If you’ve passed through Gunston recently you’ve probably noticed the renovated pond in the Gunston Zen Hallway. This project was proposed in the fall of 2023 by Mr. Cooper who is one of the special education Work Awareness and Transition teachers (WAT) teaching Workplace Readiness Skills here at West Potomac.
The idea to renovate the pond came from Mr. Cooper and Mr. Mcfarland who took over managing the pond renovation last spring. Funding for the renovation came from within the WAT department and there was also funding from the Career and Transition Services (CTS) department. Then the rest of the funding necessary came from Mr. Cooper himself.
Mr. Cooper believes that the students who collaborated to help create the pond were “Extremely helpful. They [the students] did about 80 to 85% of the work.”
Mr. Cooper hopes that the pond will help symbolize “a collaborative effort between the general education and the special education students kind of bridging that gap. So that we [general education and special education students] can work together throughout the community and throughout the school.”
The pond renovation was a great way to help students learn machinery. The students had to learn how to use machinery for “weeding, digging holes, planting, and mulching along with other skills,” according to Mr. Cooper.
The first phase of the renovation was finished by the WAT students taught by Mr. Cooper in the spring of 2023 completing about 80% of the work. The final phase was completed in April by a multitude of different students belonging to the club Konnor’s Garden Society. The club name came from one of the turtles that live in the pond.
The Pond is now open to students and teachers as a safe place to relax and be productive all while enjoying nature. Teachers can request to take their classes outside from their administrator.
