Fresh turf at Milton Lynch

Students and volunteers transporting turf for the Milton Lynch Primary school grounds. (Ricardo Leacock)

Mon, April 09, 2012 - 12:02 AM

STUDENTS OF Milton Lynch Primary School will have something to smile about when they return to their classrooms after Easter vacation.

Students of the Water Street, Christ Church boys’ school will see a new playground, two new gazebos and repainted classrooms.

It’s all due to the combined efforts of members of the Drury University’s Student In Free Enterprise (SIFE) team, associates of the St Louis-based Edward Jones Investments company, and the Diabetes Association Of Barbados.

After contacting the association months ago to engage in a health-based project while they were in Barbados on vacation, six students from the university based in Missouri, accompanied by 160 associates from the financial advisory firm, lent a hand in the preparation of the child-friendly playground.

Sarah Montgomery, director of the Drury SIFE, explained that they got involved in the project through the Diabetes Association Of Barbados, whose members were already working at the school to get the children more active and promoting healthier eating habits.

“We are repainting two of the school buildings, marking out permanent hopscotch areas and road tennis courts in the concrete area of the playground, planting trees and shrubs, and constructing two gazebos. We are really excited to be a part of this and to see the community come together to help impact the school in this way,” she explained.

Although some $10 000 has been committed to the project by Edward Jones Investments and local companies, additional donations were welcome.

School principal Anthony Graham said he was pleased to see the school was getting help in encouraging the children to play outside and be more active.

“Multiple objectives are being met by this project.

We have many children who are overweight and there is very little to do at lunchtime.

“It will also allow the teachers to utilize the gazebos and perhaps have some outdoor lessons,” said the principal. (AH/BGIS)