As McNair has continued to stress Care and Kindness as our school goals, one of our staff (Mrs. Catherine Liu), has taken it upon herself to form a committee of interested students to raise money and awareness for a project she has held dear to her heart.  Mdme Liu felt that if a school truly cared for itself and for others, it would beautify its space and make some of the public areas more welcoming.  McNair experienced a renovation over 12 years ago, and as part of the renovation, 6 different courtyards were built in the school to allow natural light into the school.  The courtyards, however, have fallen into disrepair, and what was once considered an area for socializing and learning had become dirty, overgrown and unusable areas that no one ever frequented.

Once the Courtyard Beautification Committee started to work, the idea of making the space something to be proud of took shape.  Money was raised by having bake sales plus samosa, pizza and bubble tea fundraisers.  Mdme Liu also took it upon herself to gather prizes from local businesses, and then made gift baskets that were raffled off during a Parent-teacher Conference evening.  Over two years, Mdme Liu and her committee raised well in excess of $4000, and with donations from PAC and other groups,  the group had plenty of money to repair the courtyard.

The group purchased several plants and benches, plus garbage cans, hoses, and planter boxes that spelled out the phrase “McNair Cares”.  The Richmond School District Grounds crew undertook the massive task of resurfacing the area (planting artificial turf), even using a few of our own students in eh summer project.

In September of 2017, our Courtyard was unveiled and people were rightfully very proud.  It goes to show that a goal, some creative thinking and passion about working together for something important can go a long way to helping make our world (and McNair school) a better place. The Courtyard is now fully functional, and many classes use it as a learning space when the weather permits.  We still have plans to beautify three other courtyards around the school and our Leadership class is working with our Resource department to make the next space look as friendly and welcoming as our first one.  Thanks very much to Mdme Catherine Liu and the Courtyard Beautification committee for all they have done to make our school look so good!