By Sara Ballenger

The general contracting company of Rudolph and Sletten Inc. has built the Monterey Bay Aquarium and El Camino Hospital just to name a few. And now Karen Rudolph can add a castle for the Almond School silent auction to the list.

Rudolph, who has a student in Almond’s special day class of students with special needs in first through third grades, volunteered the services of her company and donated the materials to make the playhouse.

The castle, complete with plastic stained glass windows, an Almond Eagles flag, painted ivy, a painted fireplace, a medieval style door complete with a door knocker and a stone faux finish was auctioned off for $3,100, March 8, to a group of parents who will donate it to the kindergarten playground at Almond’s newly renovated campus, said Debbie Schwartzman, teacher of the special day class at Almond.

Each class donated something to the silent auction, one of the biggest fund-raisers of the year for Almond, Schwartzman said.

“The walkabout and silent auction, which takes place on the same day, are the Almond PTA’s primary fund-raisers for the school year,” said Principal Jeff Baier. “The proceeds of these events will fund many of the PTA-sponsored programs that are in place at Almond: computer labs, library program, instructional support, computer hardware, classroom supplies, teacher stipends and much more.”

Rudolph and her team talked to Schwartzman’s 11 students about what they would like to donate to the auction and the students came up with the idea for a playhouse.

“First they had the idea to make a playhouse and then they decided they wanted us to build a castle,” Rudolph said.

Students brought in pictures of what they would like the castle to look like and Rudolph, building superintendent Greg Haught, and her staff got to work.

“This castle-building experience has been an opportunity for my students to shine at the top,” Schwartzman said. “They were able to actively participate in a project to help our school.”

Rudolph hopes to build another playhouse with the day class.

“We are already thinking about what we want to build next year,” Rudolph said. “Everyone had fun and I think it will be a neat thing to look forward to.”

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