NEW HEBRON — Students celebrated the ribbon cutting for a new playground in the Lawrence County School District Wednesday morning. New Hebron Attendance Center was selected to receive new playground equipment by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation. 

Studies show creating environments for children to experience unstructured play supports their

physical health and increases their chances of succeeding academically in the classroom. 

Over the past two years, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation has built new school playgrounds in fifteen Mississippi schools. This summer, elementary students in three additional schools across the state can look forward to new contemporary playgrounds provided by generous grants from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation. Each of the new 5,989 square foot inclusive playgrounds has 24 pieces of play equipment, safety surfacing and shading systems.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation provided each school with teacher education curricula and hands-on training designed as a best practice guide offering creative ways to maximize playground activities during recess, physical education classes and before-and after-school programs. The evidence-based curricula is aligned to the national standards of physical education and proven to be successful in motivating students to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to be physically active for a lifetime.

“The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation is proud to provide spacious school playgrounds where students can engage in active play outside of the classroom,” Foundation Director Eugenia King said. “The playground structures are designed for physical activities such as climbing, crawling, jumping and running to improve balance, flexibility and cardiovascular health while promoting creativity and building social skills.”

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation has a vision for a healthy Mississippi

and provides leadership and targeted grant funding for sustainable initiatives and programs to

improve the overall health and well-being of Mississippians. 

Learn more about the Foundation’s partnerships at www.healthiermississippi.org.