March 2007 Editor's Letter
By: Jill Pinheiro

As I was driving through town the other day, I saw a sign at a local church and Christian school on a main thoroughfare that said, "Our new playground is open. All are welcome." Is your school's playground open to the community? Do you encourage and welcome "all" to use it? And, more importantly, is your school playground safe?

National Playground Safety Week is April 23-27. Sponsored by the National Program for Playground Safety, www.playgroundsafety.org , this week serves as a time to focus on children's outdoor play environments. Here are some of their suggestions:

* Design and distribute surveys to discover favorite and least favorite equipment, as well as recurring playground problems and injuries.
* Create and hang posters outlining SAFE playground practices.
* Complete playground equipment safety checks and evaluations.
* Challenge your school to an injury-free week on the playground.
* Host a guest speaker to discuss safety on the playground.

Additionally, you can directly educate the children in your school about playground safety. The NPPS suggests making a maximum of five playground rules that they can remember and follow. Also, the NPPS has created the Kid Checker program, www.kidchecker.org , to help children understand the importance of playground safety. The Kid Checker program helps empower children to check for dangerous things on the playground before they use the equipment. The Kid Checker checklist is based on CPSC guidelines and the NPPS SAFE model, and it is designed to be used primarily by elementary aged children.

Also in this issue, we outline some of the fundamentals of school fundraising success. You could perhaps use this information to help raise money for a new playground project.

I hope you'll find this issue packed with information to help you operate your school efficiently and effectively.

I'm always interested in hearing from you. You can reach me at jill@cspmag.com .

God Bless,

Jill Pinheiro
Managing Editor