New playground equipment at Algonquin school

New playground equipment was unveiled at Algonquin Road Public School June 3.

More than $20,000 was raised through school events and donations from the school community and the community at large. Major sponsors include the City of Greater Sudbury, Ward 9 Coun. Doug Craig, Vale Inco, VTech, Xstrata Nickel and the Rainbow District School Board.

School council chair Lisa Langley and principal Lona Dabous joined Craig for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Craig, a strong supporter of the Algonquin Road community, also presented Langley with a cheque on behalf of the City of Greater Sudbury to assist with the next phase of schoolyard improvement.

Dabous thanked the school council for its efforts and applauded all sponsors for their generous contributions.

“Your hard work, dedication and leadership will benefit the entire community. This new playground structure is another success in our ongoing work to improve our schoolyard and is a welcome addition to our neighbourhood.” she said, in a release.

“Our new playground equipment has been a school council priority for a number of years,” said Dabous.

“We’ve sold a lot of hot dogs, pizza and milk, and held numerous fundraising events to bring us to this wonderful day. I would like to thank our school council, all of our students, their families, and our community partners for making the goal of new playground equipment at Algonquin a reality.”

The playground committee, chaired by Patti Camirand, looked at various structures from different companies and presented their findings to the school council.

They decided on a Little Tykes Commercial Playground, met with Melissa Sheridan from CRCS Recreation, developed a fundraising plan and quickly put the plan into action.

“The children and families of Algonquin Road Public School and our Algonquin Road community are very excited about the new play structure,” said Langley. “This playground will continue to be a focal point of the community and a place for families to meet and interact. It will enhance all children’s growth and development in the community, and promote physical activity for years to come.”

“I am a strong proponent of replacing playground structures that have been taken down over the years, and also in putting up structures where they are needed. Besides the physical and social benefits playgrounds provide, they are also sought after by new families as they look for housing and try to decide in which neighbourhoods to establish roots," said Craig.

The new playground is another step in Algonquin Road Public School’s efforts to enhance its school grounds. Improvements have included permanent soccer/football goal posts, tether ball courts, park benches, a limestone rock sitting area and regreening through the planting of trees.

More tree planting, new flower beds, another sitting area and improved drainage of the playing field will be included in the next phase of the school improvement plan.