Dads rebuild outdoor deck at Five Hawks Elementary

Prior Lake American

Students at Five Hawks Elementary in Prior Lake can once again use an outdoor learning deck after a group of volunteer dads rebuilt it.

The Dads of Great Students group rebuilt the deck over two weekends in October. The deck was built a few decades ago as an addition to the outdoor learning center at the school, but time and vandalism left it in disrepair for the last few years, Five Hawks teacher and DOGS member Shawn Beaudette said, making it unsafe for students to use.

“Our outdoor learning center has always been a highlight of Five Hawks,” Beaudette said. “That deck was built probably about 25 years ago as a way to observe the cattail marsh area that’s out in front of it and to give teachers and students another space to be able to have a class gathering spot in the outdoor learning center.”

Beaudette took his fifth grade class to use the deck on Tuesday to observe bird feeding stations and learn about fractions.

“It’s nice to have it back,” he said. “The outdoor learning center provides another opportunity to be able to get the kids up and moving and to get them out into nature a little bit. ... It gives them experiences that are difficult to duplicate in the classroom.”

After DOGS at Five Hawks Elementary was formed, the group identified the deck as something which needed to be repaired but put the project on the back burner because of the time and resources it needed. In the meantime, the group focused on items like installing garden beds and clearing overgrown brush.

“The focus has always been to do something with the environmental area, since that’s a big resource for the school but hasn’t been kept up,” DOGS member Jim Speiker said.

After the success of the brush project, DOGS decided to take on rebuilding the deck.

The Five Hawks Elementary Parents and Teachers for Children group worked to raise $10,000 for the deck. DOGS put together the design. One of the dads, Ryan Flanagan, was a manager at the Shakopee Home Depot store at the time and helped the group get the lumber and supplies needed.

“We’re glad to partner with them and do what we can out there, primarily because it’s a great learning opportunity for the kids,” Flanagan said. “The teachers enjoy it as well. ... It’s nice to have my son come home and say, ‘Dad, I saw the new deck today and it looks fantastic.’”

Another dad, Dale Chard, who works at the city of Prior Lake as a building inspector, helped the group navigate the city of Prior Lake’s permitting process.

“That was key,” Speiker said.

On the district side, Operations and Transportation Director Jim Dellwo, Operations, Transportation and Health and Safety Assistant Director Maureen Mullen and Five Hawks Elementary fifth grade teacher Shawn Beaudette — another DOGS member — met to figure out what the district would need to get the deck done.

“Over the last year it really deteriorated to the point where we had to close it to use,” Beaudette said. “We worked on a plan starting last year to get it completely rebuilt rather than patch it up and build it to a completely different standard.”

It all came together in October. A group of about 10 dads tore down the deck on Oct. 12 and the next day began to rebuild. On Oct. 20, the finishing touches were put on the deck, and that was that — the deck was done.

“What I like about the dads group is it’s hard to get the guys together to plan to do something, but when it’s time to do something, a lot of them do show up, which is great to see,” Speiker said.