All children will be supervised on the playground during school hours or during extended hours if under the care of before or after care staff. Outside of regular school hours, children must be supervised directly by a parent or caregiver. Parents and caregivers must be within easy viewing and hearing distance of their child(ren). Playground policies apply at all times and all hours. Parents and caretakers supervising children are responsible for ensuring compliance with these policies.
Playground Boundaries
Students are not to go into the tree (forbidden forest) areas of the playground, behind the hill on the east side of the property or into any parking area unless accompanied by a teacher or adult supervisor.
Equipment Use
Students must use all the playground equipment in a way that is safe for themselves and others. Students must be in sight of a supervising staff member or parent at all times.
Slide - feet first, one person at a time “up the ladder, down the slide”
Monkey Bars - Students are not to climb on top of the monkey bars.
Teacups - All body parts must be inside the teacup. No more than three people at a time. “Stop” means “stop.”
Swings - No jumping from the swings. Swings go front to back, not side to side. No spinning of swings.
Climbing - No jumping off the tower. No sliding down handrails.
No throwing objects other than sport balls, Frisbee or other designated sports equipment.
Natural Play
Mackintosh will designate areas of the playground specifically for natural play. In the designated area students may use natural materials to build, dig, and create. Students may play with available natural materials; however, sticks and other objects must stay in the designated natural area and may not be used as weapons of any kind. Students who want to chip rocks must check out a pair of safety goggles from their classroom teacher.
Snow
Snow is a fun winter resource that brings its own joys and challenges.
Snowballs- No throwing of snow in any form. Large balls of snow must be rolled off the soccer field so as not to damage the field.
Snow hills - Students may slide down the hill near the far swings ONLY if they are going feet first on their bottoms and wearing snow pants and boots. This may only happen with direct teacher supervision from one of their own class teachers. Since the hills can become icy, students will be directed to walk up pathways on the east or west ends of the playground.
Ga-ga Pit
Students are not to play in the Ga-ga pit area unless directly supervised by a staff member. During recess periods, play in the Ga-ga pit is limited to grades three and up. No more than eight can be in the Ga-ga pit. At other times, including extended care hours, use is determined directly by the supervising teachers.
Lunch, Snacks, Celebrations
Students will eat on the patio, picnic tables, or grass area on the west side of the playing field when weather permits. Students may not eat food while playing on playground equipment or on the field. Students may not share or trade food. We highly discourage families from having outside services deliver lunches/food as we do not have the manpower to manage.
One way of “walking our talk” in global stewardship is by encouraging our community to consume healthy foods and snacks during the day, and to minimize waste. The school will not provide utensils to students. Soda-pop and junk food (candy, chips, etc.) are strongly discouraged. Students are not permitted to share any personal lunch or snack items. Students will be required to take home all food-related trash. Parents may wish to include a storage container for such items in their child’s lunchbox.
The school does not provide methods for heating lunches due time and space constraints. Students are encouraged to use a thermos for warm lunches. Students also will not have access to refrigeration.
Individual classrooms may have different policies regarding snacks for classroom celebrations. These policies are based on the age and sensitivities of the classroom as determined by the classroom teacher. If celebration snacks are permitted by the classroom teacher, we ask that treats served in our classrooms be moderate in size and maintain sensitivity to healthy selections. Whenever possible, non-food related activities or gifts are encouraged (such as a book donation to the classroom for a child’s birthday.) Parents providing food items for community events are asked to clearly label foods noting any possible allergens including nuts, dairy, wheat, and eggs.
Dogs
Dogs are not permitted on campus during school hours or during school events except by prior arrangement with the Front Office.