P is for Playground!!

Masterson Elementary School students, including, from left, Brooks Nigut, Trevion Russell, Jack Todd, Amelia Bolton, Ryan Creed, and Harry Dalton, take a break from their summer activities to try out the school's new playground equipment.

Staff photo by George Anderson

A few students from H. Byron Masterson Elementary School recently took a a break from their summer activities to try out the new equipment at the school's playground.

The new equipment is made of metal and plastic and it replaces the playground's former centerpiece, a wooden castle.

According to Laurie McAtee, Masterson Elementary School principal, the old equipment was replaced do to safety reasons.

"The wood castle was taken down for safety reasons," McAtee said, noting that the students would get splinters from the aging construction. "The slides on the older one were metal and [the students] couldn't slide on them [due to summer and winter temperatures]."

The new multi-colored equipment features plastic slides and various climbing constructions, as well as some built-in toys.

McAtee said the new equipment was purchases through the various school fundraisers, which brought in more than $10,000 for the addition.

"Anything we do that involves the kids, we make a little bit of money from it," McAtee said, specifically citing the Sweets and Treats Auction and the Carnival as two of the main events. "We have been saving for several years for our playground fund."

McAtee said the new centerpiece is Phase 1 of a multi-phase project to replace all of the older equipment on the playground.

"We are going to gradually add little phases to renovate our playground," McAtee said.

"This is one of the first phases."