West School Kids Give New Playground High Marks

NEW CANAAN, Conn. – The students at West Elementary School are having a lot more fun when they go out to play at recess this fall.

The proceeds of a Wishes For West fundraising campaign organized by the West School Parent Teacher Council was used to rebuild the playground this summer. New equipment was installed, including four adjustable basketball hoops, two new soccer nets and a new walking path for the school’s mileage club. The blacktop was also resurfaced. Residents and students officially opened the new park Sunday during a West School ice cream social.

The new apparatus replaces wooden equipment that was more than 15 years old. “The parents saw a need,” said West School PTC Co-President Sheri West. “It’s a really good example of when people work together for one goal. The parents really responded to the request.”

West said the committee expected the fundraising, which started last year, to take several years. But enough money was collected to have it finished by the start of the 2011-12 school year. West would not say how much money was raised.

“The kids love it,” West said. “We’re beyond thrilled for the teachers and the students. It shows how generous this community has been.”

In previous years, Wishes For West has helped to pay for a new piano for the school’s music room and added smartboards to classrooms, weather stations for science classes and a rock-climbing wall.

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