A good omen

Congratulations to Lafayette Elementary on the launch of its long-awaited playground renovation, with this morning’s groundbreaking ceremony. On a school day that wouldn’t have existed if not for one of this past winter’s snow days, early overcast gave way to brilliant sunshine by the time the festivities started. We’ve got a few pix. First — the reason a new playground is needed (the entire 2-acre blacktop looks like this, or worse):

Here’s the groundbreaking lineup (note they couldn’t really smash shovels through the tough old blacktop, so look close and you’ll see a ceremonial pile of sand to be overturned) — participants included parent volunteers and student councilmembers as well as King County Councilmember Dow Constantine (center) and Lafayette Principal Virginia Turner (right):

And one more photo of Dow C for good measure – he drew goodnatured boos by admitting he had attended Schmitz Park Elementary, not Lafayette. He got to read the long list of major project contributors — and there are many; more help still needed — info on how to do that is in our previous post on the topic.

Gina June 21, 2007 (3:22 pm)

Without much effort, I believe I could have led them to several spots on the playground that are already cracked through the asphalt and aggregate. Easy shoveling.

From what the main speaker was saying, it sounds like phase one is tearing up the hard surface, and putting in grass that will need a year to season. The poor kids. That will be a lifetime to them.

Still wish they could recover and daylight the buried creek.

miws June 21, 2007 (10:20 pm)

Hmmmmmm…..Speaking of groundbreaking, I wonder if there’s still a crack in the asphalt of the Kindergarten Playground, where I hit my widdle bitty head some 43 years ago, when falling from the play bars?

And why did it seem like the bars were ten feet off the ground back then, but as I’ve walked by there as an adult, they appear to be only a foot off the ground? :p

Must be the same scientific answer as to why the retaining wall along side of Hiawatha Park shrunk significantly from around that same time, until around 30 or so years ago!

Mike

Gina June 23, 2007 (9:38 am)

The tiny bars, and the only play structure on the playground, that climbing thing that was always a spaceship or a cage in the imagination. The kindergartners were lucky.

Rubber matting didn’t appear under any of the bars or the climbing structure until one of the “D” twins slipped in mid twirl. She had a power mom that squeaked until Mr. Holden had ask the school district for the mats. And Mr. Lammers, (may he rest in peace) making comments about what sissies kids were today, and that will be 50 burpees for you boy! (everyone was boy to him no matter what sex.)

miws June 23, 2007 (6:55 pm)

Aw heck! I thought they put the rubber mats in, however long it was after my incident, to cover up the hair, skin, blood, skull fragments, brain matter, that I left behind! :p

And I forgot about Burpees! Please refresh my memory Gina, were they like squat thrusts, or what?

And I do remember Mr. Lammers! So sad that he passed way too young, but was happy to know he stayed at Lafayette for some 30 years after I last attended.

Another Teacher I remember fondly is Mrs. Munsen, the First Grade Teacher. She passed many years ago. One thing I will always remember is that she attended my Mom’s Funeral Service, even though my Brother and I were well beyond the First Grade at the time. (I was in Third, he was in Sixth.)

I mentioned in a previous post of not so fond memeories of Mr. Gaston. Another Teacher that I have rather unpleasant memories of was Third Grade Teacher Mrs. Connor(s?).

I always have, and still do, have a kind of “dyslexia” when it comes to certain tasks that another person may describe, or even demonstrate how to do. I’ll tend to do it totally bassackwards.

In this case, we were making folders to keep our work in. We had each punched holes in a manila folder, then were threading yarn through them to close up one end.

I was threading mine the wrong way, and Mrs. Connor(s?) proceeded to verbally chastise me, and whack me on the the arm with a ruler! :-O

Uh-oh……I seem to be having a flashback……

*Runs away grasping sides of head in hands, screaming!*

Mike

Gina June 23, 2007 (7:57 pm)

Mrs. Munsen was my first grade teacher, too. I had a birthday book (remember those?) that I kept for years. That half lined paper with room for a picture on top? Copied off the blackboard “Happy Birthday Warren, or Susan, or Roxy, or Phillip”
And she would staple them all together, and draw a picture of a cake on a piece of construction paper for the cover.

According to my sister, who attended Lafayette in the 50’s, there were no boys and girls sides of the playground. My brother’s attended Laffayette in the 40’s, and all they recall is playing in the ravine. Mr. Holden had that painted on the playground. I remember being kept after school for stepping over the line to pick up a kickball.

I remember a Miss Young that taught 3rd grade as being the scariest teacher in the whole school, much scarier than Mr. Gaston. The children had to silently line up away from the rest of us for recess and lunch on the playground. I remember that she limped, there was a rumor that she went to hit a kid with the ruler, missed, and broke her leg.

I never quite got the hang of going across the rings. The problem was that I liked swinging back and forth to see how high I could go. Not popular with the others in line. Not too smart in the days of the dress code, wearing a dress.

If I remember the gym class warmup, I think it was juuuumping jaaacks,ten, puuuuush upppps, ten. squaaats, ten, and drop and give me 10 burpees. I think they were squat thrusts. And Mr. Lammers would repeat the drill until 50 of each had been done. And the boys weren’t supposed to watch the girls doing all the drills, because we were all in dresses.

I think the art projects were recycled from teacher to teacher. I am still scissor and paste in a dab on a paper towel impaired to this day.

miws June 24, 2007 (7:14 pm)

I don’t remember the birthday book.

I do remember Miss Young. I think I may have mentioned on my earlier posting about Mr Gaston, that my brother must owe her a few years in accrued after school time, for one time he didn’t show up.

One of my buddies from around the 4th or 5th grade nicknamed her the “Kiddy Monster”. He would do a Frankenstein type walk, (to somewhat mimic her limp) and growl, as his impression of the “Kiddy Monster”.

Mike

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