Furnace Woods Gets a Climbing Wall

Furnace Woods School parent and PTA member Rhonda Malhotra collects Box Tops for Education, and she’s very good at it.

In February, when she saw an article about a new traverse climbing wall at Oakside Elementary School in Peekskill, she sent a note to Physical Education teacher Chris Wickel and PTA Co-President, Jane Dyer, suggesting that a traverse wall might be just the thing for Furnace Woods.

The rest, as they say, is history.

The new 20-foot by 8-foot blue installation, which arrived last month, is attached to the Furnace Woods gym wall in sections, to which hand- and foot-holds are attached. Children learn to move laterally across the surface from one side to the other. The activity strengthens arms and legs and improves balance while giving students a sense of achievement. And, no one is ever more than a few feet off the floor as they climb across the wall, with an attached mat just below.

Lisa Anderson, Co-President of the Furnace Woods PTA, said the wall was purchased both with Box Tops proceeds and some remaining fifth grade class gift funds from previous years. With the funds, Wickel noted, “We got not only the traverse wall with the rock blocks [but also] a noodle attachment and a fitness package that includes exercise bands for rowing and pulling, and flat blocks that assist the students in doing crunches on the wall.… It’s the Cadillac of all traverse walls!”

The PTA gets ten cents for every box top that is turned in, so there is the opportunity to raise a good amount of money when participation is high. “I tried to raise the profile of it a little bit this year,” Malhotra said, by placing collection cans in the classrooms as well as in the community. The classroom collection cans were “more front and center” for the students, she said. In the last four to five months, the PTA “went from a thousand box tops a month to two thousand a month.”

Anderson summed it all up: “The point is that parents, teachers, and administration all worked very hard together to make this amazing thing happen for our kids.” Director of School Facilities, Operations and Maintenance Anthony Merlini researched the process and coordinated the actual installation. Assistant Superintendent for Business Enrique Catalan helped to get the purchase order through quickly.

“We will be using it during the obstacle course on Fun Day/Field Day,” Wickel said. Given that Blue Mountain Middle School, just down the road from Furnace Woods, has a Project Adventure Challenge Course on site, the new wall will help students acquire skills that will help them tackle the middle school course later on.

Furnace Woods Principal Dr. Helene Kane said, “The wall is so beautiful and engaging. I wanted to run up and climb it myself. There are both physical and emotional benefits to climbing and it promotes lifelong fitness habits among children.”

For her part, Wickel is ecstatic about the new installation, and couldn’t wait to try it out. Her infectious enthusiasm extends to her physical education teaching in general. “Where else can you come to work and get a cupcake and a hug every day,” she asked with a smile.