By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

Staff at Lincoln Elementary School are hoping a new addition to their playground will foster friendship and prevent exclusion at recess.

The new equipment is called the  “Buddy Bench” and was installed this month.

“The Buddy Bench is a bench is there to help eliminate loneliness for children who don’t have anyone to play with at recess,” Lincoln Principal Elaine Rohleder explained. “It gives them the opportunity that they can come and sit on the bench, and students know if someone is sitting on the bench, they need to check out if this person wants to play or just talk or talk-and-walk.

“It just gives the opportunity for everyone to be involved in recess.”

Rohleder said the Buddy Bench is working.

“We see kids who will come and sit and a whole group of kids will  just will run over and ask them to play or just sit down and visit with them, so it’s been really neat to see,”  she said.

Rohleder said she hopes the Buddy Bench will help help students develop sympathy and kindness and said the project compliments the school’s anti-bullying rules.

“One of the rules is to include everyone — the kids who are easily left out — and make sure they are included in activities, so we have seen the Buddy Bench help us solve that issue,” she said.

Rohleder said the bench cost $300 and was bought with funds raised from the Lincoln Elementary’s Home and School Association.

She said she got the idea for the bench by reading an article about an elementary school in New York who added a Buddy Bench. Rohleder said Buddy Benches are “spreading like wildfire” across the country.

The Buddy Bench project is already spreading in Hays  — O’Loughlin Elementary recently added a Buddy Bench to their playground, as well.