News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Park View School will be adding more equipment to its current playground area to provide more play space for students.
Principal Melody Presley said the school will be getting a new climbing structure, slides, and swings. Presley said they will also be getting structures to provide shade as that area is completely exposed and school staff have been using pop-up tents to compensate.
“When we got here and the play equipment was installed and doors were opened we saw that we needed more,” Presley said. “And so I asked and (Director of Schools Corby King) and (Deputy Director of Schools Tim Martin) graciously saw the need and took the initiative to help us.”
Presley said the extra equipment was delayed until now because the current playground was all the school could afford and have installed in time for the opening of the new building. Presley said everything should be installed over Christmas break and be ready to use in January.
“There’s lots of other things that they could be doing, so I don’t want you to envision it like going to Dollywood at Christmas time and there’s no room to move,” Presley said. “But it’s definitely, it’s being utilized but additional play space would be complementary and would be appreciated by the students for sure.”
Presley said there will also be new swings added to a separate area on a different side of the school at the same time. Presley said a concrete basketball court had previously been donated to that space and the school’s PTO is funding the addition of swings.
“As we were talking with the playground company today she said, ‘Yeah, I can really envision it as kind of like a community space,'” Presley said. “Because it’s over where the middle school ball fields will be on our campus.”
Presley said the school already has one climbing structure with slides and swings but it needed different offerings for older elementary students and the middle schoolers who will eventually be there. Presley said there are enough different recess activities that students have been able to use what equipment there is now without too much issue.
“At any given recess time you’ll students that are on the play structure, students that are on swings, students that want to go to swings, and then you have students that are in free play,” Presley said. “So that would be like playing soccer or running around playing tag or playing in the dirt.”
