July 6, 2019 -- The middle school renovations that will be unveiled in August will be primarily noticeable from the interior of the buildings. But Roxboro’s 6th graders have been working hard to create a welcoming and colorful environment for the exterior of their building as well.

Eight classes of students spent two weeks in May priming, painting, assembling, and decorating benches and flower boxes to be placed on the school grounds.

Project Beautify was initiated by social studies teacher Wendy Ward-Price and funded by Rox Arts and the Tiger Nation Fund of the Heights Schools Foundation as an IB community project. Taking action is a major component of the middle grades’ International Baccalaureate program.

The six benches will be placed around the exterior of the school, each flanked by two flower boxes. Students decorated the flower boxes with IB attributes such as Caring, Open-Minded, Reflective, Risk-Taker and Inquirer. Members of the Environmental Club will plant and maintain flowers in both the fall and the spring, under the guidance of 6th grade science teacher Peter Adorjan.  

Student Zion Pettway thinks this “is a nice project because we get to bring something from the old building to the new. And we’re bringing memories with us.”