In 2010, the John Mahood PS playground was given a five-year life expectancy by the Waterloo Region District School Board. Last summer, when the board removed a slide that was deemed a safety hazard, that estimate started to seem overly optimistic.
“He said it’s going to cost us $1,500 to remove the slide and put up a board, or for $1,000 he’d knock the whole structure down,” laughed parent council chair Liz Robinson. “He said, ‘Don’t be surprised if next time we come out, it will be with the bulldozers.’”
Could it be curtains for the playground, which has served the students of John Mahood and the children of Elmira for more than 30 years? The school is currently campaigning to rebuild the playground as a safer and more ambitious structure, with a targeted groundbreaking in 2014.
“The Jaguar Pride School Yard” is seeking a grant from the Aviva Community Fund to replace the beleaguered playground with a new design, with an estimated budget of $60,000.
The proposed new playground will actually be three structures, targeted to different age groups in the school. A kindergarten playground will thus stand alongside a more complicated structure for fifth- and sixth-graders, with a 5-6-station mini-circuit that can be incorporated into the phys-ed curriculum.
“We can make them more age-appropriate,” said Robinson. “If there are any repairs, you don’t have to close down the whole unit.”
The new project would update John Mahood’s playscape for 21st century sensibilities. “The playground is about 30 years old, and safety requirements change over time,” said Robinson. “They’re much more stringent now. And what’s been happening is, because the playground is so old, they don’t make parts for it anymore. They’ve just moved to a totally different method of making the structure of things.”
Thus, replacement parts have been hard to come by. “In June, we had this twisty slide, and it had a crack in it just from age,” said Robinson. “Kids’ fingers could get stuck, and they removed it and boarded up the one side. There’s a big tower that goes up to a big nothingness now. The kids were like, ‘Where’s the big red slide? What happened?’”
Described by Robinson as “fundraising without the funds,” the Jaguars are seeking votes for their project proposal at the Aviva Community Fund website. If they receive enough votes, their project will move forward to the next round.
“There are kids who were playing on this playground whose parents played there,” she said. “It’s something that lasts for generations within the community.”
The voting period for the Aviva Community Fund grant closes after November 4. It can be accessed at www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf17535. Registered users can vote once per day.
