The Courtyard was renovated in the Spring of 2005 when students from the school contacted me to see if we could help them improve the environment of the courtyard, which serves as a secondary entrance to the school and gymnasium and as a place for students to be after lunch. The existing space was used as a primary entrance to the school for many students on a daily basis, for “hanging out” after lunch period, and for public entrance to sporting events in the adjacent gymnasium. The existing space had suffered in the years since it was built; broken paving, limited seating and sparse vegetation presented a poor public image to the school. The solution features large trellises to soften the brick walls lining the courtyard, and clusters of wooden platforms for seating. There was also extensive landscaping of the ground surface.

This project was commissioned by the student council of West Junior High School and USD497. Funding for the project came from funds raised by the Junior High vstudents and a match by USD497. In-kind donations were received from Venteak, Sunrise Garden Center, Diamond Everly
Roofing and Galvmet.

Students:
Brian Arnold, Elizabeth Barreto, Dan Bedard, Jennifer Borton, Eric Closson, Jessica Deem, Kevin Gates, Jason Hartman, Allison Johnson, George Manis, Diann Mroszczak, Mina Nguyen, Amanda Noelke, Tyson Pyle, Emily Reece, Sam Shepherd, Katrina Vandeputte, Matt Wild, Kyle Wilson