Deneholm Primary: Firm brings joy to the classroom as construction ideas earn prizes
CHILDREN at Deneholm Primary School in Grays could hardly contain their excitement after a local business donated over £400 worth of toys following its annual Christmas competition.
Concrete Cutting, a John F. Hunt Group company, held two competitions for the school earlier this month. Children at Key Level 1 (ages 5-7) were asked to color in an outline picture of a “robot demolition machine,” and Children at Key Level 2 (ages 7-11) were asked to create their own idea of what a “robot demolition machine.” ‘ means Machine’ should look like.
Both groups of children were also asked to come up with fun and memorable names for their creations, with the two winning names printed on stickers and attached to a real machine in the New Year.
John F. Hunt has been based in Grays for over 40 years and has grown into a group of 18 construction related companies and divisions including their concrete cutting business which has recently expanded into the north of the UK. Understanding that Christmas can be a difficult time for many, the Concrete Cutting team wanted to raise spirits and bring some much-needed joy to a local school.
Featuring 292 very creative entries including some fantastic and hilarious names such as Graber 500, Caramel Fudge and Octo-Claws, the team had a difficult task picking a winner. However, the lucky students, Sophie, six, and Chima, 11, were announced winners in front of their classmates by two of the ladies from John F. Hunt and Deneholm’s Headmaster. Sophie’s winning name was “George Power Bot” and Chima’s name was “The Scorpix”.
Sophie won Magnetic Sheet Construction Plates, a Lego Disney Princess Cinderella House, Construction Site On Christmas Night book, Lego Classic 10696 box, Construction Coloring Book, Lego Dots and a creative 4-in-1 construction puzzle. Chima won a Lego Technic heavy-duty excavator and telescopic forklift, a Lego City mobile crane, a construction truck and a loader, Limmy’s magnetic building blocks, a book “Working with machines” and a Lego Classic 10696 box. Both children also won a Lego Classic 10698 box for their classmates.
Michael Blizzard, Managing Director of Concrete Cutting said: “Just before Christmas our team is getting together to come up with a fun and creative competition for local kids to enter. As longtime entrepreneurs and residents of Thurrock, it’s important that we regularly engage with the community, and this time of year makes it that much more special.
“We were delighted to have been invited by Deneholm Primary to personally present the awards to Sophie and Chima and in the new year we will ensure that they come to our John F. Hunt main office to place their name sticker know machines yourself and even try to operate one of our robotic demolition machines… under our supervision of course!”
Headmistress Ms. Goyette said: “We were very excited to hear about the competition when we were approached by John F. Hunt. We love getting the kids involved in projects outside of the classroom and this has the added benefit of having a really exciting prize!
“It was nice to see the winners’ faces light up as they called out their names. I know Chima, our sixth grader, who is passionate about building and hopes to one day own his own construction company, so I know it meant a lot to him that he won. The other children in the class were really looking forward to their classmates and were really happy about their prize.”
The Concrete Cutting team would like to host more school competitions and get involved in giving back to the local community. If you know of an organization or school that would like to participate next year, John F. Hunt would love to hear from you. Follow her social page on LinkedIn for more information, email or contact her via the Contact Us page on the website www.johnfhunt.co.uk/concrete-cutting/
