The Fairytale benches were stationed all around Tinley Park this summer, but now Memorial students, thanks to the generosity of a donor and dedication by the school’s Media Center Director, will have one in their school.
Mrs. Tracy Corrao, Media Center Director at Memorial was the one behind the recent addition. She explained how it all happened, “When I first heard that the Tinley Benches theme for this year was Fairy Tales, I thought that would be the perfect tie-in to our newly remodeled media center. I began to call the different local companies that sponsored the benches and asked them if they would be interested in donating their bench to our school’s Media Center, of course explaining to them about Memorial’s current remodeling project.”
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“I called Heat and Frost Insulators Local 17. The gentleman that I spoke with there was awesome and he was more than happy to donate the bench to our school. He agreed that a school library was the perfect permanent home for the bench,” she said happily.
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The bench is themed for the children’s story, and 1964 Caldecott Award winner, Where The Wild Things Are. The book was written by American author Maurice Sendak in 1963 making the classic story 50 years old this year. The bench was created by “The Illinois Institute of Art Tinley Park Bench Team”, and was delivered to the school by the Village of Tinley Park Public Works Department.
For now the bench will sit inside the main entrance of the school, but will become part of the media center next year once the school’s remodeling project is finished.
Mr. Mike Donovan, principal of Memorial School said that they were very excited to receive the newest addition to Memorial School’s décor. He went on to describe the colorful bench and express his sincerest gratitude for the generous donation by the bench sponsor, “Mrs. Corrao had this vision and she knew that the theme for the colorful benches tied in with reading, so when she approached me with the idea I thought it was great. She put a lot of hard work and effort into securing the bench, and I know that when it finds its home in the newly remodeled Media Center it will be enjoyed by our students and staff for many years to come.”
Staff and student reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Mrs. Corrao said, “Everyone was so excited to see this bench in our school! It is a very welcome addition and we can’t wait until it becomes part of the newly remodeled Media Center next year.”
You can see photos of the bench and follow both Memorial School and District 146 on Facebook at www.facebook.com/memorialeagles and www.facebook.com/District146.
