St. Ann Catholic School Starts School Year with New Scranton Products Duralife Lockers (R) for Large Kindergarten Class, Won in Video Competition by Older Students
Scranton, PA (PRWEB) August 31, 2017 -- St. Ann Catholic School (SAS), of West Palm Beach, Florida has completed installation of Scranton Products’ Duralife lockers for use by this year’s incoming kindergarten class. SAS first installed Duralife Lockers in the kindergarten hallway in the middle of the last school year, when older students received $5,000 worth of lockers and $2,500 in scholarships as third prize in the Scranton Products Duralife Unlocker Challenge national video competition. The new recently installed lockers were needed to accommodate the class of 30 students for this school year.
“Installing Duralife lockers in the kindergarten hallway had a much greater impact than we originally expected,” says Thresa Newkirk, resource teacher at SAS. “It gave us the opportunity to free up space in the classroom, and the students just really loved how grown up they felt having their own quality lockers. We are happy that the new kindergarten class will have that experience right from the start of the school year.”
In the highly-divisive climate of the election year, and at a time when racial tensions were growing across the country, Scranton Products asked middle and high school students nationally to share videos exploring the topic of inclusivity. St. Ann Catholic School’s video included students of different ages defining inclusivity and exclusivity, and how each made them feel.
The competition video was created by students in a broadcasting course offered as an elective for the first time in 2016. “The teacher thought the contest would be a great motivator for the students in this new course,” says Thresa Newkirk, resource teacher at St. Ann. “And, she was right. It was a terrific opportunity for the class to create something that would potentially benefit other students.”
SAS chose Duralife lockers in red, one of the school’s colors. In addition to storage, the lockers provide the opportunity to begin to teach this young group of students responsibility. They don’t return to the lockers often throughout the day, so need to think ahead as to what supplies to bring into the room with them each morning. The kindergarten teacher has also used the numbered lockers as part of number recognition and counting lessons.
Newkirk adds the durability and safety of the lockers gave them confidence when choosing to place them in the kindergarten and pre-K hallway. The lockers are durable, with no sharp edges, and easy to clean. They were secured to the wall by the maintenance staff, who installed them over a weekend in the middle of last school year.
By using new-found broadcasting skills to share a positive message of inclusivity with a nationwide audience, St. Ann Catholic School students earned new lockers that serve as an everyday reminder that their inclusivity efforts are valued. They also gave a much-appreciated gift to much younger students.
St. Ann’s video was part of the TOP 100 videos selected from 260 submissions nationally to be judged by a judging panel. Their video can be found online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMmSyslNReM.
Maureen Murray, Precise Communications LLC, +1 (973) 993-1570, [email protected]
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