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Reminder Assistant Editor EAST LONGMEADOW Fundraising is currently underway for what the Mapleshade Elementary Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) hopes will be a large new playground. Students mailed letters to various businesses throughout town in early June, asking for their assistance in achieving this goal. "There will be 346 kids at Mapleshade this year," Michele Martinelli, PTO president, said. "They have new classrooms but not much playground [space]." Martinelli, who has served as a teacher in the past, said she knows how important time outside is for young students. The gifted and talented class at the school conducted a survey before the end of the school year to see what type of equipment their fellow students would like to see on the playground. The answers ranged from rock climbing walls to a walking track to a new slide. "You can only have so many four squares and basketball hoops," Martinelli said. The PTO is budgeting $10,000 for the playground project and is aiming to raise an additional $50,000 to cover the cost of equipment and installation. What will be built, however, depends on how much is raised and if the plans are approved of by the School Committee. "We embrace PTOs that want to raise money for their schools," Superintendent Edward Costa said. "We support and appreciate them." In addition to the summer fundraising and the budgeted money, the PTO is searching for grants to help pay for a new playground. The average playscape starts at around $27,000. The annual fall fundraiser of selling wrapping paper and the spring fundraiser of selling Yankee Candles also bring in around $5,000 each. Martinelli said the fundraising has been going really well thus far, even though donations have been "trickling in." "The smaller businesses are really coming through," she noted. The town's Caribbean Festival, which donates its proceeds to the five schools in the district, will also help the PTO toward reaching its goal. "[Including the kids in the fundraising process] is important because it's a way for them to see the means to an end," Martinelli said. "As they grow, they will see it as something they did for the school, something they helped create. "This is just the beginning stage," she continued. Anyone interested in donating to the playground fundraiser should contact Mapleshade Elementary at 525-5485 for more information. | ||||||
