Northview — With a new climbing wall at East Oakview Elementary, the school’s DK-fourth-grade students can not only practice their physical dexterity, but also reach new heights in reading and math.
The recently installed wall is thanks to a grant from the Northview Education Foundation and funding from the school’s parent-teacher committee. Its colored, customizable routes to the top of the 20-foot-by-8.5-foot structure can be paired with magnetized words and numbers. Students are asked to solve a math problem or choose a part of speech, for example, by climbing to their selected answer printed on a magnetized card placed somewhere on the rock wall.
Gym teacher Jordan Wallin said the new wall replaces one installed in 2004 that was showing its age. Portions of the old wall that can still be used will be installed at other district buildings, he said.
