By Candace Rotolo
Students at Eisenhower Middle School can now enjoy improved outdoor seating thanks to the funds raised by residents of Waterset by Newland during the community’s annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5K. The staff at the school used the donation of more than $7,000 to purchase 10 additional weather-resistant picnic tables for the school’s outdoor courtyard.
As a way to thank the community for its continued support, the school has renamed the area the ‘Waterset Patio.’
Students in grades six through eight who earn incentives are able to enjoy the Waterset Patio during their lunch period, before classes begin and while waiting for buses at the end of the day.
Before the donation, the school did not have a large enough seating area to accommodate all of the students who earned the popular reward.
“The kids love the updated patio,” said Jeshmila Villafañe, assistant principal for sixth and seventh graders. “We have so many students from Waterset here at Eisenhower, and the partnership Waterset by Newland has developed with us makes a huge impact. The students know that the community is behind them.”
“For a number of years, we’ve partnered with schools where Waterset students are assigned,” said Pam Parisi, vice president of marketing for Newland. “We’re so pleased that our community came together to make such a substantial gift to Eisenhower Middle School. Supporting our community schools is so important, and this donation is just one way that the Waterset community is able to show its appreciation for all the hard work our local educators put in day after day to ensure our students have the education and guidance they need to be successful.”
As part of Waterset by Newland’s ongoing involvement in local schools, it hosts a yearly breakfast for teachers at Eisenhower Middle, East Bay High and Doby Elementary and provides iPads for student achievement incentives at Eisenhower and East Bay.
For the first time, the community also hosted a new Meet the Principals event on July 25.
Waterset is owned in a joint venture partnership between North America Sekisui House, LLC (NASH), the US business unit and a subsidiary of Sekisui House, LTD., Japan’s largest homebuilder and leading diversified developer, and Newland, the master developer of the community.
For more information on the Waterset Community, visit https://www.watersetfl.com/.
