Kelley Elementary In Southington Needs Votes To Win New Playground
Colgate Include USA ShopRite TerraCycle Playground Challenge Hit
Kelley Elementary In Southington Needs Votes To Win New Playground
Kelley Elementary School is vying for a new playground. (Southington Public Schools)
Hayley HardingContact Reporterhharding@courant.com
A new playground could be in Kelley Elementary School’s future — but it will take some help from the public.
The school is competing in the Colgate & ShopRite Recycled Playground Challenge, and it’s eligible to win a playground worth up to $50,000. The school is neck and neck with John H. West Elementary in Bethpage, N.Y. Kelley Elementary Principal Marilyn Kahl said organizers welcome community support to help give them an edge.
“We’re one of the oldest schools in Southington that hasn’t been renovated,” Kahl said. “Some of our playground equipment is rather aged, so if we can get a new one, that would be really great.”
Kelley has been involved with TerraCycle’s recycling program for 15 years, Kahl said, and the school gets points for votes submitted online as well as by collecting material that can be recycled.
That recycled material would be turned into the playground, something Kahl said would bring the program full circle for her students.
“It’s a great lesson for the kids,” Kahl said. “It brings it home for them on why it’s important to recycle, and it has something tangible that allows them to enjoy the benefits of it.”
Flanders Elementary School, also in Southington, won the contest with help from others in the community in 2015, and Kelley parents decided this year to go all in to help their school win.
Kristen Curley, Kelley’s parent coordinator for the program, said that after taking second place in a similar contest, she decided the school should make this their year to win a playground. She is now leading a team of about a dozen parents to make sure people vote and donate.
Specifically, the school needs “used, post-consumer oral care product packaging and products,” according to the contest’s website. That includes things such as used toothbrushes and empty toothpaste containers, which can be difficult to gather because it’s so specific. With help from a school with over 300 students as well as the local community, however, the challenge has gotten easier.
“Parents started reaching out to dentists’ offices and working with them to help us win this, because those offices produce a lot of the exact stuff we need,” Curley said. “Local dentists’ offices and parents working with them have been absolutely instrumental.”
She’s feeling optimistic about the competition despite there being hundreds of schools and organizations in the contest. With community help, Kelley has been a top contender for the length of the program.
The contest ends June 30. A drop box will be set up at Kelley Elementary for people to donate material, or you can vote online here.
Kelley Elementary School is vying for a new playground. (Southington Public Schools)
Hayley HardingContact Reporterhharding@courant.com
A new playground could be in Kelley Elementary School’s future — but it will take some help from the public.
The school is competing in the Colgate & ShopRite Recycled Playground Challenge, and it’s eligible to win a playground worth up to $50,000. The school is neck and neck with John H. West Elementary in Bethpage, N.Y. Kelley Elementary Principal Marilyn Kahl said organizers welcome community support to help give them an edge.
“We’re one of the oldest schools in Southington that hasn’t been renovated,” Kahl said. “Some of our playground equipment is rather aged, so if we can get a new one, that would be really great.”
Kelley has been involved with TerraCycle’s recycling program for 15 years, Kahl said, and the school gets points for votes submitted online as well as by collecting material that can be recycled.
That recycled material would be turned into the playground, something Kahl said would bring the program full circle for her students.
“It’s a great lesson for the kids,” Kahl said. “It brings it home for them on why it’s important to recycle, and it has something tangible that allows them to enjoy the benefits of it.”
Flanders Elementary School, also in Southington, won the contest with help from others in the community in 2015, and Kelley parents decided this year to go all in to help their school win.
Kristen Curley, Kelley’s parent coordinator for the program, said that after taking second place in a similar contest, she decided the school should make this their year to win a playground. She is now leading a team of about a dozen parents to make sure people vote and donate.
Specifically, the school needs “used, post-consumer oral care product packaging and products,” according to the contest’s website. That includes things such as used toothbrushes and empty toothpaste containers, which can be difficult to gather because it’s so specific. With help from a school with over 300 students as well as the local community, however, the challenge has gotten easier.
“Parents started reaching out to dentists’ offices and working with them to help us win this, because those offices produce a lot of the exact stuff we need,” Curley said. “Local dentists’ offices and parents working with them have been absolutely instrumental.”
She’s feeling optimistic about the competition despite there being hundreds of schools and organizations in the contest. With community help, Kelley has been a top contender for the length of the program.
The contest ends June 30. A drop box will be set up at Kelley Elementary for people to donate material, or you can vote online here.