John Norquay Elementary students, teachers, parents, and community came together to celebrate the grand opening of their new inclusive playground. The morning was filled with heartwarming videos, song, and dance commemorating the two-year journey to create a fully inclusive play area for the students and school neighbourhood. 

Norquay Elementary is a diverse and inclusive school, pioneering the first Mandarin Bilingual program in Vancouver and welcoming students from Cheyenne House, a home for school" aged children with physical and developmental disabilities. Norquay also has a strong and vibrant aboriginal community.

As a result, the PAC wanted to create a playground that would represent the entire heart and soul of the school community. "We look at the playground as an outdoor classroom, everyone deserves the chance to learn" says Letti Kwong, Norquay PAC Co" Chair.

In order to be inclusive to everyone, the PAC designed a hopscotch with Chinese numbers and a dragon, as well as a dream catcher into their poured" in" place safety surfacing. They chose poured rubber surfacing alongside engineered wood fibre chips for those with mobility issues.  "It was important for us to have playground products that were accessible for everyone" states Kwong.

John Norquay Elementary would like to send their gratitude to all of the donors who helped make their new playground possible. Funds from Seaspan, the Tire Stewardship BC Grant, local real estate developers, anonymous donors, members of the community and a lot of fundraising "really enabled us to create a playground for everyone" says Kwong.

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