Playground Dedication

Pinehurst Elementary School

All of Pinehurst Elementary School, along with special guests, will be out on the playground at 10 a.m. Friday, May 28, for the dedication of the Everybody Playspace playground. Some of the donors to the $80,000 project, school officials, alumni and past principals have been invited. After comments, key people in the effort to create the Everybody Playspace at Pinehurst, including Mary Ashanti, will cut the ribbon, and the children will walk through the playspace on their way to take part in field day.

Mrs. Ashanti started this after the death of her grandson, Cameron, with a generous donation. Mrs. Karen Maul and Mrs. Carol Donovan both have special children and have helped tremendously with the fund raising. This is an $80,000 project and it's all be paid through fund-raising and donations.

Pinehurst Elementary School was one of the first schools in Wicomico County to become 100% handicapped accessible. As a result, Pinehurst became the central location for the education of disabled children. Our mission here at Pinehurst is to provide all students with opportunities to develop self-discipline, a strong work ethic and a positive attitude; and each student is a valued individual with unique needs. Up to this point, our disabled students were not able to participate in many of the outdoor activities, independently or with non-disabled classmates, due to the accessibility of our current playground equipment.

The Everybody Playspace will address this issue and our disabled children will be on level terms with others and gain confidence to expand their boundaries, through exploration, problem solving and discovery. Furthermore, this project will be used as a model for other schools to promote and demonstrate that all students, regardless of limitations, can take part in activities that our normal population experiences almost every day.