Special garden built on school grounds

05/05/2011

Written by Catherine Crook

Hidden in a quaint elementary school on a tree-lined Arcadia street lies a Peace Garden specially hand-crafted by students and teachers.

(More photos, click here).

In mid-April, students and teachers of Tavan Elementary School began work on their very own Peace Garden and labyrinth within the walls of their school.

The garden was not built for purely aesthetic purposes. It also has great meaning to those who helped construct it.

Funded by grants and donations, the garden and labyrinth have been in the works for quite some time. Ana Mccrory, speech specialist for Tavan, explains the generosity bestowed upon faculty, students and teachers while they were constructing the garden.

“Howard’s Ace Hardware donated equipment, Loewe’s donated a lot as well,” Mccrory said. “It is really incredible, were very grateful ... our principal, Margaret Serna, was also one of the forces moving it forward and we are all very grateful for everyone’s enthusiasm and participation.”

The garden lies between two classroom buildings on the school’s campus and was built to honor special members of the Tavan community.

“We dedicate this garden to teachers who have passed,” said Carla Zvonek, Tavan technology-intervention specialist. “It has great meaning to us and is made even more special by the fact that the kids themselves helped construct it.”

Students started spreading granite and putting pavers in the labyrinth on April 15. Parents, children and staff planted and completed the remainder of the work the next day.

A labyrinth is an ancient symbol of interconnecting passages where the path leads you to the center and then out again.

“It is not a place for running the path or jumping,” Zvonek said. “It is a place for quiet reflection or just non-thinking.

“We are all very proud of it, and it is ready to be walked.”