Tewksbury Elementary School Students Star Year with New Playgrounds

From the Tewksbury Public Schools

TEWKSBURY, MA — Students in the Tewksbury elementary schools are starting the academic year with fresh playgrounds, enjoying safe and fun spaces to exercise their muscles and get their energy out.

Through the efforts of Town Manager Richard Montuori and Nancy Reed of the Community Preservation Committee, an article was brought forward at the Fall 2013 Town Meeting requesting funding for the project for the children, recognizing the playgrounds were in need of an upgrade. The town meeting members approved it.

Parent design teams in each building, led by Paige Impink, planned the layout of the playgrounds and chose pieces of equipment to fit the most fun in the space allotted for a price that was in budget, keeping them age appropriate and providing a good variety of motor skills challenges. Principals Terry Gerrish, Angela Kimble, Matt Castonguay and Felicia Wettstone all worked with the teams and gave their full support.

The parent contractors in the Tewksbury community who came out and made the project a reality cannot be thanked enough for their commitment to the schools. They include. Mike Merrill of Colonial Construction who donated the excavation and site prep including excavators, dump trucks, employees, a bobcat and stayed late many nights for the North Street, Trahan and Heath Brook sites. Additional site prep support came from Giasullo Construction, Matt Ginsburg, Ryan Nelson, Germano Construction, Rappoli Irrigation, M. Squires Inc., Nick Romano, Scott Ripley, Mark Ingersoll, MDR Construction, Meghan Laffey and Victor Impink.

Assembly of each new structure was realized via a Community Build model. Parent volunteers contributed on three separate build days during the summer and brought the structures to life. Everyone came and worked the entire time. Several volunteers gave many additional hours in the evenings and on weekends to run these structures home. School Department Business Manager Sheri Matthews and Maintenance Director Jon Marchand, along with school maintenance staff, provided support and assistance to the volunteer corps. The Tewksbury DPW also offered support.

Matthews remarked, "We are delighted with the completion of the elementary school playgrounds. This was a collaborative effort between the town, the schools and the community members. There were many companies that stepped forward to offer their services as well as numerous community volunteers. Without their efforts, the project wouldn't have gone as smoothly as it did. I would personally like to thank everyone involved for helping create amazing playgrounds for our students and community members at the elementary schools. I would also like to recognize Paige Impink for her leadership role with this project. Paige oversaw each individual build and worked directly with my office to ensure a safe and durable structure was being built at each location."

Moving forward, the community is urged to use the playgrounds. Stewardship of community spaces is critical so they will become enjoyable gathering places in our town. The playground spaces will bring enjoyment to the children of Tewksbury for years to come.

* Contributions from Paige Impink and others*