St. Rosalie School - Harvey, Louisiana

The St. Rosalie School was built in 1959. The elementary campus is approximately 80,000 square feet, and the middle school campus is approximately 40,000 square feet. St. Rosalie School is one of the only schools in the Archdiocese that has twice received the U.S. Department of Education’s Presidential Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence, most recently in 2001. Mary Wenzel has been principal of the school for the past 10 years and was a teacher at the school seven years prior.

The school’s PreK-3 class (Preppy) has been open for 14 years and currently enrolls 43 three-year-old students. The old wooden playground had been in the preschool yard for the past 11 years. Through the years, the maintenance department has had to replace all of the wooden supports, as well as other wooden planks, along with replacing the mulch surfacing annually.  

Knowing that a state-of-the-art new playground could cost upwards of $50,000 or more, Wenzel allocated these funds in the 2004/2005 school year budget. Before any planning could be done on the playground project, a tornado hit the school’s main campus and office building, tearing off its roof. Some of the playground funds were needed to pay for the new roof that the insurance did not cover.

Then, on August 28, 2005, the school was hit by Hurricane Katrina. The school did not face flooding like many of the surrounding areas, but it did lose the roofs on all of their other buildings. The rain that followed completely destroyed everything within the buildings. 

The only building to survive without roof or water damage was the main campus building, the roof of which had just been replaced from the tornado. The survival of this one building allowed the school to reopen its doors on October 3, 2005, to its parish.

Of the school’s pre-Katrina enrollment of 1,100 students, 1,000 students returned to the school. Donations from across the country of school supplies, gift cards and money allowed the students to return to school without having to worry about the costs. Monetary donations assisted those parents who could not afford the tuition costs.  With school enrollment back on track and charitable assistance from across the country, the school was ready to start planning the playground that was very much needed and had been delayed long enough.

Wenzel had been searching playground equipment on the Web and came across a link to Landscape Structures, www.playlsi.com. She contacted Eve Werner at DYNA-PLAY, LLC, the local Louisiana representative. Wenzel had an idea structure in mind that she found on the Web site, but she also wanted to make some changes. 

Because DYNA-PLAY, LLC is a Louisiana-licensed contractor specializing in park and playground equipment, they were able to provide the school with a “turnkey” project.  Since Werner had an idea of the concept playground the school was searching for, it was easier to make recommendations about various components that would be fun, challenging, and, most of all, age-appropriate for the school’s students. 

Werner was also able to integrate a 12-foot by 12-foot shade structure within the playground design using Landscape Structures’ new Cool Topper. The Cool Topper not only provides much-needed shade but is very aesthetically pleasing as well. To meet ADA-compliance criteria, a Thunderhead Climber was used to provide an accessible transfer station as well as vertical center and gradual climb for able-bodied children. The underside provides a cave-like setting with fossil images for dramatic play and endless fun.   

When it came time to discuss a fall-absorbing playground surface that also met ADA requirements, the school had considered the use of a poured-in-place surfacing product.  Being a 20-year playground professional, Werner was able to offer some insight on the limitations of poured-in-place surfaces, while highlighting some of the unique features of the SofTILE KrosLOCK product. 

Of particular interest was the product’s 10-year product warranty, which included guaranteed compliance to the national ASTM standard for fall protection under and around playground equipment. When considering the overall playground investment, a product with an industry-leading warranty was of great interest. 

Another feature unique to the SofTILE product was its U-shaped Locking System. The locking design eliminates any potential for tile separation and provides additional security from vandalism. Once the decision was made to utilize SofTILE KrosLOCK as manufactured by SofSURFACES, www.sofsurfaces.com, the final piece of the puzzle was selecting a surface design. The decision was made to utilize a blue and green checkerboard pattern, which would offer additional play value as well as complement the playground equipment colors.

DYNA-PLAY collaborated with the school’s contractor, who was removing the old playground and preparing the sub-base needed for the new SofTILE surfacing.  DYNA-PLAY provided factory-certified installers for the playground equipment and SofTILE surfacing installation. 

The project was completed just in time for the opening of the 2006/2007 school year.  The children are having lots of fun on their new playground, and the school is enjoying the peace of mind that they truly purchased the premiere playground that they had worked so hard to achieve.

DYNA-PLAY, L.L.C. www.dynaplay.com, creates premiere-quality play environments and provides a dynamic customer experience comprised of education, quality products, exceptional service, and individual relationships tailored to each customer's specific needs.

Fast Facts

School: St. Rosalie School

Location: Harvey, Louisiana

Number of Students: 1,000

Grades Served: PreK-3 through 8th Grade

Consultant/Contractor: DYNA- PLAY, LLC, Metairie, Louisiana

Project Goal: To replace an outdated wooden playground structure and wood mulch surfacing with a state-of-the-art new playground structure and rubber surfacing that was fun, challenging, age-appropriate, durable, safe and virtually maintenance free.

Cost:  $48,000

The Challenge: The major challenge was funding. Although the new playground was budgeted to be done in the summer of 2005, the school had a tornado, which tore off the main campus roof during Thanksgiving 2004, followed by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. The school faced more than $3 million in damage from the hurricane alone. The financial needs from these events took precedence of available funds in the school’s normal budget. 

The Solution:  Proper budgeting of the school’s tuition, aftercare program and summer camp program into the 2005/2006 school year, fundraisers, and donations from across the country assisted in enough financial recovery for the school to be able to start planning the new playground to be open for the start of the 2006/2007 school year.