Playground Project
For complete details on the project click here: HMS-Playground 2010
Update for November 24, 2010
After our second Playground Volunteer Day on Saturday, November 20, the playground was completed and after a brief ceremony on the morning of Monday November 22, the new playground opened to HMS students!
Obviously, the installation of the new playground, or better stated The Playground Complex has been an amazing and rapid journey. Beginning with a call and meeting with the anonymous donor last spring to the opening of the new playground two days ago, this Thanksgiving we all have much to be thankful for. Here are some of my playground thoughts:
- Last Saturday as the work was nearly done on the playground, Superintendent Steve Chamberlin and I were standing at the top of the new lofty structure as he quoted Aristotle’s famous line, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In addition to the incredible donation of $100,000 (this goes without saying), one of the greatest gifts is the way the community rallied around this magnificent opportunity and contributed both time and money to the cause.
- The student reaction to the playground the first two days was so joyful. I saw genuine appreciation from students for the gift they have received. As we go through the year, we want to find ways to teach our children to develop a strong attitude of gratitude, a process I’m sure that parents are encouraging as well.
- Our long time P.E. teacher Beth Henderson, now retired, stopped by the school yesterday to chat and gawk at the playground. Her enduring efforts at improving our playground may not have yielded the changes during her tenure that we see now , but her passion and diligence kept the spirit going. It was great for me to see her emotional reaction to the changes.
- On Monday, our P.E. teacher Ed Girzone oriented all HMS students to our new playground elements class by class, with assistance from School Counselor Jackie Kleiner and yours truly.
- After the snow melts and the warm temperatures return to our region, we’ll organize an appropriate celebration for the scores of volunteers and generous donors to this project.
I hope you’ll check out the playground this weekend if you get the chance. It truly is a community facility and one we should all be thankful for. Look for pictures from the first two days up on the web site.
Update for November 15, 2010
We had a very successful Playground Volunteer Day on Saturday, November 13. Here are some of the accomplishments thanks to nearly 50 volunteers.
- The area underneath the main playground structure was raked and is now ready for the textile fabric and woodchips to be placed on the ground by next Saturday.
- Wood chips were placed along the entire stone wall on the perimeter of the playground as well as under the new swings and the preschool playground. Volunteers also cleared up leaves, twigs, and rocks near the stone wall. Of course, new fabric was placed first on both the swings and the preschool playground. All of old the peastone flooring was taken out as well.
- More grading was done for the ball field and should be done this week. All that is left for the field is to purchase the backstop, bring in the infield fill, and hydroseeding in the spring.
- A bridge was built and placed in the far right hand corner of the field behind the future backstop. A new area was created across the bridge which is covered in wood chips and will have a picnic table in the future.
- Much of the perimeter border was placed around the main structure as well as the preschool section.
There is more to come. In fact, we are looking for our second volunteer day next Saturday, November 20. If you can make it, please email our “A-Team” of Arlene McGrath and Amy Licata at amylicata@yahoo.com, or afpmcgrath@aol.com.
Check out a five minute video of the work day on the right hand side of the web site as well as the pictures from the day streaming on the site.
Update for November 12, 2010:
As I walk around the hallways of HMS it’s not surprising that the first topic of discussion among the kids is the burgeoning playground. Have you seen the progress since yesterday? The entire playground makeover is happening quickly. Here’s an update:
· The preschool playground should be complete by today and ready for tomorrow’s “wood chipping”.
· The main playground will be complete sometime next week and ready for our final “wood chipping” by next weekend.
· Today, concrete is being poured on both structures.
· The ball field should be done next week, weather permitting, except for the back stop and hydroseeding.
· Tomorrow is our first volunteer work day (Saturday, November 13). It should be a beautiful day. Any last minute volunteers should contact our “A-Team” of Arlene and Amy at: amylicata@yahoo.com, or afpmcgrath@aol.com.
· Good news: it looks like we can hold our second volunteer work day for next Saturday, November 20. If all goes well, we may be able to open up the playground the following week.
· Stay tuned for more information on a Grand Opening Ceremony. My thinking is that we will have a smaller celebration this fall and then a larger grand opening next spring. We’ll see. I am very open to ideas on what the celebration may look like.
Click here for updated photos of the playground progress.
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HMS Playground Volunteer Work Day
Saturday, November 13, 2010
8:00 AM ’til dark
We need help with the following:
Raking & preparing surfaces 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Measuring & cutting geotextile fabric 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Installing perimeter borders 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Moving pea stones 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Moving & reinstalling a chain link fence 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Spreading wood chips 10:00 AM – finished
Dump runs As required
Refreshments! Food & Beverages 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
are needed to keep our volunteers
fueled up.
If you would like to help, please contact Arlene McGrath at afpmcgrath@aol.comor Amy Licata at amylicata@yahoo.com.
Your assistance is greatly appreciated!
Update for November 5, 2010:
IT’S IMPORTANT TO BE …..
FLEXIBLE—about the playground
Anytime you take on a project this size, there are bound to be some bumps along the way. I spoke with the installers this week and they are certain the installation will take longer than what Gametime, our playground manufacturer, originally estimated. I had hoped that a week from this Saturday we could begin placing the flooring (manufactured wood fibers) throughout the two structures (regular and preschool), but plans are changing a bit.
Assuming that the weather is good enough next Saturday, November 13, we will be gathering our forces at 9 AM to spread wood chips on the preschool playground (which should be installed by then), along the stone walls, and on the flooring of the swings which has been in need for a while. The rain date will be the following day, Sunday November 14 at 9 AM. You should be contacted by Arlene or Amy our volunteer coordinators anyway, but if you have questions, feel free to contact them at: afpmcgrath@aol.com or amylicata@yahoo.com.
The response has been amazing and generous, both in terms of volunteers and financial donations. If you have any questions about the playground project, please feel free to call or email me.
The site work for the playground is complete. Tom from Newyard is working on the ball field out back.
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Update for October 30, 2010:
1. This week, scores of volunteers emptied two large trucks and placed the playground equipment, most of it still boxed or on pallettes, onto the field. Thank heavens for the fork lift.
2. New Yard Construction has been prepping the site for installation which should begin Wednesday or Thursday of next week, November 3 or 4.
3. Installation should take at least a week and will likely be completed by November 12. .
4. We will then need volunteers on the weekend of November 13 and 14 to spread the wood chips, which will be the flooring for the playground. This is our greatest need for volunteers. We could also use a dozen or so wheelbarrels as well as rakes and shovels. If anyone has a tractor to move the wood chips that will be helpful too. It is possible that we may not complete the work that day and we may have to extend the work to the following weekend.
· If you can work November 13 and/or the 14th, please email which day(s) to Arlene McGrath afpmcgrath@aol.com or Amy Licata amylicata@yahoo.com our Volunteer Coordinators.
I will update the web site with information right here. You can also check out pictures of the playground progress on our home page at: http://www.hopkintonschools.org/haroldmartinschool/.
Recess will be more complicated in the interim. We are expanding our footprint a bit and blocking off the flagpole area to cars during our recess times at mid-day so kids have more space.
It’s all very exciting for the community. It looks like we may have enough funding to finish the ball field work in the back thanks to generous donations. I’ll have more information on that soon.
Please let me know if you have questions about the playground or anything else for that matter. Have a wonderful weekend.
Best,
Bill Carozza, Principal
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We are excited to announce that our new playground project is about to begin! Harold Martin School accepted a $100,000 donation from an anonymous donor and now we are about to break ground this fall for an anticipated completion date by mid-November.
We will still be fund raising for the second phase of the project which involves the reconditioning of the back field at HMS and preparing it for a small baseball field. We will also be looking for volunteers to help with breaking down the old equipment. The fundraiser letter and donation form are included below. These were already sent out in hard copy to every HMS student and sent out to our email list.
Come back here often for updates. In the meantime, for complete details on the project as well as what the new playground will look like, click here: HMS-Playground 2010
You can also check our Twitter page for updates as well as our Facebook page. Just search for “HMS Playground” on Facebook.
Playground Fundraiser Letter: PG Fundraiser
Donation Form: donation form
