Many students may have noticed the transformation of the area between the carpool lane and the bus loop. This time last year, the area was overgrown with various weeds, poison ivy and littered with trash and dead limbs. However, the area now sports new picnic tables and fresh mulch.
No, Wake County didn’t suddenly come into extra cash; the improvements are a result of a Girl Scout Gold Award project — the highest honor awarded to a Girl Scout and was completed by a senior here at Leesville.
While brainstorming project ideas and communicating with former principal Dr. AJ Muttillo, Muttillo expressed that since arriving at Leesville, he had always wanted a dedicated space with seating for students to wait for buses or their driver’s education teachers.
With bus driver shortages and budget cutbacks, the amount of time students are waiting for their afternoon bus has continued to increase. Often bus drivers are forced to make two separate runs leaving students waiting at school. Students are arriving home much later and with extracurricular activities, the time for homework is reduced.
In order to help solve the issue, the area had to be cleared of the overgrowth and planning began on designing a seating area. The area would give students a space to relax and socialize with friends after school. It would also provide a great space to pull out the binders and get started on homework, allowing students to get to their afternoon jobs or activities.
The tables will be painted by students from the National Art Honor Society and feature Leesville logos to preserve and protect them for many years as well as show the Leesville Pride.
In addition to just providing a safe space for students to wait for buses, I hope the project will inspire other students to look for areas where they can offer their time and talents to improve the Leesville campus or their local community.
A very special thank you to the Leesville High School PTSA, the Sohn family, Home Depot, the Kramling family, and the Frederickson family. Without their generous donations of time and materials, this project would not have been possible.
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