Vera M. Welsh Elementary School is getting ready to fundraise for a much-needed new playground.
The current playground requires a lot of regular maintenance and needs a lot of fixing, says Vera M. Welsh principal Dana Robb.
“Our playground is very old,” she said. “It’s at the end of its life.”
But she added that the school also outgrew the playground, which is no longer big enough and doesn’t have enough features for all the students.
Getting a new one is a project that has been in the works for the past two years. A playground fundraising committee made up of parents and community members has drawn up the plans for a new playground to replace the old one which has an Aboriginal theme to it, and can be accessed by children of all ages, and those with special needs. The project may cost around $300,000 for all the structures and groundwork, Robb said.
But with the new high school being built at the Bold Center, she says that they’re not sure exactly where they’d like to put the new playground since the elementary school may move as well.
“We need to start thinking in terms of the big picture,” Robb said. “Maybe we need to have a community playground.”
But she added that the big price-tag — which won’t be footed by the province or school division— means the committee wants to get a head start on raising funds and awareness.
Robb also added that although the playground is in the school grounds, the community uses it in the evenings and in the summertime. It is also used as part of phys-ed class at the school.
The fundraising committee will be meeting at Vera M. Welsh on April 16 at 6:30 p.m. and the community is welcome to attend.
