The need for new playground equipment was brought to the attention of Oxford Elementary School (OES) parents when their children came home after the school year started and said ‘Hey, our slides are gone on the playground,? the very same slides that Oxford native Holly Bennion remembered sliding down during the late 1970’s.
After further examination of both of OES and Daniel Axford (DA), where one of the equipment pieces is currently being held together by zip ties, the PTO (Parent Teacher Organization), which oversees both schools, decided to put together a Playground Committee, which consists of six mothers ? Holly Bennion, Kelly Bray, Paula Foster, Anna Ifkovits, Jennifer Moore and Melissa Williams.
‘Basically, the playground committee was put together after an October PTO meeting, when a few parents came together and wanted to inquire about getting some new playground equipment and that’s how we got educated (about) exactly how that’s funded,? explained Williams ‘It was surprising to us, but we found out that there was really no annual (funding) in the school budget to replace (playground) equipment.?
Through some research, they discovered replacing playground equipment is ‘crazy expensive.?
‘For instance, if we had a magic money tree that we could just pick off of and wanted to do both schools, it could cost upwards of $200,000,? Willams said. ‘So, we just decided that we were going to get together and do the best that we can as parents using fund-raising.?
‘Most of our fund-raisers are online fund-raisers. They’re not your traditional catalog fund-raiser and in your face fundraisers because we want to be sensitive to the fact that we have a PTO here,? she added. ‘What the PTO currently funds (through traditional fundraisers) is very important and we don’t want to interfere with that because as parents that’s very important to us too, as far as all the assemblies and all the things PTOs fund.?
Some of the fund-raising efforts have included Mom2Mom sales, DoTerra Essential Oil fundraiser, where moms selling the oils have donated 20 percent of the sales to the fund, and pop can drives.
‘We brought in $1,600 on our first one, so we’re hoping to do that again on Memorial Day,? Williams said. ‘We have ongoing drop-off sites at two local parents house (243 Atlantis Circle in Waterstone subdivision and 461 Gleneagles Ct in Woodbriar subdivision), where Odd Jobs donated a can outside their house and people can just drop off returnable (pop cans) as they like and we will continue to do that throughout the year.?
DA Principal Chad Boyd said the Playground Committee’s passion for raising money is ‘amazing.?
‘Even the pop can drive they had, it was like negative 10 degrees outside and they were standing at (bus) pickup when parents would come up and collecting cans every single day for a week,? he noted. ‘It was just too cold to stand outside and do that, but they just huddled up (to keep warm).?
Because they don’t have a ‘magic money tree,? Williams said they’ve decided to break their fundraising into phases, which is to buy one mid-size piece of equipment for one school and then to buy another mid-size piece of equipment for another school. To buy one piece of equipment and have it installed, they estimate a cost of around $30,000. To date, they’ve raised a total of $7,800 in the playground fund.
Splitting between schools
Because they can only do one school at a time, the committee decided to update the OES playground first because much of the current playground equipment is geared towards a younger age group, as opposed to third, fourth and fifth-graders.
‘One of the major concerns was that we have third, fourth and fifth graders there. Originally, equipment was brought over just thinking they needed a playground there, but not necessarily keeping in mind that it was going to be eight, nine and 10-year-olds playing on it,? Willams said. ‘It’s not very engaging for an eight, nine and 10-year-old.?
OES Principal Jeff Brown agreed.
‘It’s one of those things at OES that’s been a long time coming. For me starting there as a principal six years ago, one of the first things I looked at was ‘I wonder if this playground we have now can really engage third, fourth and fifth graders,? he said. ‘I think if you go to any school, third, fourth and fifth graders are the hardest ones to sort of engage with any type of equipment.?
In order to figure out what they wanted to buy for the playground, Williams noted that they got a catalog from a playground group, who was marketing that they had been around for 35 years.
‘I opened up the front cover and there was a picture of one of their very first (pieces of) equipment and it was almost identical to the wood structure that’s currently sitting outside right now (at DA),? she said.
The first piece they decided on purchasing is a rope climbing structure.
‘It’s really great for the older kids who have the upper body strength to actively participate on that piece of equipment and they seem to really enjoy those,? Williams said.
‘I think one of the neat parts of those type of structures is there is ways you can connect them to the each other. I think the idea with the new equipment is to give kids multiple options of where to start, where to stop, where to go,? Brown added. ‘Instead of the playgrounds you see (at the school now) where it’s a series of platforms, so everybody is trying to get from A to B and then C.?
The second phase will be a piece of equipment for DA.
‘We haven’t picked anything out for DA, because we haven’t reached the first goal,? Williams said. ‘When we do . . . it’s going to be about the same (price).?
Brown said it typically takes a bond to pass in order to get a whole new playground in one shot, but with the recent millage failures of both the Oxford Public Library and Oxford Township Parks and Recreation community center, he’s a little concerned.
‘Who knows when the next school millage is going to be able to pass? It’s hard to sort of sit back and wait (for a bond). I do think it’s neat that we do have a group that’s not just sitting back and waiting, but they’re trying to be proactive,? he added. ‘Honestly, what would make me the happiest, is if a bond passed during this whole thing and all of a sudden our PTO got to have the conversation about what do we do with all this money that’s been raised along the way because we have a playground now (through a bond). I would love to see the best of both worlds happen from this, but it’s a fantastic start.?
Williams said it’s modeling to their children some of the fundamentals of IB (International Baccalaureate). Boyd agreed.
‘We talk (to our students) all the time about taking action. That’s basically what this is, an action committee that identified a need and they have a target and they’re working to get there,? he added. ‘It’s great for the kids to have that model.?
Donations can be given at www.gofundme.com/daoes-playground also follow them on Facebook under: Playground Funding or for questions or fundraising ideas e-mail playground.daoes@oxfordschools.org