Our Existing Playground
The Background Story
Built in 1984, we have maintained our senior and junior playgrounds over the years but in reality even after a face-lifting paint job last year, we know and our tamariki are telling us "It is not challenging enough anymore" "We are too big to play on it" "It always needs fixing".
Our Board of Trustees commissioned a playground audit conducted by Playsafe in March 2023.
It found the following:
The Senior Playground had 28 flagged items of which 18 were low/medium risk and are recommended to maintain or improve this playground.
The bigger issue is the structural assessment grading for this playground: 4-Poor: 10-30% life remaining.
This gave the Board the option of replacing this playground which was built in 1984 with a new modern and safer playground for our senior students. The planning for this replacement started this year by collecting ākonga, kaiako, whānau and hāpu korero around its potential design, materials and use. The Board has a plan at this point to finance a new build to be ready for 2024 to provide a safe and challenging Year 4 to Year 8 playground.
Entering the Mitre 10 MEGA Playground Competition was a strategic move to help us make this vision a reality.
The Dream
Everyone Can Dream
And dreaming is free. But without dreams, we have no vision.
"You have to dream before your dreams can come true." A.P.J. Kalam
Our Vision
To create a new senior playground for our tamariki to play on and challenge their physical and emotional skills.
We want this playground to share the local history of Ngaati Mahaanga by creating storyboards around the playground that celebrate the whenua our school rests on and the tangata whenua to whom it belongs.
We want to reflect our commitment to our environment as kaitiaki (guardians) and celebrate the values of ecological sustainability in its construction.
Our Plan
To set aside sufficient funds from our operational grant in 2024 to contribute to the establishment of our new playground - in reality - we will also have to fundraise and seek sponsorship from our community - to meet our vision.