To the Cannington and greater Brock community:
The playground at McCaskill’s Mills Public School (MMPS) brings plenty of joy and healthy activity to the students and community members of Cannington. Unfortunately, it is nearing the end of its life and requires significant and costly repairs to keep it safe and operational.
The playground is the sole responsibility of the MMPS School Community Council (SCC) who oversees and pays for the repairs. In the coming years, the SCC will be responsible for eventually planning and funding a new playground at the end of the current facility’s life.
Recently, our group was tasked with paying for essential playground maintenance or risk having the playground shut down. The SCC has been lucky over the years, as the current playground has not required much maintenance, but it has become clear that this is no longer the case. It’s recommended that we set aside approximately $5,000 per year to cover ongoing costs, aside from the money we put into supplying the students with additional learning programs and materials. We did pay for the immediate repairs and the playground will continue to be operational into the beginning of 2023, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Our volunteer group feels as though it is our responsibility to share the facts with our school family and greater community and ask for your input as we make these big decisions about the fate of our school playground. In the coming years when this playground has reached the end of its life, a new playground installation will cost approximately $50,000, and future SCC volunteer committees will be required to carry the burden of maintaining a fund of $5,000 for annual updates and maintenance, indefinitely.
Before agreeing to pursue this high level of fundraising or deciding the group is unable to carry the financial weight of the playground, we want to ask our community members to complete a survey to share their thoughts on the situation. We don’t believe this decision should be the sole responsibility of the 8-10 SCC volunteers, so we ask that you please provide your input on the fate of the playground.
To complete the survey, click HERE.
About us and what we fundraise for:
The SCC is a volunteer committee made up of MMPS parents/guardians, community members, a teaching staff representative, school administrative team, a support staff representative, and student representatives. We meet regularly to plan fundraising events, discuss financial requests from the school administrators, and provide funds to supply the school with important workshops, learning technology, and spirit activities.
To raise money, we run the hot lunch and milk programs, organize external fundraising initiatives, host school dances, sell treats on Track and Field days, and more. We’ve persisted through COVID restrictions as a small but mighty team to ensure the students get to enjoy musical keyboards, virtual art classes, Scientists in the School, and many more enrichment activities not covered by the board.
McCaskill’s Mills Public School SCC
