Kyffin Elementary students try out a bright green rocker moments after their new playground is officially dedicated.
Etched in stone at the entrance to Kyffin Elementary School is a reminder to all students: “never forget to play.” Now that motto is fully realized in a brand new playground that was officially inaugurated with the help of hundreds of soap bubbles blown by Kyffin students and staff.
The playground is the product of a two-year journey made possible by donors, fundraisers, and a competitive grant from Great Outdoors Colorado, a program that invests a portion of Colorado Lottery proceeds to help preserve and enhance wildlife and open spaces. The school itself raised $70,000 for the project and raised another $130,000 to complete it.
Kyffin Elementary School Principal, Michele DeAndrea-Austin, calls the project a “dream realized”. The previous facility was over 30 years old and featured outdated equipment meant to serve younger students. Older students, therefore, did not have access to much of the playground due to their size. The new playground opens up an entirely new world to these students.
Well-wishes from student groups, families, and donors line the brick pathway of one section of the new playground. One stone, dedicated by the Kyffin student council, includes a quote from John Quincy Adams: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”
Principal DeAndrea-Austin said the journey to opening day, while daunting, was extremely worthwhile.
“I look around this playground,” she remarked to the crowd, “and I see infinite possibilities for rediscovering the magical.”
Watch the JPS-TV version of this story here.