Smithville Elementary is asking you to help the school win a new playground.
Although most of the existing playground areas at the school are in good condition, Assistant Principal Anita Puckett said one asphalt section has not been upgraded in more than forty years.
“We have three different playground areas. The playground and the place where we have the swing areas and slides, those are fine. My big concern is this asphalt that has been here since I was a student back in the 70’s. It’s very dated. There are tree roots growing up underneath it (pavement) and it’s very dangerous. We have children who sustain a lot of boo boos, skinned knees, and hurt body parts due to this asphalt being so outdated and unlevel. I want us to have a cork court. Basically it’s material much like cork board. It doesn’t retain water but it will allow our playground to be updated and more safe especially for special needs children,” said Puckett.
“We have special needs students who are in wheel chairs and those who can’t physically walk on this unlevel asphalt. The cork court will allow them (special needs students) to be able to get down on their hands and knees and be able to play on the cork court and do some interaction with their teachers. We would also like to get some new basketball goals and just have a place for kids to learn basic skills in PE such as hopping, skipping, and things like that on the new court,” she said.
Members of the community can help by visiting the Smithville Elementary School website at http://ses.dekalbschools.net/ and voting online for a chance to obtain new playground equipment at “Together Counts” and “Imagination Playground”.
“We’ve got two different things on our website. One of them is “Together Counts” which is a $30,000 grant that can help us with our vision of getting this cork court to renovate our playground,” Puckett said.
“Another is “Imagination Playground”. It’s just a unique kind of foam with blue type shapes that are kind of like Legos that kids can use their imagination and play with,” she added.
How to vote?
“Basically this is just an online vote where parents, teachers, and anyone in the community can go online and vote for our school. Just go to the Smithville Elementary School website at http://ses.dekalbschools.net/ and click on the links. Type in your email. Once you have voted it will store your email. You confirm your email each day and that counts as your vote,” said Puckett.
Smithville Elementary School serves almost 600 students in pre-k through second grade.
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