Alaska Public Media © 2025. All rights reserved.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Mountain View Elementary celebrates the opening of a new community-funded ice rink

A crowd skates on an ice rink on a school basketball court.
Students, faculty and families celebrate the opening of the Mountin View Elementary Ice Rink on January 13, 2023. (Elyssa Loughlin/Alaska Public Media)

Mountain View Elementary students, faculty and families went slipping and sliding on Friday in Anchorage to celebrate the opening of the school's new ice rink. Fifth-grade teacher James Cornelison, aka "Coach Wes," set up a GoFundMe pageto raise the $5,000 the school needed for the project.

"Our school does not have an ice skating rink. That’s like living at the beach and not swimming. Let’s make a change," Cornelison wrote on the page.

In about a month, 18 donors contributed a total of $8,000 to make the ice rink a reality for the students of Mountain View.

After the school day ended Friday, students flocked to the rink, created on a basketball court. They wore helmets and ice skates provided by the school. Some students skated across the ice with ease, while some newer skaters used folding chairs to help with balance.

Cornelison said he's excited for students to use the rink after school and on weekends, and he hopes that as students get more comfortable on the ice, they will enjoy the long Anchorage winters more.