The Young Street Garden is a much-loved play area, providing a quiet space for small games on the grass and sand play. Unfortunately, after our recent improvements to the Atrium building, in which the Japanese Glass House and Technologies Rooms were added and the outside area was landscaped, the grass has never really recovered.

We are pleased to share that, during the upcoming holidays, the grass in this area will be relaid.

To give the new grass the best chance of establishing and lasting into the future, this area will be closed for before and after school play during Term 2. The pathways will still be accessible for passing through the Atrium hallways and accessing other parts of the school from Young Street. Please note, parents and children must not wait in these hallways prior to classroom doors opening at 8:40am. Bags may be dropped off before this time, but then children (and parents if they wish) must move to supervised yard spaces.

Before school, the supervised areas for Term 2 will be the TreeTop playground and COLA, the front half of the oval and ‘street’, and the middle playground. The Castle and tree climbing areas continue to be out of bounds before school.

The staff member who would usually be on duty in the Young Street Garden before school will instead be located at the TreeTop playground to supervise children playing there. Parents who need to drop their child and go before classrooms open, may direct their child to this area. The children are very familiar with playing in the sandpit, playground, and COLA.

At pick-up time, Reception parents who collect from Young Street Garden may wait on the path in this area to meet their child if they wish. However, we encourage families of older students, or those who have practised other safe pick-up routines, to use meeting places in other parts of the school yard to avoid congestion. Again, you may pass through the Atrium walkways if needed to access other parts of the school yard, but no parents are to wait inside the buildings prior to 3:05pm.

A reminder that after school, only children who are directly supervised by their parent may use the playground areas, as there are no teachers on duty in these areas.

We encourage those affected by these changes to use the coming week to practise some of your drop-off and pick-up routines.

Summary:

• Grass in Young Street Garden will be relaid during the holidays.

• The area will be closed for before and after school play during Term 2.

• Supervised areas before school will include the TreeTop playground and COLA, oval and ‘street’, and middle playground. The Castle and tree climbing areas are out of bounds before school.

• We encourage families to use alternative meeting points, as the paths in Young Street Garden may be congested during this time.
• Parents and children must not wait inside buildings between 8:30am and 8:40am or before 3:05pm. Parents may pass through buildings during these times to access other parts of the school or drop their child’s bag outside their classroom.

We look forward to the improvements in this area and know that these short-term changes will give our new grass the best possible chance of lasting for years to come. Thank you kindly for your support.