Canyon Vista Has a Buddy Bench

Jack Almy is an outgoing and athletic second grader.  When it is recess time at school, eight year old Jack wastes no time as he heads outside into the fresh ready to have some fun with his friends.  And he never worries about what he will do or who he might play with.  He just heads for the grassy fields for a ball game where everyone is welcome to play.  And the way he sees it, he has lots of friends to hang with.

He is also a very good student and knows the importance of completing his assignments on time.  So when his teacher (Janet Hancock) asked him to find an interesting news article to share with his class, he started looking for one right after school.   His mom Jodi Almy offered to help and they began scouring the internet and newspaper to find a news story  that Jack would find worthy for his Current Event report.  

It was Jodi who found an article about another second grade student who who lives in Pennsylvania.  That boy had an idea about placing a special bench at his school.  It was a bench for children to sit on if they had no one to play with.  He called it the “Buddy Bench”.  As soon as Jack heard about the article, he decided that would be the one he would choose for his report.

As Jack discussed the article with his mom, he asked, “Do you think we could have a bench like that at our school?”  Jodi said that while it was a nice idea, it would be up to Jack to see if such a bench would be possible.  She advised him to speak to Canyon Vista School Principal Don Mahoney about it. 

Soon enough, Jack’s friends heard about his goal.  His friend Christian Croy, also in second grade, asked Jack if he could tag along to the principal’s office to help discuss the idea.  Jack agreed and the boys made an appointment with the head administrator and then, they pitched the idea.  Mr. Mahoney loved the idea and he made plans with the boys immediately to place such a bench on the school’s playground.

Just a few weeks later, Jack and Christian stood proudly on the school playground as Jack shared with the entire student body the story of the Buddy Bench.  All the students heard about where the bench was located and, most importantly, how they could use the bench if needed.  If anyone at the school felt lonely or bullied, they could just go sit on that bench.  Any child who saw someone sitting on the bench would know exactly what to do.  At Canyon Vista, there was no need to feel alone.  Friends are everywhere!

When asked what he would do if he saw a student sitting on the bench, Jack replied immediately, “I would ask them to come and play with me”!

Congratulations to Jack and Christian for helping Canyon Vista to be a safe and fun school!