To the Editor:
As a parent involved in building the new Great Salt Bay School playground, I helped organize Playground Planning Day Sept. 28.
The Playground Committee brought in a consultant from Learning Structures Inc. to work with various groups to design our new playground. GSB students worked on design ideas during the day, and parents and community members came to a planning session in the evening. After school, GSB teachers were invited to an optional faculty meeting to give their input.
I have been a GSB parent for nine years and I have always been impressed by the incredible caliber of teachers we have in our local school, but never more so than on Friday. Over 30 teachers stayed after work to discuss the playground project. Not only were they animated, enthusiastic, and helpful, but nearly every teacher wore a playground t-shirt that they had purchased to help the cause.
Even the consultant from Learning Structures, who has worked with hundreds of schools around the country, remarked on the enthusiasm and dedication of the GSB faculty. “This project will go well,” he said, “If your teachers are this engaged.”
Once again I feel incredibly fortunate to live in a community that supports such a vibrant, lively public school. When a community values its teachers, teachers give back a thousandfold, mostly in ways we never see.
Thank you, teachers!
Jenny Mayher, Newcastle
