Current Playground

Our current playground was built in 2005 and intended for users in kindergarten to grade 3, or ages 5-8 years old. As of September 30th, 2024, the playground is used by 624 children aged 4-11 years of age during school hours, and available to an additional 3,875 children aged 0-14 years old within our direct community. Outside of our community, but within walking distance, that number is increased by 5,390 children from Panorama aged 0-14 years old. This does not include the children that frequent the playground during the spring - fall sporting months when the fields directly beside the playground are used.

Playground Attributes

Currently, our playground is surrounded by pea gravel and a thick wood border. Many children in the Coventry Hills community can’t access the playground due to varying disabilities, this includes children who attend Coventry Hills Elementary School.
There is no ground play available for those who don’t possess the physical strength necessary to access the playground
One ramp is available, but it offers no interactive equipment or varying heights for its users. It is consistently covered in pea gravel leaving it inoperable for wheelchair users.
Equipment will be 20 years old in the summer of 2025, meaning it has reached it’s lifespan as mandated by CBE
Equipment is wearing out and breaking, requiring repairs

A Solution without benefits is not a solution

Coventry Hills Elementary School is fortunate in having a larger playground footprint. The current footprint is on school grounds, and takes up the majority of our school grounds that provides a grass area. If the playground is removed and not replaced, Coventry Hills Elementary School will still have to pay to remove the pea gravel and existing border, an estimated $25,000. Once removed, the children of the school, surrounding community, and the children who frequent our playground during the months the city fields are utilized, will no longer have an option to engage in unstructured physical activity. Removing the playground equipment will also remove a congregation point for the community and those who visit.

Benefits to our school in replacing the playground are similar in number. By replacing the playground it will produce the accommodation of an increased number of children able to safely use the playground at a given time, rather than the current limitations of a single grade at a time. This accommodation will extend to the large, and ever growing, number of students with physical and/or intellectual disabilities who find the current playground inoperable and are unable to play with their peers. By addressing these challenges, we will offer a fun, safe and inclusive environment for children to learn and grow alongside their peers. An environment that embodies a comprehensive school health, enacted to ensure a whole school approach to health and wellness, and pertinent to a child's development.

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