Halloween Comes Early to Passyunk Square
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N OV E M B E R 2 , 2017
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CHILDREN of all ages had a wide arrangement of activities to participate in, like the pumpkin decorating these costumed characters got elbow-deep in.
EAST PASSYUNK AVENUE B.I.D. celebrated its Fall Fest & Spooky Saturday this past weekend. Photos by Eldon Graham
COSTUMES ranged from a variety of themes, like this Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach combo. But the festivities weren’t only for the little ones – adults got in on the action as well, showing off their costumes while sampling fall-themed food, beer and cocktails.
Childs School Wins Rooftop Play Space
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OUNCILMAN Kenyatta Johnson (1st Dist.) met with School District officials and leaders from Neighbors Investing in Childs Elementary last week to present a grant for $100,000 toward a new state-of-the-art play space on the rooftop of George W. Childs Elementary School in Point Breeze. The play space will be the result of NICE’s “Project Recess,” a multi-year initiative to involve students, teachers and community members in the conception and design of the reimagined rooftop. “As a former student at Childs Elementary, I have seen the positive impact a schoolyard can have on a child’s physical and emotional development, allowing kids to focus more on academics in class. As a public servant, I understand the role that playgrounds and schools can play in support-
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ing the growth of the community,” the councilman said. “I am a firm believer that all of our children deserve quality, safe, fun places to play and learn and I have made it my goal to improve as many playgrounds in my district as I can. I am happy to stand with my school and the Point Breeze community today to give these kids another opportunity to grow.” Last year, NICE and nonprofit consulting firm the Big Sandbox began a community engagement initiative in Point Breeze with Iowa State University College of Design. Students from the university’s landscape architecture program met with Childs students and community members to learn about their hopes and needs for the ideal play space. Under the direction of Professor Bambi Yost, the Iowa State students
used that input to create big-picture renderings of the rooftop play space. The renderings will serve as a guide for the final design. “The idea of Project Recess is to imagine as an inclusive community what the rooftop and schoolyard can be,” said NICE President Jennifer Devor, whose four-yearold will start school at Childs next year. “When we include the kids and the school’s faculty in the process and we put them together with neighbors and experts, we really begin to see the collective creativity of the respective stakeholders. We thank Councilman Johnson for his support of NICE, Project Recess and our neighborhood public schools.” The grant was appropriated through the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative and will be received by the Fund for the Philadelphia School
District, which will manage the project’s finances on behalf of NICE. Phase two of Project Recess will consider the potential of the school’s ground-level yard and entranceway, so the children of Childs will have two outdoor places in which to play and learn and a more welcoming entrance to school each day. “G.W. Childs is a rising school with smart, dedicated young people who have so much to offer their community and the world,” said Childs Principal Dr. Eileen Coutts. “Childs alumni like Councilman Kenyatta Johnson and Representative Jordan Harris make us proud of the teaching and learning that goes on here every day. We know that physical activity and the arts are key factors in early childhood development, but the rooftop will be that much more special because the children
are involved in the planning. This vision is possible now because Councilman Johnson saw the potential, not only in the plan for the space, but in the kids who will play and learn there.” NICE is a nonprofit community group founded in 2012 by neighbors and a Childs art teacher. The group’s earlier projects included raising money for school supplies, granting teachers micro-grants for classroom projects and revitalizing the school library. Since then, in partnership with the principal, parents, teachers and students, NICE and G.W. Childs have raised over $135,000 for capital projects, afterschool programming and student activities. NICE has engaged more than 500 community members through volunteer projects, advocacy and fundraising.
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