In the first grade, Alex Morrissette joined the Tiger Cubs through Primrose Hill School, thinking it would be fun. Never did he imagine that he would continue his journey and complete his Eagle Project in the very same school where his boy scout path began. 

In late April, Alex led members of Boy Scout Troop 6 in Barrington and painted a map of the United States on the pavement where the elementary school children have recess.

“I thought it would be a fun project for us to do while giving back to my elementary school at the same time,” Alex said. “We did it in about a day. First, we laid a stencil down and painted dots around the borders of each state. Then we connected the dots to outline the states. And then we painted each state according to colors I designed.”

The map will not have any state names or abbreviations. 

“The kids will have to learn that themselves,” Alex added. “It will be fun to see their reaction to it when they return to school.”

Alex first had the idea while researching Eagle Project ideas throughout the country. He then approached Primrose Hill School Principal Pat Tolento as well as the Primrose PTO. 

“I thought the children at Primrose would get a lot out of this being added to their play area,” Mrs. Tolento said. “We even have a school-wide song we sing called, 'Fifty-nifty United States.' And given the fact that he’s a former Primrose student, it shows our current students that hard work pays off!”

The Primrose Hill School PTO helped finance the cost of the stencil and the paint which Alex got from the local ACE hardware store. 

“I asked Mr. (George) Tamer, the recent owner of the Barrington ACE store, to help me with the paint and he was wonderful,” Alex said. “I really appreciate all the support I received with getting the project completed. Now the kids will know where each state is located, especially the most important one – Rhode Island."