GROWing a playground - how a few tyres and some telephone poles became a new play space.

Our mission at GROW WRPS is to connect the school, parents, and the community, whilst providing support and resources that create a fun and engaging learning environment for all our children. So when WRPS Caretaker Andy Benn said "I have an idea for a playground" it was only natural that GROW should help bring his rough sketches to life.

On the afternoon of Anzac Day, a group of about 30 parent and teacher volunteers, joined by a high-vis army of West Rolleston learners, held a working bee to create a new play space adjacent to the recently installed asphalt courts. Over the course of the afternoon Andy's vision slowly took shape and by the time the adults were enjoying a cold beer and a sausage sizzle, we were able to sit back and watch our kids bring the area to life with their antics and laughter.

Thank you to all those who volunteered on the day, as well as to those families, and community members, who supplied plants for the area. Special thanks to Steve Franks who was our project manager and to two local businesses who loaned us the heavy machinery we needed to get the job done: Academy Hire & Academy Party Rolleston and Skip2Dump Ltd. GROW relies on a lot of support from local businesses for many of our endeavours, so please remember to support local.

Another business that provides a valuable service to our school community is Inspired Lunches, run by Jo Burnett. Jo is the face behind last year's cheese roll fundraiser and the hot chocolates our kids enjoy on a Wednesday during Winter. On the last day of Term 1, Inspired Lunches held a Hotdog fundraiser and raised $550 for GROW. We'll be able to use that money to fund this Winter's hot chocolates, so thank you very much Jo.

Another Jo(e) deserving of praise is Joe Sefton, whose Easter raffle raised  $5,500 for GROW. This money will be used to kickstart our fundraising efforts for additional shade sails throughout the school and the installation of new and exciting outdoor recreational spaces for our children.

Finally, Kelly Franks and I met with Sylvia Fidow and members of the Board of Trustees over the school holidays to come up with some strategic goals for GROW for the coming year. I would love to share these with you all at the GROW committee meeting on Monday May 6th at 7pm in the staff lounge. If you have any items you wish to raise, or would like us to discuss, please don't hesitate to get in contact with us at growwrps@gmail.com or on the GROW West Rolleston Primary School Facebook Group - not a member? Look us up!

Kylie Drake

GROW Chairperson