About the Project
St. Michael School Council Playground Inspirations Committee is in the process of rejuvenating our school yard. We’re looking for parent, teacher, student and community participation in this exciting 5-year (and more) project.
This community’s school yard is an untapped resource with enormous social, health and environmental benefits. There are creative, fun and environmentally enriching things that can be done to our school yard that will result in a healthier and safe environment to play and learn. Ideally, a school ground should have play spaces, quiet areas and green spaces. Natural landscapes, with trees and shrubs, provide shade from UV rays which could be harmful to our children during the peak periods of the day. Plus, naturalized school grounds create a greater awareness and respect of nature and the ecology.
To begin this exciting process we’ve created a school ground concept which can viewed on the concept page. We invite all our parents and neighbours to view the new plans. It is important that this project has strong school and community support and involvement, which in turn will give us a great feeling of cooperation within our neighbourhood. (January 2007)
Come and see what's new!
What Children Need From Their School Grounds
A Place for Doing: Opportunities for physical activities, for 'doing' all kinds of things-a school grounds which recognizes their need to extend themselves, develop new skills, to find challenges and to take risks.
A Place for Thinking: A place that provides intellectual stimulation, things which they can discover and study and learn about by themselves and with friends, which allows them to explore and discover and understand more about the world they live in.
A Place for Feeling: A place that presents colour and beauty and interest, engenders a sense of ownership and pride and belonging; in which they can be 'small' without feeling vulnerable; where they can care for the place and people in it and feel cared for themselves.
A Place for Being: A place which allows them to be 'themselves', which recognizes their individuality, their need to have a private persona in a public place, for privacy, for being alone and with friends, for being quiet in noise, for being a child.
A Place for Fun!
Research from Titman, Wendy. 1994. Special Places; Special People. UK: Learning Through Landscapes.