Sun Country Playgrounds is proud to recently have a couple of opportunities to contribute to improving our communities and making local schools a better place for everyone. In the year 2017, we completed the construction of two different playground equipment installations for two local schools in Los Angeles County: one in Pasadena, and one right here in our own backyard in Santa Clarita!
Valley View Community School
On April 27th, Valley View Community School in Newhall cut the ribbon and officially opened their brand new disability-friendly playground to students. The opening was chronicled in city’s local newspaper, the Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
The playground was lauded for its inclusivity, remaining highly-accessible for students with disabilities to be able to enjoy and utilize the equipment for themselves. Jay McZeal, a special education teacher at the school, stated that the playground gives students the ability to “go outside and go on the equipment, which they couldn’t before,” giving them the ability to receive occupational therapy through gripping and exercise.
The ribbon-cutting was the culmination of a two-year project that focused heavily on the seven principles of inclusive playground design. The blue and green sea-themed installation features like wheelchair-accessible ramps, a smooth-moving boat, swings with special harnesses, noise-making musical notes, a climbing wall, and numerous other features.
The playground installation is still less than a year old, but has already garnered national recognition for its accessibility features. Valley View Community School, which has a sizeable number of disabled and special-education students, is thrilled to be able to enjoy this new equipment for decades to come.
Mayfield Junior School
Mayfield Junior School welcomed its student body back for the start of the new year with a fresh new look: a brand new playground installation! The new state-of-the-art playground was an expansion of the school’s previous installation, which had served the school for more than 25 years and was in serious need of an update.
Faculty members claim that a playground that encourages fun and exercise is a mainstay feature for success and learning, and the new equipment was designed with the needs and educational advancement of students in mind.
“We really value play. If you don’t have a good facility to help children thrive and play with each other and interact, then you’re not sending the message that you value play,” said Laura Kennedy, the lower school director at Mayfield.
The new playground installation sprawls over 4,600 square feet and features elements like lookout decks, discovery caves, winding tunnels, contoured boulders, rope ladders, and much more. The entire setup is placed over a soft artificial turf installation that promotes not only beauty but safety for playground users. The equipment is also covered by a vaulted shade awning to keep students cool and protect them from the harshness of too much sun radiation.
Whether you’re looking to install a brand-new playground for your school or property, or your existing playground is in need of a face-lift, Sun Country Playgrounds can provide you with a modern, durable, and enjoyable installation that will thrill kids of all ages.
Discuss your project ideas with our Los Angeles playground equipment experts. Call us at (661) 529-7133 today!
