New playground opened for St. Andrew School

Courtesy photo/Michelle Mulcahy, Saint Andrew School

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Students at Saint Andrew School had great reasons to celebrate the start of the new school year. Not only did they open the doors to their first-ever 8th grade class, but on Aug. 15, Saint Andrew Parish’s new pastor, Father John Evans, blessed and dedicated a new, much-anticipated playground.

For the school’s first three years, students enjoyed their recess time out in a big grassy yard, but results of a parent survey by the School Board revealed that parents thought a playground was a necessity. Through God’s graces, three anonymous donors offered their financial assistance in the endeavor.

A volunteer committee consisting of Kurt Cusick, James Stanbrough, Jennifer Randall, Kris Maulorico, Mary Gist and Holy Cross Sister Karla McKinnie was formed to complete the project. Playground parts were delivered in late January from Blue Sky Playground and placed into a storage container on school property to wait out the winter snow.

To save on installation costs, many parents and volunteers participated in the construction frenzy, but the main building crew consisted of James Stanbrough, who had the expertise to coordinate and manage the construction; and Rich Learned and Mike Dixon from Ace Property Maintenance. Mother Nature made the endeavor longer than anticipated, but construction and woodchip installation were completed by late July.

Fr. Evans included the schoolchildren in the blessing of the playground on the school’s first day back. As the whole school gathered around the play structure, Fr. Evans prayed for the people who helped in the efforts to provide and build the structure as well as the student body who would enjoy it for years to come.