One of the many senior year traditions is coming up with a gift to donate to the school. The senior class pays for this gift with leftover funds from raising money for other events. This year, the senior class of 2024, under advisors Mrs. Amy Shomper and Mrs. Christine McLaughlin, chose to renovate the courtyard area that lies in the center of the school building.
This area of the school was added as a result of the 2008 renovation to the high school which notably included the addition of the current high school gymnasium. Unfortunately, during construction, the courtyard became a dumping ground. Environmental Club engaged in a planting and cleaning effort shortly after the construction, where they added a tree, a drainage area with plants at the bottom of the courtyard, and plants at the concrete platform at the top of the courtyard.
Later, former Newport student William Aldrich added a railing to the concrete platform and four picnic tables in addition to other renovations for his Boy Scout Eagle project. Since these projects, the courtyard has been maintained by the school maintenance staff, but no significant improvements have been made.
In total, the class of 2024 donated time and resources in the courtyard for four new Adirondack chairs, two side tables, four new picnic tables, and a repaired stair. They also assisted in digging, planting, and mulching for various bushes and plants and painted the railing and the wheelchair-accessible picnic tables.
Various members of the class of 2024 as well as underclassmen and clubs around Newport High School helped in the renovation. Environmental Club, under advisor Mrs. Lauren Chubb, managed the digging, planting, and mulching. The northernmost bank of the courtyard was awkwardly high, so the students dug out the bank and relocated the dirt to the front of the concrete platform. Then, students added plants to the banks and mulched them. The plants include baptisia, coreopsis, New England aster, Japanese holly, purple coneflower, meadowsweet, and Virginia sweetspire.
Additionally, Mr. Timothy Gamber’s Intro to Material Processes class built four new picnic tables and helped to paint the two wheelchair-accessible picnic tables. Junior Bryan Schue, who attends the Cumberland-Perry Area Vocational Technical School for masonry, added a final step to the precarious stairs down from the concrete platform. This step was previously two disjointed concrete cinder blocks.
Mrs. Shomper feels that the renovation was a success and that future classes can take lessons from the class of 2024’s gift. She explained, “I think having the other clubs and students involved helped to give ownership to the entire school. I’m hoping when it comes their time, they remember this experience and try to involve others in their gift.”
The courtyard renovation was a wide beautification process that the school will feel the benefits of for years to come. Treasurer of the class of 2024 Alexandria Reisinger commented, “I’m honestly really proud of it because I feel like it’s something everyone’s able to use and spend their time in. Most other senior gifts have been for administrators and the students don’t really get to use them. This is one thing that everyone can enjoy.”
