Tailor-made for the shade 0
stephen uhler stephen.uhler@sunmedia.ca The Rockwood Public School community got together to make this shade structure happen. They gathered again to celebrate the completion of the building. In the photo are, starting from left, Bridget Roesler, Rockwood chief custodian; David Grant, Renfrew County District School Board carpenter; Larry Hilts, mason; Lonnie Coulterman, RCDSB plant department; Michael Mask, area supervisor; Mike Watson, shop foreman; Wendy Hewitt, Laurentian Valley RCDSB trustee; Gayle Bishop, Pembroke Family of Schools superintendent; Mary Ann Mullen, school principal; Lee Ann Plummer and Lisa Seegmiller, teachers and shade structure organizers; Lee Carisse, Superior Roof Truss; Alex Plummer, Greenwood Paving; Jason Schulz, Jp2g Consultants; Steve Sow, Trent Timber, Marie Carson and Tammie Vigus, Home Depot; Keith Watt, representing H. Paulin and Company Ltd.; Jeff Siegel of Siegel Sand and Gravel and his son Christopher Siegel.
For years, Rockwood Public School has enjoyed the blessings of being a rural school, with a beautiful view of the landscape, room for a vast playground and plenty of fresh air and sunshine.
One thing it lacked, though, is shade, which meant staff and the 400 or so students who would be out enjoying the schoolyard also had to be mindful they were dodging the sun’s harmful rays.
Until recently, that is, as the school officially declared its new outdoor classroom and shade structure open and ready for business, thanks to the Rockwood family, who pulled together to make this a reality.
Rockwood teachers Lee Ann Plummer and Lisa Seegmiller have been working very hard with other members of the school’s family over the past three years to bring shade to the school grounds. The pair have been credited by others for getting this project rolling.
“The people who helped make this happen are all Rockwood families,” Ms. Seegmiller said. Ms. Plummer agreed.
“The Rockwood area is a very strong community.”
The structure, a roof held up with support beams and secured in an asphalt base, both provides an area of shade from the sun, but will in time be the site of an outdoor classroom.
The teachers said this project wouldn’t have happened at all if it wasn’t for the people who cooperated and worked together. In materials alone, the structure is worth $25,000, not to mention labour and other associated costs, so without their help it likely wouldn’t have been built.
The support came from those who have children attending the school.
Among those who helped make the sun shelter a reality were:
Jason Schulz of Jp2g Consultants, who donated his time to draw up the plans for the structure;
Greenwood Paving, who donated supplies, labour, looked after getting the locates done and paved the base;
Siegels Sand and Gravel, who also donated supplies and three days of labour preparing the base and pouring the posts;
Home Depot, who with the urging of Marie Carson donated the building materials, and;
The Renfrew County District School Board’s plant department, who constructed it.
Mary Ann Mullen, Rockwood principal, said this day is a culmination of years of hard work among the partners and staff who together made this happen.
Next, she said they will be working on getting benches and tables so the structure can be used as an outdoor classroom.
Stephen Uhler is a Daily Observer multimedia journalist
Reader's comments »
Pembroke