Wellbeing 

Dear Families,

The playground was abuzz yesterday afternoon with news that our much loved playground equipment that has brought joy to so many students over a number of years, is due to be upgraded this year.  As you will be aware, providing our students with the opportunity to fully and authentically participate in the life of the school, and to inform decision making, is a key priority of ours.  What better opportunity to draw on the expertise of our most frequent and experienced playground users to design our playground of the future?

To begin this process, the School Captains and Deputies met with Mrs Carlei to discuss the new designs and to go through some of the background as to why we were making this change and what we were hoping to achieve.  

Then, the SRC met yesterday to discuss what an ideal playground space might look like with a focus on what the design 'Must Have' or 'Could Have'.  There was immediate consensus that the key elements of a successful playground included monkey bars, a slide and a fireman's pole.  Other ideas that were shared included flying foxes, seesaws and swings.  Unlike local council playgrounds, schools have different regulations that they have to conform to and this immediately removes some options like the flying fox and swings.  It was important to discuss this with the students so they had an understanding of why certain options were available and others, not.  

The SRC also discussed who the playground was for and how it could be used, mindful of the fact that the equipment needed to allow for students to grow over time and remain an engaging space for them to play.  After this, the SRC looked at the three design options to discuss the pros and cons of each.  We also spoke about sustainability, use of recycled materials and how the new playground equipment might affect our environment at the end of its life.  It was important to the students that we consider the natural environment and the impact of this feature in the future. 

After looking at the 3 designs, each member of the SRC was able to vote for their top 2 designs.  Our next step will be asking the School Captains and Deputies to visit each class to give all students the chance to vote on which of the 2 designs they prefer and why.  

I look forward to sharing this news with you in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, I would like to acknowledge that it is opportunities such as these which set St Anthony's apart from other school settings.  Often, playgrounds are simply designed for children without their input and preference.  Just as we partner with parents throughout their child's education, so do we intentionally co-design learning and opportunities with students.  These experiences not only reflect our school values, they also demonstrate our focus on developing the whole child so they can be a successful, life-long learner. 

I wish you all a wonderful weekend.

Best wishes,

Peta Overbury

Wellbeing Leader