San Lorenzo Valley Elementary Campus Improvements
The schoolyear at San Lorenzo Valley Elementary got off to a colorful start in August with new murals and playground equipment.
By Julie Horner
San Lorenzo Valley Elementary School students have enjoyed an engaging school year so far with their captivating new mural, enchanting sensory path, and state-of-the art playground equipment at the tri-campus in Felton. Inspiring kids, parents, and teachers alike, these installations embody the spirit of community, creativity, and joyful learning. The projects are the result of a collaboration between the SLVE Bobcat Club parents organization and the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District.
SLVE parent and artist Amelie Gerl created the mesmerizing mural on the exterior wall of the Library. Colorfully depicting over 262 characters from more than 95 beloved children’s books and key people in history, the mural also contains 37 Where’s Waldo motifs. Principal Kim Ponza said, “This mural symbolizes the boundless imagination of our students and the importance of fostering a supportive learning environment. We are extremely grateful to the Bobcat Club for funding and making this incredible gift to our school community a reality.”
Duplicating a project that she completed at Boulder Creek Elementary last year, Jennifer Wildermuth Reyes was engaged to create a sensory path, an artful series of guided movements for kids to follow — like a hopped up hopscotch — to help them work off excess energy and develop their basic motor skills. “These paths can be especially effective for students who experience frustration, anger, or other sensory overloads during a learning activity,” Reyes said. “Sending them out to the path to work off some of those emotions can help them re-focus when they return to their desk.” Each activity in the path at SLVE features animals, birds, and insects that reside in Santa Cruz Mountains. Read more about Reyes’ work at BCE: slvpost.com/boulder-creek-elementary-sensory-path
The newly designed playground includes a variety of modern play structures and a rubber surface to replace the old tanbark. SLVUSD Superintendent Schiermeyer was instrumental in pushing the project through. Dan Arndt, SLVUSD Director of Maintenance, Operations, and Transportation spearheaded the installation.
