Students enjoyed exploring the new Junior School landscape at the official grand opening of the new Outdoor Learning PlaySpace on Monday, November 18. Faculty, staff and members of the PlaySpace committee joined Junior School students around the new bridge over the Burke Brook for the official ribbon cutting ceremony.
This new Outdoor Learning PlaySpace area is an outdoor naturalized learning space for students that fosters creative play, provides a space for quiet reflection and group interaction, and nurtures curiosity and a respect for nature. Through careful development of the school’s existing green space, Havergal created an outdoor naturalized learning space that enhances the school’s facilities, enriches teaching and learning and inspires imaginative play.
As a part of the development of this project, the administration invited students in the Junior School to think about design elements, share ideas for what might be possible and offer feedback to the ideas of others. Some of their ideas were included in the development of the project. The students were also invited to initial rocks that were then incorporated throughout the landscape of the PlaySpace to give each student a personal connection to the project. Students were very excited to check out the new interactive features of the outdoor area, including the labyrinth and natural log structures.
This project extends Havergal’s Burke Brook Stewardship Project containing the Lisa Hardie Woodland Trail, which will allow these outdoor areas to continue to be places of learning.
