Gold Award Girl Scout Updates Elementary School Play Pad to Educate Youth
HESSTON, Kan. — Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland congratulates Meredith L. for becoming a Gold Award Girl Scout, a designation she earned by updating the Hesston Elementary School play pad area.
The Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkable — earned by a high school Girl Scout who works to address an issue she’s passionate about in a way that produces meaningful and lasting change. Whether it’s on a local, national, or global level, Gold Award Girl Scouts provide innovative solutions to significant challenges.
“Gold Award Girl Scouts don’t just change the world for the better, they change it for good — and Meredith embodies everything this achievement stands for," said Rolinda Sample, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland. “Meredith addressed an issue that’s important to her — youth education and the outdoors — for her Gold Award, and we congratulate her on this momentous accomplishment.”
At the Hesston Elementary School, the play pad was already home to a painted map of the United States, but it was chipping, cracked and not in a state for good use. Meredith not only repainted the map so it could be useable during recess and classes, but she added a symbol in each state to represent it.
From animals to flowers and monuments, the symbols will help the students with state recognition and help them further their geographical knowledge. Meredith’s goal is for the students to be excited about learning by making it fun and engaging rather than the standard learning environment within the classroom.
“I wanted to repaint the map not only to teach kids about the geography of the 50 states, but also to bring more life to the Hesston Elementary School playground,” Meredith said. “It was exciting to see the map in use and how engaged the kids were. It made my heart melt!”
