East Boston Early Education Center Cuts Ribbon on New Playground

On Thursday students and staff from the East Boston Early Education Center (EBEEC) on Gove Street joined Boston Public School Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, Rep. Adrian Madaro and City Councilor Lydia Edwards to cut the ribbon on the school’s newly created playground.

EBEEC Principal Rhiannon Varmette said getting the playground designed, funded and built was a true community effort that included parent partners, BPS, the city and, most importantly, the vision of EBEEC students.

East Boston Early Education Center (EBEEC) Principal Rhiannon Varmette as well as students and staff from
the EBEEC on Gove Street joined Boston Public School Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, Assistant Superintendent Tommy Welch and Rep. Adrian Madaro to cut the ribbon on the school’s new playground.
An EBEEC student climbs on one of the new play structures.

“Our students worked to tell us what they wanted,” said Varmette. “They held onto what they wanted for a playground here.”

The new playground includes brand new play structures, musical devices and areas for students to climb and explore the new outdoor classroom.

The ribbon cutting also celebrated the completion of two murals created over the summer by East Boston HarborArts Sea Walls Boston.

“When I saw them (the murals) for the first time over the summer they had just been finished a few days before,” said Varmette. “Just to see these beautiful colors and this playground space filled with art and music for students and kids all over the neighborhood was wonderful and to see every corner of the playground filled with kids laughing and playing and climbing was just terrific. We always had big ideas for this space and this is just a dream, this is really what we wanted for our kids. I see the places where we’re gonna grow our own school year old beer with our students over the years, which we’re really excited about. It is so important because play is not just for early childhood but for all children, all adults and is the foundation of learning. Play sparks creativity, self expression and problem solving and this reimagined space really represents the love and joy of play that we know is part of all stages of development.”

Like Varmette, Cassellius thanked EBEEC parents, who rushed and quickly got a grant together to be able to fund the new playground.

“Play is one of the best ways to actually learn and use your imagination and to problem solve,” said Cassellius. “Through play children learn to work together and develop skills at a very young age. This new playground is really a success so I want to thank the contractors and architects, all of the support team that was here and all of the wonderful community members that helped and will be able to use this space.”

Rep. Madaro added, “Play is an essential form of learning. That’s why it was exciting to cut the ribbon on the East Boston Early Education Center’s new playground. This new playground is the kind of investment all our children deserve. Thank you to the Boston Public Schools and all those who worked to make this happen.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *