Westchester Celebrates Opening of New Playground

Westchester Country Day School students have a new outdoor space to run, climb, swing, imagine and play. The school celebrated the opening of a new Lower School playground with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Nov. 15.

During the grand opening event, teachers, parents, grandparents and friends got a first look at the new playground and watched as fifth graders and their senior buddies explored the new space for the first time.

The “nature-based” playground was designed to blend into the wooded landscape of the 53-acre WCDS campus and to inspire students with an interest in exploring the great outdoors. The most exciting feature is a large hillside slide and climbing wall built into the terrain. The playground also includes a turf field and gaga ball pit. All the climbing structures, swings, slides, interactive panels, musical instruments, and sport surfaces were designed to encourage movement, social play, and creative expression.

“Where adults may view the playground as a place to let loose and get the wiggles out, to a child, it’s where they learn important skills such as decision making, problem solving, and taking risks,” said Blair Hawley, head of Lower School. “It’s also the place where they develop essential values in cooperation, creativity and friendship. In addition, children build muscle strength and gross motor skills that give them the stamina to complete the work they do inside the classroom. Play is a vital part of a child’s development, and that is why it was so important that we thoughtfully planned the details to give purpose to this new playground."

A committee of pre-K through first grade teachers advised the design based on the research and observations of students ages 4-12 and the foundational social and physical skills children need to develop to be successful in academics. The playground designer is Scott Cunningham of Cunningham Recreation, and the project manager is Scott Krueger of Strada Bauen. Smith and Jennings Inc. provided grading for the project.

Before cutting the ribbon, Mary Keever, interim head of school, thanked the donors, faculty committee and contractors who worked together on planning and designing the playground and driveway projects.

“In my 25 years at WCDS, this tops the list of moments filled with such a high level of respect and wonderment for such a blessing,” said Keever. “One of our core principles is collaboration, and this playground project has certainly reflected that.”

The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation donated $1.7 million to support the playground project as well as another outdoor recreational space and covered walkways to be added in summer 2024, and driveway improvements, which were completed over the summer.

“The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation values the important role WCDS plays in our community as it serves its mission of cultivating young students into informed citizens who are ready for the rapidly changing world,” said Megan Oglesby, the foundation’s executive director. “Our foundation understands that outdoor play is essential for lifelong learning, and we are honored to provide funding for a space that fosters creativity and positive risk taking in a fun and safe environment.”

Westchester began the playground construction and driveway renovation during the summer months of 2023. Part of the school’s long-range master plan, the project called for improving campus security by rerouting traffic in and out of campus to the main entrance on North Old Greensboro Road. One of the school’s secondary entrances from the Willow Creek neighborhood and the Lower School carpool circle, which were added in the 1990s, were closed during the summer and replaced with the new playground. The Wildcat Trail driveway was widened to allow for a new carpool loop in front of the Finch Center, which opened for the first day of school on Aug. 23, while the playground work continued for the first months of the school year this fall.

“It has turned out better than I could have imagined, and I know children are going to love playing on this playground – and that giant slide – for many, many years to come,” said Hawley during the ribbon cutting. “Just like the persistence with our vision that led to this dream playground, I hope this playground serves a purpose for children to learn what they can do, versus what they cannot.”

The new playground and driveway improvements are part of the Westchester Forward campaign, a multiyear investment in school facilities, academic programs, security upgrades and the endowment. Previous projects in the campaign have included the construction of the Wilson Student Center in 2020, security upgrades, such as keyless entry door locks and cameras throughout the campus in 2022, support for academic programming and debt elimination. A strategic planning process underway during the 2023-2024 school year will inform plans for the next phase of the campaign.