Accessible playground opens at École Centennial Park Elementary
It’s an exciting time for the École Centennial Park Elementary school community as their newly built accessible playground opened for students earlier this month. Funded through the Ministry of Education and Child Care's Playground Equipment Program (PEP), the school district's Facilities Department was able to purchase and install new playground equipment universal in design and in compliance with accessibility measures set through the Canadian Standards Association for Children's Playspaces and Equipment.
Awarded the funding in May 2021, school district staff began by consulting with the school principal, PAC parents and staff to choose a design to meet the best play value, and the accessibility requirements for all students. Once the design was chosen, construction of the new playground was set to begin in November 2021. Unfortunately, due to worldwide material shortages throughout the pandemic, the project was delayed to July 2022.
During the summer of 2022, the school district's Facilities Department began removing the old playground equipment and prepping the site for the new playground. By September 2022, the construction and inspection of the new space was complete, and the site was officially opened for the school community in early October.
Universally designed playground spaces include adventure-style playground equipment that is designed to include all elementary-aged students regardless of ability. École Centennial Park's new playground features an accessible merry-go-round, a wide ramp to the main play structure for wheelchair accessibility and much more!
“We are so excited about our new playground!” said Kari Petzold, Principal of École Centennial Park Elementary. “Daily physical exercise works hand-in-hand with mental stimulation in the classroom to support the development for children of all ages. There are so many great features of the new playground that meets the accessibility needs of all our students. It will be wonderful seeing every student outside, enjoying the space and having fun.”
