24 May 2023
Today we opened our brand-new playground, “to say that we are all excited would probably be a very big understatement,” reported School Captain Billie. The students have been waiting patiently for quite some time for this playground to be built and their excitement leading up to the opening was substantial.
Students have been involved in all steps of the planning for the playground. From the very start they were asked to submit their own playground designs. Ideas from the students were then taken to the designers who used them as inspiration for the plans. Our Student Representative Council also played an important advisory role, “every class voted for what equipment they wanted,” Student Representative Council member, Louis reported.
When asked what he loves about the playground our Principal, Mr Heinecke reported, “Obviously the massive slide is a hit but one of the things that I love about this new play space is its location, it is nestled in among trees which give plenty of shade, the area stays cool in summer and when the students climb the sky tower, they are right up at eye level with the tree canopy.”
The playground connects with the school’s community garden and the installation of accessible pathways throughout the garden has recently been completed. The removal of steps allows a flow through from the front of the school to the back of the school so that all students can access all parts of the school.
Funding for the new playground came through partnerships, special thanks go to the Hon. Jo Haylen, Member for Summer Hill for her Community Building Partnership grant of $20 000. The school would also like to thank the team and committee at Splash for their donation of $30 000 towards the project.
For a tour of the new playground and to see the students enjoying the equipment, please view the following short clip.
