Alex II opens to the outdoors with new classroom

Students at Alex II Elementary School will have the opportunity to learn outdoors — improving focus and mental health — a few steps away from the school’s front doors.

A ring of picnic tables surrounded by colorful posts and hanging beanbag chairs make up the new outdoor learning space, which was unveiled by parents and school administrators Thursday afternoon.

While it might be too chilly for students to use the classroom now, the hope is for students to be able to get outside during the spring.

Principal Donna Cline said the space will give teachers the ability to connect with nature and demonstrate STEM specific topics.

“I’m excited about having one for us to have an opportunity to let the children get outside and enjoy the fresh air and just get outside the classroom,” Cline said.

The project was funded by the school’s Parent Teacher Association, which raised $4,600 last year between a walkathon and spirit shops.

Rocio Garcia, president of the Alex II PTA, said she noticed her son would come home jittery and jumpy and wanted a safe space for him to get outside.

Sometimes teachers would take students over to Tattnall Square Park for their lessons, she added.

“I wanted … for the kids to be here at the actual school and have a good space where it was still structured and where they’re able to learn and implement different ideas to keep them engaged and focused in a different atmosphere,” Garcia said.

Mercer University students pitched in as part of the Be a Good NeighBear initiative, the university’s annual day of service that sends students to volunteer around Macon.

Volunteers transformed the space on the morning of Sept. 20, clearing out bricks and shards of glass, digging up dirt, filling in a path and planting gardens.