We are pleased to give you an update on our school’s playground expansion project, PlayEH. This plan has been in the works for several years, so we will also include a brief update of the process thus far.

The biggest update is that our playground build is scheduled! TDSB Construction has confirmed that this project is scheduled for Fall 2021. This is (of course) dependent on ability to do construction with whatever COVID-19 rules are in place at that time, but it is as firm an answer as anyone can give at this time.

Earlier this year, TDSB had to update the playground budget by approximately $20K to include Covid-19 regulations and the rise in material costs. Our school staff and school advisory council worked with the TDSB to come to an agreement about the budget because we were concerned about asking our parent community for more donations during a pandemic. The TDSB has stepped up to the plate! They are picking up $17,635.15 in additional COVID-related costs. This is fabulous news and we are grateful that they have taken this burden off of our Earl Haig community. Even though our SAC did vote to fund the extra playground money as needed, it is a huge relief that we don’t have the extra stress of fundraising at this time.

Background timeline of PlayEH

  • 2017 – our school community wanted to increase play space for our students.
  • 2018 – playground design was developed using consultations with community, SAC, and TDSB Construction.
  • 2019 – fundraising started – and was completed – within a school year. The community raised $84,000 for our playground.
  • 2020 – construction was postponed due to COVID-19.
  • 2021 – TDSB Construction gave us a budget that was approximately $20,000 over the original estimate due to COVID-19 costs.

    The Earl Haig staff voted to support the playground with $1,494.37 from their budget. Earl Haig Principal, Vice Principal, and School Council members (past and present) advocated to TDSB Connects to reduce the budget.

    TDSB Construction agreed to reduce the budget by $10,000 and then to cover an additional $7,635.15 to complete the construction budget with no additional funds needed from Earl Haig parents and guardians.

Please reach out to our Chair, Polly Vandenberg, if you have any questions regarding this process or the budget.