The Washington School Ice Skating Rink is almost ready! A family skate day is planned for Sunday February 11th

Hot drinks and goodies will be available for purchase. Bring blankets and lawn chairs if desired.

Organizers are still accepting donations for the costs incurred by installing outdoor water access for a fire hose to flood the rink. Costs were much higher than the PTA donation to the project and any community/neighborhood donations would help in paying off the remaining balance of the project. Any donations can be made payable to Washington School with “ice rink” written in the memo line and mailed to 2166 North 68th Street Tosa 53213. Lynn O’Brien, coordinator of the project is also looking for used park benches for the rink also. If you can help with the benches or have any specific questions regarding the rink, please email me at tamaracrouch@pabstpark.com and I will get you Lynn’s contact info.

This is a “Community Ice Rink” which can be used by all. Please keep in mind that the children who attend Washington will be using the rink before and after school as well as over the lunch hour recess time(11:30am-12:15pm). Here are the guidelines sent to us from Lynn O’Brien:

Guidelines for before or after school skating:

This is a community ice rink and will require community support and supervision to create a safe and cooperative skating environment. We have discussed with Washington parents and staff, as well as parents over at McKinley school where they have had a rink for a couple of years, and here are some of the guidelines we are suggesting that will help to accomplish this goal.
· Skaters are welcome both before and after school. However, there will be no staff supervision on the rink at these times. Skating is done at your own risk during these times and parents are advised to both supervise and encourage safe and sportsmanlike behavior on and off the ice.
· Open, free-style skating will be allowed before school and after school (until 5pm) to accommodate school students, younger children and families. We are asking that no hockey sticks or pucks be used on the ice during these times.
· After 5pm, if the rink is not occupied by free-style skaters, skaters are welcome to play hockey. If there are free-style skaters on the ice, please wait until they leave before you use your equipment. (There is good reason why hockey players wear heavy pads and helmets, it is a dangerous sport. We do not want to put non-hockey skaters at any risk.)
We are told that at McKinley, it has been the parents and the neighborhood members who have stepped up to both informally supervise the ice as well as encourage the kids in sportsmanlike etiquette. This rink provides a perfect opportunity for all of us to model and teach our children the rules for sharing a community asset like this rink. Please help us in that effort.