Official Opening of Two New School Playgrounds in Ladner

The community of Ladner has two new school playgrounds thanks to funding from the City of Delta and the tenacious fundraising efforts of the schools’ Parent Advisory Councils (PACs). Earlier today, the school district held official opening ceremonies for the new playgrounds at Ladner and Port Guichon Elementary Schools.

The event was attended by a number of special guests including Councillor Dylan Kruger, City Manager Sean McGill, Deputy Director of Parks and Planning Dan Cooper, Board Chair Val Windsor, Trustees Masako Gooch, Ammen Dhillon and Nick Kanakos, Ladner PAC representatives Tegan VandenBoer, Tyla Langdon, Merrilee Watts and Stephanie Davis, Port Guichon PAC representatives Alisa Sayce and Leslie Kada, Doug Sheppard, Superintendent and Judy Maranda, Assistant Superintendent.

At the ceremony, guest speakers highlighted the importance and benefits of play areas to students’ learning and development. A number of students also shared their thoughts on the new playgrounds.

“These tremendous new playgrounds are a testament to the incredible things that can be achieved when we, as a community, work together to advocate for our children’s future,” said Mayor George V. Harvie. “These playgrounds would not have been made possible without the fundraising efforts of the Parent Advisory Councils who have generously given their time, energy, and resources to make these projects materialize. The City is proud to provide cost-sharing funding for initiatives like these that encourage children’s development through active outdoor play.”

“It is great to see two Ladner schools benefit from new playgrounds,” said Val Windsor, Chair of the Board of Education. “Playgrounds are safe spaces where kids develop crucial physical, social, emotional and imaginative skills necessary to gain self-confidence, improve coordination, and advance critical thinking capabilities. They help students learn to be citizens through play, sharing and collaboration.

“In particular, on behalf of the Board of Education, I’d like to extend our thanks to the schools’ PACs. It has taken many years of commitment from them to raise enough funds to make these wonderful new playgrounds a reality. I’d also like to thank the City of Delta for its ongoing commitment to supporting new playgrounds in our community, and to the many families and community members for participating in the PACs’ fundraising efforts. I know for sure that both of these playgrounds will be enjoyed by Ladner families for years to come.”

“I think I can speak for all the members of the PAC and the parents at Ladner Elementary when I say we are all just so happy this day has finally come! It’s been a long road but seeing the joy on the children’s faces makes it all worth it. We are so grateful to everyone who supported this project through volunteer hours and donations. Big and small – they all made a difference,” said Tyla Langdon, Ladner PAC Executive Member at Large.

“The Port Guichon Elementary PAC is very excited the new school playground is finally here after many years of fundraising and planning,” said Alisa Sayce, Port Guichon PAC Chair. “We would like to thank the City of Delta and Delta School District, as well as all the current and past families, students and teachers at Port Guichon for their help and support of this project.”

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Ladner Elementary School – 529 students

Playground equipment cost: $190,000 (Total project cost was over $200,000)

The City of Delta provided a grant of $45,000 towards the playground equipment and design.
The Delta School District provided a matching contribution to cover ground remediation and all other preparatory costs.
The Ladner Elementary PAC raised the additional funding required for the playground.

City of Delta Grant

The Ladner Elementary PAC applied to the City of Delta’s Community Initiated Cost Sharing Projects Program, which matches funds that a PAC collects up to a maximum of $45,000 with the proviso that the playground is available to the general public. They received a grant of $45,000.

Ladner PAC Fundraising Efforts (https://www.ladnerelpac.com/)

Fundraising by the PAC involved numerous events and initiatives including plant sales, bottle drives, gift cards fundraisers, silent auctions and online auctions. The PAC also received donations from individuals and local businesses, many of whom either had or have kids at the school.

Significant donations include:

$20,000 from RSS IT Sytems
$10,000 from Applewood Nissan Richmond
$5,000 from the Schaeffers Family
$5,000 from Neighbourhood Plumbing & Heating Ltd
$5,000 from Chambers Olsen Ltd Insurance Brokers

Key components of the Ladner Elementary playground:

Double Zipline with a start platform and a disk style seat that children can sit or stand on.
Natural parkour course with a focus on agility and balance. It includes twisted/vertical nets, rope climbers and balance beams.
Play structure incorporating the key elements of swinging, climbing, balancing, hanging and sliding: monkey bars, balancing elements, slides, rope climber, steppers with poles, fire pole and space under the structure for accessible play.

Port Guichon Elementary School – 188 students

Playground equipment cost: $75,000 (Total project cost was over $100,000)

The City of Delta provided a grant of $38,000 towards the playground equipment and $5,000 for design.
The Delta School District provided a matching contribution to cover ground remediation and all other preparatory costs.
Th Port Guichon PAC raised the additional funding required for the playground.

City of Delta Grant

The Port Guichon Elementary PAC applied to the City of Delta’s Community Initiated Cost Sharing Projects Program, which matches funds that a PAC collects up to a maximum of $45,000 with the proviso that the playground is available to the general public. They received a grant of $38,000, plus an additional $5,000 for the playground design.

Port Guichon PAC Fundraising Efforts

Fundraising by the PAC involved Spring Fairs, hot lunches and numerous other events and initiatives.

Key components of the playground:

Play structures incorporating the key elements of swinging, climbing, balancing, hanging and sliding: monkey bars, slide, rope spider climbing, fire pole, climbing wall, wooden balance beams and logs, climbing boulder, twisted vertical nets, spinners and space under the structure for accessible play.