October 2001 - Nr. 10
New Playground For Clarkson Children
MISSISSAUGA, ON: Saturday, Sept 15, 2001, more than 180 local volunteers hand built a safe playground in one day at the Toronto Ability School in Mississauga. This was a joint effort between Toronto Ability School and KaBOOM! to build a playground not only for the children of the school but also for all children in the local community.
The build began at 8:30 AM with volunteers of many walks of life and cultures from the local community coming together to build the new vibrant playground where hundreds of community children will be able to play, learn and socialize for many years to come.
In the opening speeches, Elizabeth Zahari of Applied Scholastics, the licensing body for the Ability School, stated that in light of the recent international events it was considered whether to go ahead with the build this weekend, however it was decided that this was more important to do something that builds for the future and for the children who are our future, quoting from Mr. L. Ron Hubbard, "Save the child and you save the nation."
The playground ribbon cutting was done by Hon. Margaret
Marland, MPP Mississauga South and Canadian actress Rhona Shekter. Ms.
Marland echoed the statement of the importance of going ahead with building
this playground for the children and its importance for the community. She
stated that this was an honour for her and commended the organizers and
community and especially the children for coming together for this project.
In her speech, Ms. Shekter stated that in times like these it was important to increase the understanding between communities and that literacy has a lot to do with creating this understanding. She pointed out that this is an important part of the Applied Scholastics educational approach that the school uses.
Since 1995, KaBOOM! has worked to change the world one playground at a time creating healthy play opportunities and environments for children. They are a national non-profit organization based in Washington D.C. with offices across Canada and the United States.
The Toronto Ability School, an elementary school licensed by Applied Scholastics has been in existence for 17 years. Starting as a grassroots movement, using the effective study methods of author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard, the school offers equivalent JK through Grand 8. The school’s philosophy centres around children being the future’s most important resource, through a variety of teaching methods, students are given the skills to be constructive members of society.
The Executive Director of the school, Maguite Wilkens stated, "We are so very proud to have the support of the community and of KaBOOM! and Kidsplay to create this beautiful playground that the Clarkson children will cherish. Thank you to everyone who feels as we do that bettering the lives and education of children will build a better future for us all."
