Limited Play at McVay | Video

Evan Kruegel | 9/7/2012

When McVay Elementary re-opened this fall, new modular classrooms had to be added onto the back of the building. By adding the classrooms, the school was forced to tear down the existing playground equipment.

That means students are having to come up with creative ways to entertain themselves during recess.

"We actually went out to the local Walmart and bought a bunch of playground equipment, jump ropes, kick-balls, chalk, they`ve actually been coloring the parking lot. So we`re trying to keep them busy until the playground is up," said Principal Keith Leintz.

More toys will be on the way soon though, thanks to a sizeable donation today from Walmart. The corporation donated gift cards to all twenty teachers at the school,

"The money is given to those teachers who now don`t have to use money out of their own pocket to provide some basic needs. We`re able to offset that with a $100 gift card, 50 dollars from our company and 50 dollars from our personal store. So the teachers can use it for whatever they need, pencils, snacks, it`s truly up to them. It`s a free-form gift card," said Walmart manager Ryan Keller.

The cards will go a long way towards re-supplying McVay, but the biggest roar from the crowd came when store manager Ryan Keller announced that the students would all be getting cupcakes

"It`s a huge expense re-doing the building itself, and then adding on what we have, all donations that we have received from the community have been great," said Leintz.

The district expects the new playground to arrive around September 14. The Parks Department donated $25,000 to pay for half of the equipment, and the school district matched the other half.

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