NORTHFIELD — Returning from Thanksgiving break will mean testing out the playground’s new addition for Northfield Elementary School students.
A group of 13 volunteers, predominantly Northfield Elementary faculty, staff and parents, worked together Saturday morning to start installing two shiny new swing sets, one red and one blue, which are expected to attract a lot of attention at school.
“I’m sure there’ll be a line for the swings,” said Cheryl George, co-chair of the school’s Parent-Teacher Organization, who organized the swing set delivery.
The new equipment replaces swing sets that were estimated to be over 40 years old, George said, recounting how Northfield Elementary Custodian Peter Blake remembered swinging on them as a child, as did Northfield Elementary parent Kelly Gagnon.
“I was swinging on those things 31 years ago,” Gagnon said, noting that the equipment was at least 10 years old at the time.
Once Northfield voters approved allocating $10,000 for the purchase of the swing sets and surrounding mulch during annual town meeting, George contacted Cindy Maak, who coordinated installation of a swing set in Greenfield. Cindy’s son Taylor Maak, a site supervisor with a playground equipment installation service called Site Specifics out of Rochester, oversaw Saturday’s installation.
Northfield Highway Department Superintendent Tom Walker ensured the old equipment was removed Tuesday, and excavated holes a foot into the ground where the swing sets’ poles were placed.
George said concrete would also be poured Saturday, solidifying the structure, and surrounding mulch would be added, after which the equipment is supposed to sit for at least three days before being used. To curb student temptation, the actual swings will be attached next weekend.
“They’re much more colorful,” George said of the new swings. “They won’t squeak.”
Plus, the new equipment supports six swings each compared to the old equipment’s four (making for 12 total), and will include a therapeutic swing.
Parents and teachers who took part in the swing sets’ installation said they found the experience rewarding.
“I’ve stayed a long time to see progress in the playground,” Gagnon said. “I wanted to be a part of that.”
“I really wanted to be involved in my kids’ school experience,” agreed Jill Leger, a Northfield Elementary parent and the school’s kindergarten instructional assistant. “I like showing them that volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community.”
“It also shows if you want something done, sometimes you have to step up and do it,” George added.
Gagnon said she feels her children will “feel like they kind of had something to do with” the swing sets’ installation because of her participation, and Leger said it filled her heart to see her own children thank her for her contribution.
The swing sets, though, may just be the first step. George said the PTO is “still fundraising to replace the big kids’ structures,” which she estimated to be around 20 years old. The annual Swing for the Kids Golf Tournament held at the Northfield Golf Club is one of the PTO’s fundraisers that supports purchasing new playground equipment.
Reach Shelby Ashline at: sashline@recorder.com
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