By Eleanor Wilson
Students at St Therese’s Primary School in Cranbourne North welcomed the new school year with a fresh playground space to enjoy.
Staff and students collaborated on the design for the new playground, which was funded with money from the school’s budget.
Deputy principal Michelle Hinds said the decision to replace the existing playground grew out of a couple of needs.
“The previous playground had been there for over 20 years so it looked very tired, it needed a good paint…it was just time for an upgrade,” Mrs Hinds said.
“But rather than staff taking over and creating a design we got the children involved to really promote that student voice,” Mrs Hinds said.
Students Harmony, Joseph, Jared, Chantelle, Lourdes, Aziz and past Grade 6 students Justine, Delvin and Ekant made up the student team who helped the playground come to life, with teacher Maddy Foster assisting Mrs Hinds in facilitating the project.
The new playground features a double slide, a spider web, some balance beams and orbs, a game of noughts and crosses blocks, a swirl bar and a monkey bar.
The school’s motto “do all that you do with love”, quote attributed to Saint Therese of Lisieux, is proudly etched into the playground as a reminder of the school’s values for students.
