By CARLY UDY
Lunchtimes used to consist of a bit of gossip among friends, some handball and a walk around the school.
Now there's hardly time to talk as Sam Morris and friends clamber over monkey bars, swarm over climbing walls, burn off energy on the mini flying fox and hang precariously
from cobalt bars.
Who said jungle gyms were for little kids?
Bethlehem College's PTA has just spent $70,000 on a playground specifically for Year 7 and 8 students, an age-group that traditionally does not have play equipment provided for them at school.
The PTA felt the transition from primary school to secondary was "too much" of an abrupt change for some students and decided the older children should be just as well catered for when it came to playground fun.
"It doesn't matter how old you are, it's if you have fun or not," Sam, 12, said.
"I think it's fun and challenging at the same time.
"All we used to do was walk around and play hand ball, have a bit of conversation ...
"It's much more fun now that we've got the playground."
"Yeah, we all thought it was going to be boring going into secondary school," 11-year-old Erin Dallas added.
"It's used a lot by everyone."
Daniella Schroder, 12, added that the playground, which had its official opening yesterday , meant girls always had their (PE) physical education shorts at school now.
PTA secretary Lorna Harwood and PTA committee member Tania Forster said the key to getting pupils to engage in the playground had been finding equipment that was challenging to their age-group and not "babyish".
The PTA spent two-years fundraising for the jungle gym and the type of equipment were carefully researched. The equipment cost $40,000 and the soft rubber floor $30,000. Money well spent, say energetic students.
