by Tanya Steele
Fundraising efforts at Healesville Primary are in full swing as students all pitch in to raise money to replace their favourite school playground.
Star Mail was contacted by student Macey, as she along with her classmates are trying to raise money to completely replace the equipment at the school’s favourite playtime spot.
The year four student is an enthusiastic fundraiser and has contacted several businesses in the Healesville area.
“My main goal is to raise money for the school, so we can get more things for the playground,” Macey said.
The school students have been raising funds by using online petitions and door knocking in their neighbourhood.
Healesville Primary enjoys great views and the playground is in a central location however, it is in need of a complete overhaul.
Principal Tracy Robertson-Smith has nothing but praise and admiration for her students and the goal for the playground replacement.
“Once we actually raise the money and we know how much money we can spend, then we want the kids to give us ideas for the design,” she said.
Students will get to contribute towards designs for the playground, with a slide and swings mentioned by the students when asked about ideas for the space.
Initially, the principal hoped to restore the current playground but the restoration was not financially feasible.
“By the time you spend lots of money replacing all of the playground, the platforms, it was actually going to be better to get a new one. The kids love this playground, this is the most popular playground so we need to get a new one,” the principal said.
The last project for Healeville was installing shade sails, a process which took three years to fundraise and budget for.
The school itself is quite large in size and requires ongoing maintenance for the grounds, the playground is the current priority.
The students will continue their fundraising efforts until the school colour fun run in a few weeks.
