$30,000 Sams Foundation grant funds musical playground at Hidden Forest Elementary School
Students at Hidden Forest Elementary School will combine physical and creative energy to create music on musical instruments in the playground, courtesy of a $30,000 grant from the Earl C. Sams Foundation.
PTA president Lisa Thompson launched the grant submission process that landed the grant to fund “Music in the Park.” The musical instruments will be installed in an area of the campus known as SPARK, a recreational area created by a school/city partnership and open to the community.
The durable outdoor musical instruments will be accessible to the 5-11 year olds during the day and available to the community after school hours and the weekends.
The “Music in the Park” project will create a musical playground for nearly 600 elementary school students and the community, Thompson said.
“Imagine an outdoor space where elementary students are experimenting with sounds, developing musical skills and playing together,” she said. “The musical instruments are designed to be accessible by everyone, regardless of musical or physical abilities,” Thompson said.
The musical playground will consist of sculptural designs that produce music. Five brightly colored instrument stations will be arranged in a semi-circle, including a metallophone, resonated xylophone combination, chimes and drums
Angela Leonhardt, Hidden Forest’s music teacher, will incorporate the instruments into music instruction.
“This will give our kindergarten through 5th graders the opportunity to develop their fine motor skills, language skills and academic and social interaction,” Leonhardt said. “The project will expand the school’s current music curriculum and increase the opportunities for children to interact with music while benefiting from outdoor play.”
Hidden Forest Principal Cody Miller said that the musical playground will combine play and music, “both important aspects of a child’s development.”
“Our children will now have the opportunity to release the music inside them while playing in the playground,” Miller said. “Our goal is to offer unstructured creative play with the instruments that will stimulate our children’s musical creativity.”
Educators interested in seeking grants can access the grants mini-base created by the district’s Government Relations and Grant Development Department. District educators must be signed into the district intranet system to access: https://www.neisd.net/Page/471. Employees are encouraged to watch the video on the “Grant Training and Writing” page before starting the grant writing process.
