PLAYGROUND INFORMATION

We have purchased the largest portion of our playground!

Now on to raising funds for the Climbing Net!

Way to Go Greendale!!

  

HELP EAGLE HEARTS SOAR WITH REPLACED PLAYGROUND STRUCTURE
Greendale Elementary Community School’s mascot is an eagle and we want to teach the kids that soaring like an eagle is possible. Dream big and work hard and you can fly. The Parent Advisory Committee along with administration and staff having been working tirelessly to see this happen. We are ambitious, enthusiastic and motivated to make a difference for our children and community, (Check us out at: http://greendalepacinfo.blogspot.com)

 OVERVIEW

Greendale Elementary Community School was originally built in 1927. Most of the school was destroyed by fire in September 2000. The damaged portion of the school was re-built and re-opened in September 2002. At that time, grade 1 and 2 students from nearby Chadsey Elementary joined the student population at Greendale.

The Greendale community is a rural area on the western side of the District of Chilliwack.  The school has always played a central role in the community.  Some students are the third generation of their family to attend this school.  Students attending Greendale come with strong family support.  Parents are an active part of the day-to-day activities at the school.

Our property sits on the main road through Greendale. It is surrounded by a few residential neighbourhoods, many farms, one local store, a few local businesses, and two churches. We have 155 students, from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, that attend Greendale Elementary Community School through grades K-6.  Last year Greendale Elementary became a community school!  Our doors are open to many community opportunities (e.g. evening exercise classes, booking space for church activities, special events, birthday parties, etc.)     

According to provincial and district standards, Greendale Elementary has consistently demonstrated strong achievement in Reading, Numeracy and Writing. School-level assessment, data analysis, and teacher professional judgment have steered us towards our new goal in focusing on student thinking strategies, especially around comprehension and problem-solving strategies.

The staff at Greendale care about the success of ALL students.  They work hard as a collaborative team to ensure that all students succeed and work to the best of their ability. They do not give up on their students.

Saying all that, the staff and parents at Greendale Elementary see physical exercise and play as a major tool in achieving success in academics. The students take place in weekly runs that they do twice a week and play multiple team sports on our large back field. We have a large playground as well that gets used daily no matter what the weather is like. We have two play structures one that is plastic and was installed in 2002. Our other structure is wooden and the major piece to our playground.

The wooden structure is deteriorating by rotting and bug infestation. The School District inspects it regularly and has informed us that it needs to be replaced. They have given us time to raise the funds to replace it but if parts are deemed unsafe they will not be reinstalled. If the playground deteriorates any further it will have to be taken out immediately. This would and will be a huge blow to our community.

Our yard has become a gathering place for many families with young children and is utilized all year-round. Many families use the school playground as their park as we do not have one within a 15K radius or further. Losing this structure would be disastrous.

RATIONALE

Our wooden playground is rotting due to bugs and weather and we are going to lose it soon. This will leave the students at Greendale Elementary Community School and the general public with less than half of a playground to play on. We as a student body have been diligently working at raising the $64,000 needed to replace what we have and to make this playground useable by the whole community. We are a small rural school and we need outside help to achieve this goal. This playground will not only give the students at Greendale Elementary Community School a place to play, socialize and exercise for many years to come but it will benefit the surrounding community as well.

We would like to do so much more for our community school such as an outdoor education classroom, a vegetable garden, a proper running track, benches and picnic tables but we are forced to concentrate on providing the basics.

LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS

In June of 2010, our school principal was informed that our wooden structure would need to be replaced. A committee, led by parent volunteers was established to oversee the project's development & execution. This incredibly passionate team, which also includes the Principal, has been working diligently to make a difference, not just for the students & staff of today, but also for the thousands that will follow in their footsteps.

We have already conducted research; launched our project to the community; secured the expertise of a licensed playground provider; created a master plan for our new playground; and raised $23,000 toward our project.

With year one of fundraising behind us, we are now focused on the next wave. We have a solid plan in place to turn our blueprints into reality as soon as the funds come in. However, while our hopes and dreams are very high, our financial resources are not. Coupled with the funds that our committee is aggressively raising and help from the community will add to our certainty of seeing our project for a better, safer, more inclusive schoolyard come to fruition.

·         Primary/Intermediate - The new structure caters to primary and intermediate students so students of every age and ability can play together on a safer, more stimulating environment.

Right now our goal of $64,000 seems so far reached, a dream and somewhat insurmountable. We are small student body with a limited family and donor base to pull funds from. Our families are becoming fatigued with fundraising. This year the Parent Advisory Committee is trying to be very strategic in raising funds. One of the many actions we are taking is to distribute pledge forms to the entire community of 500 households. We hope that this will make a difference.

SUSTAINABILITY

Once our project is complete, maintenance will become the responsibility of the maintenance department of the School District. To complete our project, which includes changes to the playground blueprint and new ground material additional funding will be generated through the Parent Advisory Committee’s fundraisers, new grant applications & corporate donations.

IMPACT

By supporting us, you will be improving the quality & safety of outdoor play for our students. You will also be helping us make a significant & sustainable impact on our community & our environment. Equally important, you'll be reinforcing our message to students that goals are attainable. Change is possible!

Our goal is to revitalize our space so that students and families are safe and proud, as well as create a space that can be utilized by our larger community. Many families and community members visit our school grounds after school and on the weekend to have picnics, to play on the equipment, shoot hoops, and play baseball or soccer. There is a wonderful feeling of community at our school, and this extra use also leads to more wear and tear on our yard than on other area schools. Our wooden structure needs replacing!

Every community needs a place to call their own. Every child needs a place to grow, learn, and become the best that they can be. We believe this happens at Greendale Elementary Community School! Sharing the support would help the students, families, and the community becomes the best that they can be and SOAR!

Playing outside, fostering friendships, and building positive relationships are key for children to build the skills to becoming contributing members of the community. Replacing the wooden playground for the families, students, and the surrounding area near Greendale Elementary would create a "Community Hub" that would enhance the lives of all current families, new families, students, honorary supporters and even past alumni.

Replacing the wooden playground at Greendale would give the children in the community and the school a place to build strong friendships, a love of play, and improve the student focus while they are at school. With bullying an issue in our society, a safe playground would allow the children to have a place to make positive choices and build these skills outside the classroom. Research has shown that when children interact together on a playground structure they can develop and build valuable social interaction skills. 

Our small rural school has given their best effort to help raise funds for a new playground. Our students & their families have raised $23,000 over the past year to go towards replacing the deteriorating playground structure. We have a long way to go to reach the $64,000 required to build a new playground. Realistically, based on the socio-economic background of many of our families, the money to build a playground will take many years to achieve without Aviva's support and the school and community will be left with only a fraction of play equipment.

As a Playground Committee we contacted 3 separate playground installers and chose HABITAT systems Inc. We have our budget, drawings and plans in place and are ready to go when the time comes to implement our dream. Our goal is to have the playground installed by September 2013.

One of the many reasons we chose Habitat Systems is their commitment to the environment. Habitat shares the same commitment to reducing carbon footprint. They have aligned themselves with companies who share their vision. In conjunction with the Global Relief Program, Habitat will donate a specific number of trees to an area in need to directly offset the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced in the manufacturing of our playground. Habitat’s product manufacturers are committed to the environment and follow many green policies and practices as well. Habitat’s products are manufactured by Landscape Structures who use a kaizen process aimed at eliminating waste known as “lean manufacturing”. This allows them to create the most environmentally-conscious play products available. They are ISO 14001:2004 certified for consistent and continuous environmental stewardship. Habitat Systems takes pride in using eco-friendly business strategies and alternatives to foster a green workplace and earth-friendly environment. This is important to our school and future of our children and community.

Please help us make a difference in the lives of our Greendale Eagles and the community! Help us to achieve our goal of 64,000 before our playground is removed completely and the students and community have nothing. Help us create a "Community Hub". Help us to not only fly but SOAR!