St. Martin of Tours opened its new playground structure to students Oct. 27. The school has been without a playground for four years. From left, Sandra Courneyea, Shannon Eagles, and Kelli Nicholas of the school council, vice principal Joanne Ronholm, junior kindergarten student September, principal Pat Flagler-Edwards, ALCDBS trustee Brian Kerby, ALCDSB superintendent of school effectiveness Theresa Kennedy, and Margaret Haskin of Whitney and Area Algonquins. For more see page 9. / SARAH SOBANSKI Staff

By Sarah Sobanski

St. Martin of Tours Catholic School students have a new place to play.

The new playground structure was revealed Oct. 27 at the school in Whitney. The school raised $15,000 in order to build the new playground for students.

“We have not had playground equipment in four years. This new structure is awesome. It is a way to use our energy in a positive way,” said Grade 7 student Aiden, prime minister of St. Martin's student government.

“Through the support of our community, we have sold raffle tickets, chocolate bars, pizza kits, baked goods and many other items to reach our goal,” said Grade 7 student Aubrey, student government minister of arts and culture at St. Martin's.

The school also received a $10,000 grant from Hydro One to support the project.

Margaret Haskin of Whitney and Area Algonquins and her grandson Kaden with an Algonquin Prayer of Thanksgiving blessed the structure. St. Martin's is a member of the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board.

 St. Martin's is also a part of the province's initiative to improve schools in eastern Ontario. According to an Oct. 31 provincial release, it is spending $1.1 million renovating and retrofitting space in the school to accommodate 26 elementary students from Whitney Public School.

The initiative is building 28 new schools and renovating 23 schools across the province. It aims to see students with better learning facilities and a wider variety of student programming.