By Chad Frey
Newton Kansan
Some of the first “oohs” and “aahs” on the nearly finished Play 4 All playground and Slate Creek Elementary were uttered by the staff of the school on Aug. 9.
The school staff, all of them, were able to take a tour of the more than $700,000 project Aug. 9.
“I am so excited. This is the best playground for any elementary school anywhere, ever,” said teacher Sara Harbour. “And they put the time and effort into raising the money. … Just seeing all the kind people giving money has been incredible.”
The new playground is the result of an effort that started with students at Slate Creek, the home of the special education cooperative.
“We started raising money and it was solely for the purpose of finding a swing that our kiddos could ride,” said teacher Brooke Pickerell. “Kids were bringing in pennies and piggy banks to get a swing for our friends in wheel chairs. It just evolved into this massive playground.”
Just how massive the playground really is was on full display on Aug. 9, as dozens of staff members were standing on the main play area at the same time – and at that time swings, merry go rounds and other equipment were empty and waiting.
There are slides galore, along with play equipment of all kinds. Concrete ramps offer wheel chair access to the main playground structure.
The $700,000 playground is nearly complete after being under construction all summer long. Aug. 9 contractors were working on the surface of the playground, which should be completed in days.
The school district expects the playground to be usable for students to play on for the first day of school on Aug. 14.
The final touches of a ribbon cutting ceremony are being put together for next week.
After several months of students donating their spare change to a fund for a swing, A core group of adults created the “All Together Now” campaign, and the Central Kansas Community Foundation joined in to help. In November of 2023, the Patterson Family Foundation and Asbury Park Foundation each offered matching grant funds.
During a morning assembly Feb. 21 the student body learned that fund-raising blew past the dreams of adults who took on the project – and that the school will receive what was called the “Play 4 All” option, rather than the budget option initially announced in December.
The playground, which cost more than $700,000, was ordered in the spring. Its parts were in the school parking lot when straightline winds swept across the area at the end of May, with at least one crate tossed from the top of a shipping container onto the concrete below.
It remained undamaged, and on schedule.
Slate Creek Elementary serves as the home to Harvey County’s severely-multiply disabled (SMD) classroom where many students may have mobility devices or other special needs. Those devices and other special needs may limit their ability to play on existing playground equipment.
