New Jack Abrams School Blacktop a Hot Game Spot
While many winter days have been brutally cold, the spring can’t be too far off, can it? When it finally comes and when students are outdoors for recess on a more regular basis, the new 500 square foot blacktop play area at Jack Abrams Intermediate School is going to be one of the hottest spots in town.
Twister, hopscotch, four squares - when it comes to providing a variety of fun outdoor games for recess, the Jack Abrams School blacktop area has it covered, literally.
“We wanted an alternative place for students who weren’t interested in playing competitive team sports at recess,” Principal Mary Stokkers said. The Huntington School district budgeted monies to install the blacktop surface and separate school fundraising projects allowed for the creation of a “red fitness playground” area where students could participate in activities that promote physical fitness.
The school’s shared decision making team was the prime mover behind the project. It not only advocated for it but helped raise funds for adjoining benches that feature a design that encourages socialization. Still, that was only the start.
Mrs. Stokkers encouraged students to submit ideas for possible game boards that could be painted on the new blacktop. A large suggestion box was placed in the front office. The principal was excited with the submissions. “Students came up with ideas on how to turn an ordinary blacktop into an extraordinary play area,” she said.
Students in teacher James Lauter’s class then took on the role of designing what these activities would look like, before they were painted on the new blacktop. They created illustrations for each game and calculated the dimensions needed for each board. It gave the students an appreciation for the creative process involved in changing a stretch of blacktop to a game area.
“We all picked a game and drew a picture of the activity,” one student said. “We measured out the tic-tac-toe board by using a yard stick,” said another.
One youngster recalled how “we measured the perimeter of the boards using a tape measure.” Students found all kinds of ways to measure the space needed for their activity. One had a clever system of his own. “We used the floor tiles in our class because they are each one square foot,” he said.
“It was really cool how we were the first class to do the painting,” a student said. Another youngster looked at all the drawings and realized it could be a bigger job than he thought. “There’s a lot of painting to be done.” It didn’t take long for the students to roll up their sleeves and get started. With some guidance from SDM members, students chalked out the frames for both a twister and four-square board.
“I liked painting the red circles on the twister board,” one student said. A classmate agreed, saying “The twister board looked very cool after we finished painting it.”
Other students had just as much fun with the other projects. “We painted the boxes for four squares,” one said. The participants all expressed pride in their work. “I had fun working with my friends and painting four squares,” a student said. One of the youngsters captured the general attitude of the class when he said: “It was relaxing, just sitting around painting.”
Even Mrs. Stokkers took part in the project by outlining, measuring and painting some of the boards. “It’s been a lot of fun,” she said. Art teacher Karen Morea has worked to outline a map of the United States so that students can play a geography game. There are also plans for a rolling cart for the items such as a twister spinner, clipboards and chalkboards.
For the students who participated in the blacktop makeover, it was a “terrific experience,” according to Mr. Lauter. “It was lots of fun, chillin’ in the sun,” one youngster said in rhyme.
On mild winter days, students have been able to get plenty of use out of the four squares board. Come spring, the blacktop should be complete and in this year of the Winter Olympics a call will be ringing out all around the newly renovated playground: “Let the games begin!”
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