The courtyard of Rose Hill Elementary School has been upgraded thanks to community partners from the CrossWalk Church and the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
This project began due to the overgrown state of Rose Hill Elementary’s courtyard. The church, which is just across the street from the school, created a plan to repurpose the courtyard as a new opportunity to provide a learning area that could be appreciated by students and staff. The church received a grant from Lindsay Honda that allowed them to supply the materials. The volunteers made sure they remodeled the courtyard in a way that would be maintainable, and followed any other requests the school asked of them.
They began working on the courtyard this summer and have completed the project in the past few weeks. They found some difficulty with finding the time to
work on it since they were only able to do so when the students weren’t in school, which also often meant the building was closed. In the future, they plan to add in other items for learning purposes, such as a weather station, bird feeders, and more.
John Ennis, senior pastor of the CrossWalk Church, stated how they chose to complete the project “to simply help the school and show the love of God.” He credits Charles Chapman of The Christian and Missionary Alliance for all his hard work as the volunteer team leader of the project. The church expresses their support of the school in many other ways as well. They volunteer as servers in the lunchroom, serve as crossing guards for the students across Rosehill Road, and partner with the school to collect and deliver winter items to those in need. They’ve also supplied backpacks and materials to families in need as well and often helped out families in need by directing them to resources specific to their situation. Ennis hopes to “tutor kids and teach professional development classes” as well as “continue a great relationship in which we partner with the school meeting needs and supporting staff, teachers, and students.”
Rose Hill Principal Damicka Bates is extremely appreciative of the CrossWalk Church for taking on this project and in general for their collaboration with the school.
“Our students and staff absolutely adore the CrossWalk family and appreciate all of the support they have given to Rose Hill every day,”
Mrs. Bates said.
She also mentions that throughout the year, they partner with the church to engage in service projects, lunch buddies, crosswalk duty and mentoring opportunities.
“When you do something for others, it makes everyone involved a better person. Our partnership strengthens us as a collective body of people in that at the core of our ‘why’ we know that our mission is to always help or be of service to everyone we come in contact with,” she added.
Mrs. Bates enjoys the new outdoor learning environment as it has the ability to promote fun science activities, a serene spot to read and hold book clubs, and can host social functions for staff, the community, and professional development meetings for teachers. The opportunities for the new space are limitless!