EVERETT — Hawthorne Elementary School is raising money for a new playground, a daunting goal for the area’s most impoverished school community.
Old wooden equipment is worn, cracked and sagging. Metal rings and bars become slippery in rain and scorching hot in the sun. Some playground pieces are just plain gone.
“Even with safety precautions and the maintenance work done, several students have suffered injuries while playing on the structures, including broken limbs, and a partially severed ear,” Principal Celia O’Connor-Weaver said.
There have been splinters from wood, slips and falls that result in broken arms, pinched fingers in open holes. The ear accident happened when a child fell on the old railroad ties used to contain the wood chips around the structure.
For two years, parents, teachers and staff have been chipping away at the hefty price tag to build a new playground, estimated at $75,000. So far, they have about $5,000.
There’s pride in that achievement.
“The PTA has not only worked to raise funds, but to find community partners who can help to shoulder the load,” the principal said.
Still, it’s less than 10 percent of the way.
At that pace, second-grade students — who wrote about preferred equipment for a writing lesson in teacher Chelsea Downie’s class — may never get to experience a new playground.
The students dreams include more shade and a giant slide.
“I like a playground that has swings,” wrote one student. “I like swings because you go in the air and it looks like you’re flying. The second reason I like swings is because you go back and forth, it looks like you’re swimming.”
“I also think we should have a climbing wall,” added another student, “because it makes kids think.”
A recent Multicultural Night family event added $600 to the playground fund. About 300 people attended.
“Multicultural Night was a team effort and I couldn’t be more thankful for the way the whole community came together to make it a success and a good time for all who came,” said Corinna Bockstruck, family advocate at Hawthorne.
The event displayed the food and culture of Hawthorne’s many represented nationalities.
More than half of the school’s nearly 500 students are learning the English language. Nearly 9 in 10 students qualify for free or reduced-priced meals at school, based on their family’s income. That’s the highest rate of any Snohomish County elementary.
Want to contribute? To donate to the playground fund through the Hawthorne PTA, contact Merridy Senger at 425-345-2412 or David McCormick at 425-750-5298.
There are other ways to help students, as well.
The school welcomes volunteers, runs a weekend food program, and also takes donations of such items as new shoes and clothing, grocery gift cards, soccer balls, alarm clocks, children’s paperback books and more. Find more information at www.everettsd.org/Page/19392.
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