Donovan gets another playground
Donovan Primary School is growing once again but this time it’s with a new playground.
Principal Peter Hopwood said the school had outgrown its current facilities and a bigger school meant there was a need for more equipment.
The $90,000 playground will cater to the increasing number of students the school has had rolling through their gates.
The roll stands at 434 students, and another four would start on Monday, Hopwood said.
Before the new playground was finished, there were two playgrounds but it meant there was a risk of overcrowding students, who were ‘‘all crammed in’’, Hopwood said.
For health and safety and behavioural reasons a third playground was needed to spread out the age groups, he said.
The playground was full of swinging, jumping, smiling children at the grand opening of the playground yesterday.
The school celebrated the opening with an assembly, a ribbon cutting, and speakers from the school’s Board of Trustees.
Board of Trustees property manager Daniel Middlemiss said the playground was jointly funded by the Community Trust of Southland with a grant of about $22,000 as well as fundraising from the Parent-Teacher Association and funds from the school’s board.
The playground had been in the planning stages for about two years, Middlemiss said.
Trust chairwoman Jill Wilkinson said the playground was important to provide students a place for them to let off steam and an environment to learn.
The project was a joint community effort with fundraising events and working bees, she said. ‘‘The community saved us a fortune.’’ The playground was already full on lunch breaks, before and after school, and even on the weekends, Wilkinson said.
‘‘It’s not just for the school, but for the community too,’’ she said.