Mount Macedon Primary School students can now play all day thanks to the opening of the school’s new playground.
The school originally secured funding through the inclusive schools fund in 2023, which saw it receive $268,942 to deliver an inclusive playground and sensory area.
“It was one of the final things our previous principal did,” Principal Joseph Flynn said.
The new play equipment was officially opened on Thursday, September 11, with previous principal Trish Hyland there to see the project come to fruition.
The students at the close knit school were involved every step of the way with designing the new playground, which replaced the previous one installed in 1999.
“We got all of the kids in the school to draw their dream playground and then we had a look at what similar elements they were that would actually work in the playground, not just waterslides and things like that,” Mr Flynn said.
“We collated them all and sent them off to the architect who was working on the project and they came back with a playground that was one of the biggest playgrounds I’ve ever seen in a school before.”
Mr Flynn said the students are loving their new play space after being super patient while it was being installed.
“It was hard to watch the kids standing at the fence during that recess and lunch watching the old playground get taken down,” he said.
“The kids stood there and watched the entire time.
“They did have to wait three weeks with (the playground) looking completely finished … but the kids were so patient.
“The day all the fencing actually did come down, it poured with rain so they were stuck inside all day. It was bad timing but the next day, it was still raining but we took them and they got to have a go on it.”
Mr Flynn said he had enjoyed seeing the wider community make use of the new playground facilities at the school as well.
