Check Out Sargent School's New Playground

Sargent Elementary School will soon have a new playground, thanks to the efforts of parents and faculty.

After lengthy discussions and planning, the Playground Committee has come up with a three-phase development, with the first phase starting in October. The final stage is expected to be completed in October 2015.

According to Lisa Roberts, the new playground plan calls for:

• Replacing both wood play structures with new, lower maintenance structures made out of metal.
• Installing additional stand-alone play structures.
• Creating more accessible, inclusive play options.
• Expanding the hot top area.

The current playground consists of 20-year-old wooden play structures, which may become a safety issue and give people splinters.

The new structures will be more up to date with current playground safety standards," Roberts said. "They will challenge the children both mentally and physically, helping them develop upper body strength, stability, problem solving, and overall confidence. Moreover, the slimmer profile design will enable us to offer more activities in the same footprint with lower overall maintenance costs."

The new playground will be funded by donations, grants and fundraising efforts.  

"A special thank you goes out to Peter Breen for providing the demolition of the existing structure for Phase 1," Roberts said.

And to keep costs down, parents and teachers are hoping to gather members of the community to volunteer in each phase.

Contact Karen Davis at 617-256-4684 or Karen.davis24@gmail.com.