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No child should have to go through a school day without recess, said Reynolds High School Principal Jeff Gilbert. And thanks to students enrolled in a construction trades program at Reynolds, kids in Southeast Portland won’t have to.

The playground at the Saint Francis Academy in Southeast Portland was vandalized over the weekend, leaving the equipment unusable, Gilbert said. During the next two weeks, students from Reynolds High School’s construction program will rebuild that equipment using materials from their high school shop as well as some that were donated by the community.

The project was set up between the two schools‘ principals after Gilbert saw a report on the vandalism on the evening news.

“Our kids were ecstatic about doing it,” Gilbert said. “They have built houses and are in the process of building a new concessions stand for our school. It will take our boys and their instructor about two weeks to rebuild.”