NORTHFIELD — When class is back in session at Northfield Elementary School, students will notice something different outside in the form of a new playground, thanks to the school’s Parent-Teacher Organization.
More than 30 volunteers gathered to install new playground equipment at Northfield Elementary on both Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, volunteers regrouped for celebratory pizza and the final rounds of landscaping and mulching.
Those anxious to try out the new playground need wait no longer than Friday, when it will officially open to children, said PTO Co-Chairwoman Cheryl George.
According to the PTO’s website, the school playground is the only public community play structure in Northfield. Its central location in town and proximity to the athletic fields make it a community anchor for children and their families.
George said the new playground features are from Miracle Recreation Equipment Company and include a “big kids” structure, designed for ages 5 to 12, as well as a “little kids” structure and climbing bar geo-dome designed for ages 2 to 5.
Additionally, George said volunteers moved some of the existing playground items around. What used to be the “fairy garden” had become overgrown, so the volunteers cleared the area, pulled the wooden structures out and made a new and improved “nature nook” area.
The two old play structures were approximately 20 years old, George said. Despite having undergone various improvements over the years, they showed signs of deterioration and were no longer in compliance with current playground safety codes. Seeing the need for a new playground, the PTO pushed to purchase the new play structures.
Playground equipment is not funded through the school budget. George explained the PTO’s budget helps to fund other critical areas that are not covered by the school’s budget, including supplemental school supplies, educator fund grants, field trips and enrichment programs.
“The PTO had been raising money for years now,” George said. “The total cost of the project was about $55,000.”
George said the PTO received a $30,000 Community Preservation Act grant from Northfield’s Community Preservation Committee last January. After acquiring the additional $25,000 through fundraising efforts and a $2,000 Lowe’s Small Toolbox for Education grant, the PTO was able to replace the new structures in time for the 2019 to 2020 school year.
According to the Lowe’s website, the Lowe’s Small Toolbox for Education grant program is funded by the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation, which has supported thousands of grassroots community and school projects in the communities where Lowe’s does business.
The old structures were removed and recycled by the Northfield Highway Department at the end of last week. The department also helped to excavate the area to prepare for the new structures, which arrived on Thursday, just ahead of the weekend’s community build.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 264.