Ruckersville students gain a new playground

Media General News Service
Published: October 11, 2008

Recess has a fresh face at Ruckersville Elementary School, where the ribbon was cut on a new playground this week. Principal Mike Coiner and Janet Arsenault, secretary of the Ruckersville PTA, opened the playground to several dozen children eager to climb, swing, slide and enjoy the new equipment.

School staff, including the new school superintendent, David Jeck, joined parents and community members to watch the children play.
The $35,000 playground was completely paid for by donations, including $10,000 from the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation. The first annual RES 5K Fun Run last spring raised $1,500 toward the new playground, which gives more children better access to the benefits of both exercise and play.

A student read-a-thon raised another $1,200. PTA fundraisers, special donations and student activities provided the rest of the funding.
“I want to thank last year’s fifth-grade class,” said Coiner. “Even though they knew the playground would not be built before they left this school, they took it upon themselves to raise $2,000 by putting coin collection jars in all the classes.”
“I also want to thank the community as a whole,” added Coiner. “The kids and the PTA raised the funds, but the money came from the community — from parents and even from people who do not have kids in the school.”

Coiner continued: “Our PTA has been the driving force behind this project. They raise about $35,000 a year through the Fall Festival, Santa’s Workshop and other events, and they put that money back into the school for the students. I cannot say enough about what an asset they are.”
Arsenault credits both current and past PTAs for seeing the project through. “The new playground has been about two years in the making. The PTA members did an awesome job researching the companies and coming up with the right facility for us.”

The new set-up from Miracle Playgrounds, based in Missouri, is about one-half of the finished design. Other modules can be added to the central structure for $8,000 to $10,000 each.
“We worked with the Physical Education Department to choose pieces, like the climbing equipment, that promote upper body development,” added Coiner.