitzpatrick at fab4fitz@comcast.net
The Classroom Challenge Is Heating Up!
The stakes are huge! Which class will win the first recess on the new playground!? Your kids helped design the new playground and now you can help them win a chance to be the first class to play on the new playground by volunteering. All the details of this competition can be found here, and if you want to see which class is in the lead, we'll update you here every so often! Not sure what skills we are looking for? Here is a full description... everyone can help!
The Top 3 Classes Are Currently:
1) Boniella
2) Magnuson
3) Taylor
We Have
A Dream!