~ Press release provided by Page County Public Schools
LURAY ― Seniors at Luray High School worked during the first semester of the school year to revitalize a memorial garden that exists onsite and serves as a tribute to longtime Page County Public Schools employee, and beloved former principal, Dave Ponn.
Seniors in Kendra Chamberlain’s English 12 class set out on a mission to give the Dave Ponn Memorial Garden a much needed make-over. The garden was originally established in 2013 to honor principal Dave Ponn, who passed away from an extended illness in 2012. Ponn served in multiple roles during his tenure with PCPS, including teacher, varsity boys and girls basketball coach, athletic director, assistant principal, and principal of Luray High School.
The beautification was initiated as a part of a Service Learning Project that seniors have the option to complete in place of a senior research paper. The project must have a plan, work with the community and a non profit organization to obtain the materials needed, and then write a reflection paper about the experience and how it benefitted the community. Projects require a minimum of 10 hours of service and must have approval from the school division prior to starting.
The group of 11 seniors, who were supervised by LHS instructional assistant Lisa Packard, tackled the project by dividing into groups and focusing on their specific tasks. There was a demolition, clean up, and landscaping crew, beautification crew, and a crew that focused on the restoration of a bench that was already in the garden. Some materials for the project were donated with the help of LHS Agriculture teacher Katie Rines.
In coordination with the service project, Leah Cawthorn’s club, “The Busy Bees,” plans to contribute by planting a pollinator garden and placing bird houses throughout. The club is presently preparing to grow the flowers that will be used in the garden this coming spring.
Now that the memorial garden has been revitalized, the hope is that the space will be used as an outdoor classroom and as a place students can go to unwind and visit with friends. This project is just one example of how Luray High School students are giving back to their community.
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