Playground

It truly was a fabulous playground opening and a terrific occasion to celebrate everyone involved in the fundraising and construction of our magnificent new playground. We were thrilled to have Kym Dorward here representing Variety SA to open the playground with our Governing Council Chairperson Justin Modra. Without the contribution of Variety and our sponsors, Justin and his helpers the playground would not be possible. Thank you so much to everyone for contributing to our playground. Thank you also goes to Lisa, Bec and the Parents and Friends Committee for organising the food, donut games etc. There was such a great community feel at the event and I was super proud to celebrate this accomplishment.

Today marks a tremendous occasion and recognises a huge amount of effort to transform our playground space. A playground safety report way back in 2022 indicated that our old playground was in desperate need of removal and/or repair. In 2023 we were busy fundraising for our new playground. There were numerous generous donations from businesses and individuals and I would like to acknowledge all contributors here today. I would also like to thank Nicole Clark and her helpers for organising the highly successful online auction and Rebecca Nowikow and her helpers for the amazing SALA Banquet Event. Through our fundraising efforts we were able to raise $50 000 in only 6 months! Thanks to Lisa’s Grant application and positive community connections we were ever so grateful to receive an astounding $40 000 from Variety SA. Therefore we had $90 000 to make our playground dream a reality! Students, staff and parents were consulted on the playground design and with the expertise of A_Space Playground consultant Alex Meldrum we were able to get this wonderful playground made and then delivered in early 2024.

Destruction and installation was coordinated by Justin Modra and Jon Ashworth. I sincerely thank you, Alex Meldrum and your many helpers. I have been very impressed with your skillset and machinery!

Also thank you to Bec Nowikow and her helpers for restoring the existing playground with a new paint job. So the 2 year journey is complete and the students are enjoying this playground and will do so for many years to come! A quote from Helen Keller rings true: “Alone we can do so little, Together we can do so much!” So thank you to all parents, students, staff and community members for your contributions to our playground. Three Cheers for everyone who helped make this possible!

Rory Hunt

Principal