A Colorful Summer At Ardena

There is still more than a month to go before school starts but work is already underway to get ready at Ardena School.

As part of an overall beautification effort teachers, staff, current and former students are busy working on painting the play area behind the building. Games like hopscotch and four square are getting fresh coats of paint to prepare for the return of students in September.

Principal Deborah Pennell said the idea for the work came from the students as part of their Leader In Me initiative. “We talk to the kids and ask for their input on how we can improve and what we can do,” she said. After a survey of the students it was decided they wanted to work on their recess area and make it “a little bit brighter and fun.”

During the past school year a lot of work was put into painting and refreshing the halls and even the bathrooms of the district’s oldest school. The work outside, she said, is a continuation of that effort. “This really originated from the kids,” she said. “They said we’re already beautifying the inside so you’re always looking at ways to improve and this is something they came up with.”

Monday marked the second time work has been done in the play area and Pennell said seeing all the current and former students come back not only got her more excited for September but also reminded her what makes the graduates of the school such a special group. “That’s part of the Leader In Me that they’re giving back to the community,” she said. “Part of who they are as students and their character is giving back. That’s part of the legacy that the Leader In Me leaves.”