OshKosh B’gosh Surprises Hope-Hill Elementary School With Interactive Game System

Thanks to a surprise donation from OshKosh B’gosh, learning has become a lot more fun and engaging for students at Hope-Hill Elementary School.

Joined by Freddie the Falcon and Blooper, the Atlanta Braves mascot, representatives with OshKosh B’gosh gifted an excited group of Hope-Hill students and staff on Feb. 26 with a $40,000 “interactive playground system” – known as Lü – that engages kids to move and learn by gamifying physical education in a new and innovative way. Designed to reimagine the physical education classroom, the system features giant projections, immersive lighting, powerful sound, and engaging activities that get students moving – and learning – all at the same time.

“I want to make sure that kids have fun while learning,” Principal Maureen Wheeler said. “This is a huge investment for our kids, and we are so grateful to OshKosh for supporting our kids.”

Students at Hope-Hill Elementary School participate in engaging, interactive activities using the Lü digital playground system.

Thanks to OshKosh’s donation, Hope-Hill is now the first school in Georgia with the Lü unit. Hope-Hill was identified through Donors Choose, a website where teachers post classroom project requests, and donors choose the ones they wanted to support.

“This was the best decision ever,” Maritza McClendon, senior marketing manager with OshKosh B’gosh, said of the company’s decision to fund the project. “The idea is to make this a full system that every single student and staff member can take advantage of.”

The Lü system works by projecting questions and puzzles about math, spelling, language arts and other subjects onto a video screen.

During the school assembly, students spent time demonstrating how the digital system works while playing games and throwing balls against the gym wall, all of which helps enhance their math, language arts and other skills.

Using this cutting-edge, digital system, educators like
Cill Gordon, who teaches physical education at Hope-Hill, are able to weave curriculum standards with physical activity.

“This was a big surprise, and the kids will love it,” he said. “Students can learn and exercise at the same time by doing underhand and overhand tossing and catching. Overall, it’s an excellent strategy to use in learning and in gym class.”

Daryl Rice, physical education and fitness coordinator for Atlanta Public Schools, said the system is a great example of technology use and integration across the curriculum.

“Kids will have an opportunity to have an integrated, hands-on experience using a new and improved format,” she said. “It’s amazing what this system can do. It also will be great for our kinesthetic learners and for other students to learn in a very engaging way.”