by Kris Bremness

After many months of fundraising, the new playground equipment at St Joseph School in Boyd has been installed and is ready for the fun and laughter of the children.

According to Russ Jensen, principal of the school, the old equipment was showing its age and was wearing out. During the winter of 2020, fundraising was started to raise the approximate $25,000 needed to order the new equipment. In May, 2022, enough had been raised and the order was put in with Sauder’s Storage Sheds in Stanley. Recently excavating work was done to prepare the site, many loads of sand, which were donated by Tom and Laurie McQuillan, were brought in, and the assembly got started. Sauder’s sent someone to help with the initial set up, then Shane Giza and Russ Jensen took over, with the help of Matt Lawcewicz, one of the parents of children at St Joseph School. After many hours, and lots of hard work, the new equipment is up and ready to go! The children will have tunnels to go through, ropes and steps to climb up, and slides to go down. The swing set portion of the equipment is still to come – pending additional fund raising.

Although the playground equipment is on St Joseph School grounds, anyone is welcome to come in and use the space. Mr. Jensen stated that many people helped raise the funds which makes it part of the community. Everything sits on sand, so it’s like a giant sandbox with lots of fun stuff to play on. And if climbing and sliding aren’t your thing, you can bring your toy trucks, pails and shovels and just play in the sand!

The school would like to thank everyone who had a part in making the new playground equipment possible. The plan is to raise additional funds to purchase the swing set portion in the near future. Anyone interested in donating for this great cause can contact Russ Jensen at [email protected], or contact the school at 715-709-5045.