They call it their dream playground. And, indeed, the students at Reynolds Elementary have had their fanciful visions incorporated into the new play spot that seemed to magically appear over the weekend.

In January students drew what they'd like to play on and some of their ideas became part of the $60,000 project, which includes a triple slide, a mini-digger, a climbing apparatus, teeter-totters and other items secured on top of truckloads of mulch.

"It's all right. I'm OK," fourth-grader Andie Gradillas yells, jumping up in the middle of dozens of classmates who are oblivious to her fall.

"I fell in the mulch, but it didn't hurt," the 10-year-old reports. "The mulch doesn't hurt at all."

Andie had drawn a basketball bucket with holes in the bottom for the ball to come out. At yesterday's unveiling, she saw it for real. "That's my dream equipment. You shoot the ball and you don't know which hole it will come out of. I didn't know something like that existed."

"This isn't boring at all. It's kind of fun," said classmate Jazmyne Andersen, 9. "There's a lot more stuff than before."

There was no boredom at the other side of the playground either. After several requests, second-grader Cesar Saralegui, 8, grudgingly gave up his seat on the mini-digger, his favorite piece of equipment. "You can scoop it up (the mulch) and move it around. I really like it, but I had to give other people their turn."

The project was a collaboration of Tucson Orthopedic

Institute, or TOI, Tucson Medical Center Foundation and KaBoom!, a national nonprofit group that facilitates the construction of hundreds of these playgrounds - all safe and handicapped accessible - across the country.

TOI donated $15,000; Tucson Medical Center Foundation, $15,000; Reynolds PTA, $5,000; and Reynolds Elementary, $9,500 from chocolate sales. The rest came from other local businesses, said TOI President Larry R. Housman, an orthopedic surgeon.

On Saturday more than 400 volunteers put the playground together at the school, 7450 E. Stella Road. They came from the sponsoring groups, the school and the neighborhood. About 150 came from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. And some Tucson firefighters also pitched in.
"We were excited to see how we all learned to work together with people from the school and the community," said PTA President Tammie Eader.

The project included the playground, 22 desert trees, new tables and benches, flower boxes, tether ball sets, a 900-square-foot mural and the resurfacing of an area that now has a map of the United States painted on it.

Ruth Sherrod, who has a second-grader at Reynolds, created the mural and had children color-by-numbers part of it.

"You can actually slide down the poles on the climbing thing," said fourth-grader Jordann Novak, 10.

Second-grader Matthew McAdams, 8, said he loved it all, but especially a spinning apparatus, which fourth-grader Raeawnna Evicci designed.

It’s amazing what 300 volunteers can do in a day!  The playground at Reynolds  Elementary School was transformed today into a bright, fun, safe place to play and then wrapped up for the weekend while the concrete dries.
 

On Monday, March 20th at 10:30 am, the school will unwrap the construction fencing and tape and let the community and most importantly the children take a ride on the triple slide!