Something Good - New friendship bench unveiled at Chaires Elementary School

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - A colorful new addition was unveiled today at Chaires Elementary School.

It’s a hand-painted friendship bench. The outgoing fifth graders worked all spring semester to design and paint the bench, and today, the second graders were on hand to officially welcome the new addition to the playground.

The idea is to make sure no one is without a friend at recess. They can sit on the bench and another student will come up and strike up a conversation.

”It could be as simple as, ‘Oh I want to meet someone new.’ They could be in a great mood. They don’t have to be sad to sit, they could just want someone new,” said Chaires art teacher Colleen Nottingham. “And someone new will come and see them sitting there. The idea is that no child is just sitting on the bench for the entire recess without any attention.”

The bench was funded thanks to a $500 grant from Duke Energy and Coca. The school is hoping to secure another grant to build another bench for the younger kids’ playground.

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