FARMINGTON —  W. G. Mallett School and the Farmington Recreation Department are receiving gifts from McDonald’s as part of the chain restaurant’s reopening celebration.

The 42-year-old restaurant building on the Intervale was razed in June and a new one built over the summer.

The school will benefit from an opening weekend fundraiser. Ten percent of all sales Oct. 2-4 will be given to the school, Larry Johnston, senior area supervisor for McDonald’s, said. 

The Recreation Department was given a donation Thursday during a private celebration. The $1,000 gift will pay for resurrecting a beach volleyball court at Hippach Field, Matthew Foster, parks and recreation director, said. A survey on the department’s Facebook page indicated a strong interest in bringing back the court, he said.

Mallett School Principal Tracy Williams said it’s unusual to have someone ask if you want money.

“Like ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ we feel like we’ve won the golden ticket,” she said.

Teachers have been thinking of how to use the windfall. Some may help with new apps for the 70 iPads and some may go toward books for the library or recess equipment, she said.

“We’ll spend it wisely,” she assured Farmington McDonald’s owners Peter and Sal Napoli of The Napoli Group of New Hampshire, who own other McDonald’s in Jay, Rumford, South Paris and Kittery.

abryant@sunmediagroup.net