If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience. ~Robert Fulghum
I walk through the foyer each day and think to myself, “Wow, this truly is a multi-purpose room.” On any given day we may have students studying on a spare, students singing and practicing for the Christmas musical, students playing dodge ball with ping pong balls for PE, students doing jumping jacks for DPA (daily physical activity), students putting up art work, students putting up a Christmas tree and snowflakes, students playing ‘grab the chicken for PE’, students eating lunch, or students participating in chapel. We have a busy school and we utilize every square inch of it!
It is exciting to plan and look forward to a new gym, common area and classrooms. You have probably seen the big new wall boards in the entrances to our school which show our current plan and our vision for the future. This is a vision of great need. The new space we are planning to build is a much-needed space. It will add tremendously to the effectiveness of our programs and the positive culture in our school.
I’m amazed at the flexibility of our staff who have worked with the inconvenience of our current space for many years. Our staff are great problem solvers and they are very creative in finding ways to succeed in student learning while utilizing less-than-perfect facilities. Isn’t it wonderful that these programs all exist with such excellence and enthusiasm? Won’t it be great to see these programs in a new gym, home economics room and wood shop? We are very excited about the prospect!
There’s one more thing I should mention. When we built the play area we left it with a slope of about 18 inches from one end to the other (to save cost on fill). This is great for drying after a rain storm but not so good when you flood it for an ice rink. It was a big problem. In years past, we had to flood the rink for nearly 3 weeks until it ‘filled up’ and was flat. It was quite an inconvenience and quite a problem. The solution? Our maintenance director, Ian Hedges, built a zamboni in his garage out of the steel from the old swing set. Is that not one of the most creative solutions to a problem you’ve ever heard about? We put the ice rink together this year in 4 days thanks to Ian’s “Zambo”. The next time you see the “Zambo” out on the ice rink, say a prayer of thanks for the creative staff we have at this school that find ways to improve learning at Cedars. We are very fortunate, indeed.
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