Playground

The outdoor area at Horizons provides students with many options during recess. There are certain boundaries that students need to stay within for supervision.

Playground Behavior
Students will be encouraged to play together and share equipment. They will be encouraged to problem solve together when conflicts arise. Teachers and other adult supervisors will help mediate conflicts when intervention is necessary.

Students are expected to:

• Stay within the playground boundaries
• Respect other people's space, choice of activities, and personal property
• Clean up lunch areas when finished eating
• Help to pick up and dispose of litter at the three whistles signal at 12:20 PM
• Show good sportsmanship and respect for games they are watching and/or participating in
• Respect games that are set up for specific age levels
• Help to make sure that games are open to anyone who chooses to play
• Show respect for classroom activities by playing quietly near windows
• Play away from the baseball fields when the orange cones are out––the fields are too wet to use
• Avoid tackling, wrestling, roughhousing, carrying other students on your shoulders, and swinging students around
• Be respectful of and follow instructions of the playground supervisors at all times
• Ask for a pass to enter the building during lunch or recess––then return the pass
• Keep the playground litter free
• Keep rocks, gravel, and sand on the ground
• Keep snow on the ground (rolling snow to build with it is okay)
• Stay off of icy areas
• Walk, do not run, on the deck, ramp, and stairs
• Line up or walk to the appropriate entry and return promptly to class when the single whistle is blown
• Observe agreements with students and adults about football games (including, but not limited to no tackling or pushing and staying in boundaries)

Equipment: Correct use of playground
equipment is required to ensure student safety.

Students are expected to:

• Care for class/school playground equipment that is taken outside and return it to its proper storage container after it is used
• Share the school's sports equipment with other students, as well as personal sports equipment from home
• Use jump ropes only for jumping
• Play baseball only with a softball and plastic bat
• Play lacrosse only with a soft ball, like a tennis ball (NOT a lacrosse ball)

Guidelines for Play Structures:

• Only one person at a time on the zip lines (see Zip Line rules that follow)
• Monkey bars are only used for swinging, climbing, and continuous movement. Do not stand or sit on them
• Jumping off the structure is only permitted from platforms
• Do not go on top of the play structure roofs
• Food and drink should be consumed away from the sandbox, play structures, swings, and the deck
• Tag should only be played in open areas

Guidelines for the Zip Line:

• Only one person at time on the zip lines
• When the metal triangle is on the other side, someone needs to go and travel across on the triangle to get it back - PLEASE do not throw it back to the person waiting!
• Please do not cut in front of anyone; please wait your turn
• Please take one turn––over and back––and then get in line for your next turn
• Please, only three people on the platform waiting for the brown zip line, and one person at a time on the purple pod for the purple zip line; all others line up on the ground

Guidelines for Swings:

• Sit while using the swings. Dismount when the swing has come to a stop
• Swing chains are only used for back and forth swinging. Twisting the chains can cause them to break
• Only one person at a time may use a swing
• Children not playing on the swings need to stay clear of them
• Do not climb up the poles of the swing set
• "Saving" swings is not allowed

Guidelines for Slides:

• Go down slides feet first.
• Only climb up the ladder.
• Slide "trains" should be no longer than four students.

Consequences for Inappropriate Behavior:

If students choose not to follow the guidelines for safe play on the playground, they may participate in conflict mediation supervised by an adult, asked to fill out a solution sheet, and/or lose playground privileges for the remainder of the day. All students are responsible for the consequences that may result from their behavior. Physical, verbal, or emotional abuse of others may result in suspension from school.