It was only a year and a half ago that two of Massapequa's elementary schools, East Lake and RJ Lockhart, began to notice that the playground equipment available to students was lacking, to say the least.

Within no time, through cooperation and teamwork that is typical of the Massapequa school community, parent and staff representatives from both schools formed committees and began fundraising efforts to make the dream of new equipment a reality for Massapequa students. In addition, Senator Charles Fuschillo made generous contributions to the fundraising efforts of both schools.

As a result, this fall, the East Lake Elementary and RJ Lockhart Elementary school communities cut the ribbons on two huge sets of beautiful, new playground equipment that was designed to aid in the development of students' upper-body strength and coordination.

The addition of the equipment to the playgrounds also taught students important lessons in working together and perseverance.