Oct. 22, 2024-- South Toms River Elementary School has a new playground structure, complete with slides, a tunnel, and a rock wall. 

"This is just what we were looking for," said Principal Dennis Holzapfel. "Our children are going to appreciate this for many years."

The new structure is courtesy of the Local Recreation Improvement Grant, the LRIG, an opportunity from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (NJDCA). In 2023, the LRIG helped provide Walnut Street Elementary School with a new playground structure; in 2024, a $65k grant award has led to new resource for not only STRE Hawks, but the entire South Toms River community.

"This playground is something that will greatly improve the community," wrote South Toms River Mayor Oscar Cradle in his letter of support for the project, "providing a core resource for children and families, many of whom have few other outlets for no-cost recreation."

Nearly seven out of 10 children who attend South Toms River Elementary School qualify for free and/or reduced meals, the highest rate in the district. The surrounding community is diverse and close-knit, and the elementary school is one of the anchors of the small borough. Its grounds are as much a resource for students during the school day as for STR residents throughout the year. The referendum passed in 2019 helped to revitalize the playground, but not completely. The LRIG grant enabled the school to remove an old and unused structure and replace it with something new, exciting, and accessible to a greater number of students.

In fact, once awarded, the school wasted little time in executing the project. Led by Facilities Manager Sam Pepe, district crews prepped the grounds, allowing district partner MRC Recreation and GameTime to install the playground just weeks into the 2024-2025 school year.

"We are so grateful to the State Department of Community Affairs for this opportunity, to consultant Ryan Stewart and his colleagues at MRC Recreation, and to everyone involved for making this happen," said Holzapfel. "It brings me so much joy to see our students using this new structure, climbing, sliding, laughing, and just being kids. This is what it's all about."