A climbing wall of honor at Brooklyn Avenue

Walk into the gymnasium at Brooklyn Avenue School and there is a rather noticeable addition. A new rock climbing wall was dedicated last month in memory of District 24’s longtime treasurer, William Rudolph.

The wall was donated by Rudolph’s family. His son, Robert, and daughter, Vanessa Myers, cut the ribbon at the dedication ceremony. Principal Scott Comis said the family was looking to do something innovative and meaningful for children with memorial funds, so he suggested the rock climbing wall which had been requested by the phys. ed. teachers.

“It’s a wonderful addition,” Comis said. “Visually, it’s very motivating for the children and it’s a safe and fun activity.”

It is actually a traverse wall where children go side-to-side rather than climbing straight up. Phys. ed. teacher Daniel Sciglibaglio said the wall will allow students to improve both upper and lower body strength, work on their team-building skills and become better problem solvers. “You have to decipher quickly where you want to go,” he said.

Sciglibaglio explained that the wall adds a whole new dynamic to the phys. ed. program. Any school can have soccer and basketball, he said, but few have a rock climbing wall. “It’s something unique,” he said, adding that children were itching to use it from the moment it went up. “It’s one facet that we have that other district’s don’t.”

The wall is 24 feet long and eight feet high.

Myers, a resource room teacher at Brooklyn Avenue, said that after her father died in 1992, many from his family and the community wanted to do something to preserve his memory. For several years, a scholarship was presented in Rudolph’s name to a graduating sixth-grade boy and girl from each elementary school in the district. But family members wanted more children to benefit.

The rock wall, Myers said, will be used by several hundred students each year, while the scholarships only went to six kids. “We decided that would be a better use of the remaining funds at this point,” she said of the wall. “Now all the children can enjoy it throughout the year. The price turned out to be perfect.”

Myers said her father would have been proud to have this wall dedicated in his honor because he worked for children and was active in youth sports groups. In addition to serving as the treasurer of District 24 for many years, the longtime Valley Stream resident was also involved with the Little League and the Gibson Youth Association. “He was a lot more than the treasurer,” she said. “My family is very happy to be able to do something for the community.”