New Playground Project
Just Kids at New Suffolk School has a full enrollment of 18 students in the 2025-26 school year! For this reason, we have approved the building of a new, larger, adaptive playground to accommodate this larger group of students. The new playground is designed to adhere to both the National Safety Council and National Recreation and Park Association safety standards.
Just Kids will finance and construct this project for the benefit of their students AND the New Suffolk community! They have chosen a nautical ship theme to compliment the history and surroundings of New Suffolk. The playground will be built on the front lawn of the school, closer to the corner of New Suffolk Rd. and Orchard Street.
Details of the project will continue to be discussed over the next couple of months at the BOE monthly meetings. The playground is scheduled to open to the school and the public by December.
Just Kids has made many practical and beautiful improvements to New Suffolk School over the past year and this playground is sure to be another.
The main structure is designed as a ship to tie in with our local community, along with an additional swing structure with a shade canopy. The color scheme will be red and maroon to remain cohesive with our historic building.
The playground area will be 64 feet x 35.5 feet and enclosed with black aluminum fencing consistent with the railings already around the property.
Below is the project timeline, weather permitting:
Early September: Excavation will begin in order to level the lawn for the playground area. A small retaining wall will be built.
Late September: The American Recreation Landscape team will inspect the excavation work and finalize the fill for safety and drainage of the fiber chip system.
Early October: The ship structure and swing units will be installed.
Early November: The fencing (4 foot black aluminum) will be installed surrounding the structure and walkway to building. Some additional fencing is required on the King St side of the building in order to contain the children when entering and exiting. A special grounds committee meeting will take place to determine the best placement for the additional railings to accommodate the children’s safety needs with the use of our building.
Late November: The fiber will be spread on the play area to complete ground structure.
December: Playground construction is complete and ready for the children!
