Marguerite Alberts, staff writer
Pasha Farmanara, Web Editor-in-Chief reporting
ASB and the PTSA teamed up to beautify Beverly by planting roses near the flagpole on the front lawn on Wednesday, Oct. 24. PTSA co-presidents Cindy Dubin and Franny Rennie,along with professional landscape designer Jackie Kassorla, oversaw the project
“It really stemmed from the idea that this is the entrance to the school and it really needs to look beautiful,” Rennie said.
ASB member Anton Saleh, who was helping his fellow ASB members freshman Justin Friedman and sophomore Justin Shegarian dig the holes for the new shrub rose, believes that it is important to have an attractive entrance.
“It’s not very expensive to do. It’s something that can really help when people come to visit,” Saleh said.
The project included new roses and benches near the flagpole.
“We decided that since the kids sit center bencher, we decided it made sense to have benches on the other two sides as well to have more seating space for the kids,” Rennie said.
The benches have the possibility of becoming class gifts from the PTA, a fundraiser or simply just new benches.
“We are working with ASB about what they want to do as far as the benches but we’re thinking about having two benches either side and they would be class benches,” Rennie said.
The Superintendent asked Kassorla to oversee the district’s sites including the high school, where she is working on the ornamental gardens and is beginning an edible garden program.
“Franny Rennie, our PTA president, called me as soon as they came back from summer break and asked if I would help with the renovation of the high school,” Kassorla said.
Renovations began with a drought-tolerant rose garden filled with shrub roses located next to the flagpole, a central location on campus.
“What we are doing is we are putting in fresh roses here and we are going to put in just a nice layer of tree bark so it doesn’t look dead and so it will maintain itself after a while,” Saleh said.
In the next week the school will also be putting up new California and United States flags.
