Almost finished!!!

Sign up to help install the new play equipment.  Not only will it be fun, but it will save the project almost 10 thousand!!

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0b45abac2ca02-jsis3

Playground Update

It's almost here! After 1.5 years of planning & construction we are mere weeks away from an amazing new playground!

The renovation has been progressing through the summer and will be completed shortly after school resumes, currently projected for mid-September. Once the equipment is installed, students will receive an orientation for safety and usage. We will be sure to announce solid dates as they are finalized.

At this point in the project, we've had to financially scale back plans for landscaping and art. We are still accepting donations to help push through the last pieces of this project. If you haven't yet had an opportunity to contribute, we welcome your donations via check at the JSIS office or via Paypal.

In the coming weeks, there will also be several opportunities to volunteer your time to the final tasks, including assembling the equipment, spreading new woodchips, and re-painting the lines on the blacktop. Please sign up!

Playground Equipment Build - Volunteers Needed!

Contribute to the legacy of JSIS by helping to build the playground! Many volunteers are needed for Sat. Sept 10th to construct the new equipment under the guidance of the vendor. If we can't finish on Saturday, we may need a handful of volunteers on Sunday, but our hope is to get things done in one day. Please note, this build project is for adults only; kids will not be allowed on site. Sign up here!

We will also be sending out sign-ups for woodchips and painting once dates are confirmed. Kids will be welcome to help out at those events.

Check out the Excavation and new layout being created!!!

The Demolition has begun!!!

Playground update and design images

We have been busy finalizing our designs and contracting with a construction company to start the work on the playground in the next few weeks.

We have a complete layout for the play equipment and are VERY excited about it.

I wanted to share these images with the community before school ended, but we were unable to get them done by the end of school.

Some things to notice,

The existing rope pyramid shaped climber will not be moved,  It is shown here as a grey pyramid thing that looks nothing like our actual climber.  That end of the play area will remain elevated.  The rest of the play area will be lowered to be much closer to black top level.  There will be a new artifial grass slope connecting the two areas.

Please note that these images are really only meant to show the play equipment lay out and do not accurately show what the concrete border of the play area will look like.  I will add a series of images following to show what that will look like.  The walls and stairs in these first images are not correct.  There will be no tall sharp walls shown in these first two images.

The following images show a bit more of what the new border of the playground will look like.  It will be a mixture of benches and low stairs which gradually become higher as you move south towards the existing net climber.  At the far south end where the two large trees are, a cobbled "boulder scramble"area will replaced the existing dirt slopes.  This would be to the left of the stairs/benches combo shown below.  The far South (left)area up next to the tall chain link fence will be a raised bed to create an additional planting area for future landscaping.  In the SouthWest corner will be a new "Gathering circle of seat stones"  The final addition, if our budget allows, will be a stepping stone path across the south and west corner of the play area.  This area will still be wood chips but with some stepping stones to play/walk on.  

This last image shows some detail regarding the grass slope.   It will be more of a rounded hill, rather than a straight banked slope.  

Finally, if we have extra money, we will be installing several benches along the west edge of the playground. 

Closed for Renovation!!!

The renovations will begin next week!  The majority of the playground is currently fenced off.
Stop by or check the blog site to watch the changes all summer!

LSA Funds the Playground Improvement!!!

Latona School Associates has been providing great before and after school care for JSIS families for over 20 years.  But did you know they have also generously supported many playground improvement efforts?

The Playground Committee is pleased to announce that Latona School Associates (LSA) has given a generous donation of $20,000 to the playground fund! This donation not only brings us closer to our final project goals, it allows us to choose a larger and more creative set of play equipment. 

Thank you LSA!!

Playground Info Night

Info Night this week was sparsely attended.

Here are the slide from the Power point we presented.  Ill do my best to answer any questions posted here on the blog. Thank you to the JSIS and Wallingford community for your continued support of this project.

New Play equipment is coming!!!!

In March, the Playground Improvement Committee sent out a Request for Proposals to 8 local vendors of play equipment.  We received proposals from 5.  The committee, including Mrs U, as well as staff from JSIS and LSA, have narrowed the choices down to 2.  We used a standard set of criteria required by SPS.  The top 2 were very clearly ahead of the others.  Each vendor has supplied several proposals that fit within our space and our budget.   Each vendor only sells and installs one brand of equipment.  Unfortunately we have to select one vendor/installer.  

  These are ONLY EXAMPLES.  

AFTER we select a vendor, we can select other items from their catalog that fit our space and budget.    Feel free to look at their websites to get an idea of other equipment they offer.
Mrs U posted a set of these images in the lunch room this week.  The children will be voting During gym class this week!  

  See link to Survey Monkey  for you to add your vote or comments.  

There is a section in the survey for you or your children to say what items they most like on a playground.  Be aware that SPS will not allow many types of equipment such as zip lines, swings, high climbing walls...etc...

VOTE HERE    https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZHFG6Y8





Company #1  Landscape Structures  https://www.playlsi.com 

Company #2  PlayWorld   http://playworld.com  

Thank you Roosevelt Whole Foods!

On Thursday, April 7, the JSIS PTSA Playground Fund and Roosevelt Whole Foods were proud partners for Community Support Day. Every quarter, Whole Foods designates a day when 5% of proceeds go to a good cause – in this case, our fabulous playground project! Thanks to the generosity of Whole Foods  and the support of the JSIS and Wallingford community, we are pleased to announce that Whole Foods will be donating $6,300 to the Playground Fund! Every step takes us closer to our goal and ensures that more of our design plans will be completed this summer!

We still are fundraising, so if you are interested in donating, please check out donation options in the sidebar.

Thank you!

Shop at Whole Foods Roosevelt April 7th.

Don't forget to tell all your friends to shop at whole foods.

5% of ALL proceeds for the day will go to the playground improvement.

We still need to raise a fair amount of money to be able to complete all the proposed renovations.

Greg

New Playground Equipment!

Today we sent out the request for proposals to vendors of new playground equipment!

Over the next month we will be receiving their proposals.  I am told these typically take the form of a binder with multiple proposed options from each vendor.  Once we have all the proposals, we will be reviewing these with the staff and SPS.

Some time in March we hope to have narrowed the choices to a short list of options to share with the community for your feedback!

Thank you!!!!

Thank you all for making the Playground benefit auction such a huge success! I am so happy to let you all know that we now have raised enough cash and worked enough volunteer hours to be able to qualify for the full matching grant from Seattle's Department of Neighborhoods. Does this mean we are done? No, not really. As with all large projects there will be ongoing changes and challenges, but it means we will definitely be seeing some big and much needed changes to the playground. We are working to make every dollar count and get the most out of this renovation.

We have been meeting regularly with Site Workshop, the firm we have hired to design the new play area. We will be sending out finalized plans when we have them.

Some time in the Winter, we will also be surveying staff and families when the time come to choose new play equipment!!!

There will be opportunities for volunteer work parties in the spring and summer, so be ready to lend a hand to help us keep costs down.

Site Survey next week

A big holiday thanks to Julie Brandt and Parametrix. They will be doing a site survey for the playground improvement project at a greatly reduced cost!! FYI, they will be on the playground Monday and Tuesday the 21st and 22nd. If you are planning to be around that week give them a big thanks.

Last Chance for Friday's Auction Tickets!

Online Catalog Now Available for Auction Items!Get your Auction Tickets Online by Thursday at noon for Friday's event; tickets will not be available at the door.  This Adult Event is 7:00-10:30pm and includes buffet dinner, adult beverages, auctions and social time.  Dress is sporty casual - favorite team jersey or sporty chic.  Event is at Wallingford Boys & Girls Club and friends and neighbors are encouraged to come.

This event benefits next summer's playground renovations. Don't miss out on a chance to bid on one-of-a-kind auction items (silent & live) AND to come away with some great deals.  Check out our pre-bid auction catalog!

You are welcome to "prebid" by emailing jsisplayground@gmail.com with the item and your bid amount right away. Bids can be submitted upon until Thursday night. 

Latest Concept drawings for the playground

Due to concerns raised by several families and SPS ,The Torii Gate will not be an option for the playground.

We will be exploring other ways to introduce artistic elements into the playground that beautify and reflect the language immersion nature of our school.





We have been working with Site Workshop, a local landscape architect to revise the set of plans that were created several years ago through a series of workshops and surveys of JSIS families.   They will be providing some drawings which we will send out as soon as we have them.

In the mean time, Dennis Poon, one of our many generous parents has created some fantastic conceptual drawings to show what our playground could look like based on the current ideas!!

Full disclaimer, these are not the final plans.  The final set of plans may change due to a variety of factors.

If the budget allows, we will be exploring ways to add some artistic elements that reflect the international/language immersion nature of our school.

One idea would be to add a Japanese style entry gate to the playground.

Another idea to incorporate a Latin America based element comes from Jalisco Mexico.  It is the home of our sister school and the home of a local art form using mosaics created with tiny beads.  The idea would be to create a mosaic or mural in the same style on one or more of the play border walls.  Here are some examples:

Here are the drawings created by Denis Poon for us.  They show several important improvements.  The play area is moved slightly to the south to open up the narrow corridor between the basket ball court and the play border.  The large unnecessary ramp and railing will be replaced with a curved open set of stairs to better utilize the space, improve access, and improve safety.  The sloping mud ramps along the east side would be replaced with planters, benches and a boulder garden with stone steps.

Buy a shower curtain to support the playground

Buy a Shower Curtain to support the JSIS Playground Evolution!

Buy a shower curtain (or 2)!

My friend owns the company TILCO (tilco.com) which sells foreign language shower curtains (Japanese and Spanish, and other languages). She has agreed to give the JSIS playground improvement fund 50% of the sales price of each foreign language shower curtain, while also giving you all a 10% discount on the price (which means JSIS will make $10.80 per foreign language shower curtain sold). Here's how it works: go to the TILCO website, select your shower curtain(s), and enter the discount code "JSIS" when you are checking out. The 10% discount will be applied to your order, and use of the code will let TILCO know to share the proceeds of the order with JSIS. Note: TILCO also sells non-foreign language shower curtains (e.g., English grammar), but JSIS will only get 10% of the proceeds of those sales (which means JSIS will get $2.16 per non-foreign language shower curtain after applying the10% discount). Any questions? sorella30@yahoo.com

Dump Run Fundraiser!

Have you accumulated a pile of stuff you need to get rid of? Have you been putting off going to the dump? Well, now you can get rid of your trash and support the playground improvement project at the same time!

Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18, volunteers will pick up your trash and transport it to the Shoreline Transfer Station.

Not sure how much trash you have? Here is our handy pricing guide:

• $25 - Mini-load – What you have would fit in a wheelbarrow.

• $45 – Medium load – what you have would fit in a car/SUV

• $60 – Big load – what you have would fit in a pick-up truck.

Leave your trash at the curb by 8:30am, Saturday, October 17. Most pick-ups will occur Saturday, with some falling to Sunday depending on the number of stops and amount of trash.

Please, no appliances or hazardous materials (fluorescent bulbs, automotive products, paint, etc.) or recyclable items. These materials will be not be taken.

Want in on this great deal? Contact Janel or Julie to purchase a ticket or to volunteer to help out (kids welcome!).  Tickets on sale through Wednesday, October 14; pay by cash, check, or Paypal (via the link in the left sidebar).

All proceeds will benefit the JSIS PTSA Playground Fund, working to bring our school & community a better playground. Thank you for your support!

Many thanks to Black & Pickett for donating the truck!

Community meeting rescheduled! Oct 5th 630pm

Please come to our first community meeting to discuss the Playground Evolution!

Monday, October 5th at 630pm in the Cafeteria.

The playground improvement committee will be discussing the history of the playground improvement project.

We will be presenting the current plans for improvement and discussing how they were developed.

We will go over the matching grant process, and what we need to do to maximize our funding.

We want to hear your ideas and feedback!

Please come and show your support!

I promise to keep it short so we can get back to watching the Seahawks!

Auction Items Needed!

We will be holding a fundraising event for the playground and we're in need of items and experiences for a live and silent auction.  If you're stumped about what you could give, some of the most popular auction items, in addition to cabin rentals, sporting event tickets, etc., are unique experiences.  Is there something you or your family can offer? Ideas include hosting a themed event, personal photography lessons, a wine or liquor tasting, babysitting once a month for the school year, being a designated driver for a group of adults going wine tasting, hosting a dinner party & teaching the guests how to make sushi, securing a tour of an interesting place you work or are connected to, etc.

You also don't have to donate alone! Join with another family, challenge your child's class, etc.  

If you are interested in donating something, or have an idea you'd like help developing, just contact us & we'll be glad to talk it through with you.

Thank you!

This Monday Meeting CANCELLED

I was asked to cancel/reschedule this Monday evenings meeting due to the strike.   The concern is that staff could not attend the meeting.  

Sorry for the confusion.  We will reschedule.