Going to school to do yard work sounds like the last thing that students would want to do during their summer vacation.  But not a group from John W. Decas Elementary School.

Rather than hitting the beach, these kids and their parents decided to spruce up the Decas courtyard, removing weeds and overgrown bushes to reveal a "spruced up" outdoor classroom complete with maps, picnic benches, bird houses and butterfly-attractant plants, and (if all goes to plan) valuable lessons on weeding and watering gardens!

"It looks so much better than it was," said going-into-Fourth-grader Sarah Barrows, whose mom, April Barrows, led the effort.  "It was so crowded before."

Not now.  The group pruned, raked, dug, transplanted and trimmed.  Not only did they thwart the 1970s-era hedges' attempted escape from the gardens, but they uncovered many an artifact in their archaeological work.

"You'd be raking and come across statues," reported April Barrows.  The group also found a weeping cherry tree that had disappeared and a stone bench that was dedicated to a former principal!

"It brings tears to your eyes," said Decas Principal Christine Panarese.

Added Assistant Principal Timothy Adams, "It's always been the centerpiece of the school, now we can actually use it!"