:D

Y Thursday, July 3, 2008

Pasir Ris Secondary School
390 Tampines St 21
Singapore 529400

3 July 2008

Mr Mah Bow Tan
Minister of National Development
Member of Tampines GRC

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Dear Mr Mah

(Feedback about the playgrounds in Tampines and suggestions to improve them)

I am a student from Pasir Ris Secondary School, Class 2e6. I am writing to you is to provide you some feedbacks about the playgrounds in Tampines where also my school is located at and suggestions to improve them.

My class had a playground project based on our Literature textbook, Bridge To Terabithia. The setting of the novel is mainly in the woods and the characters lead a simple life. Basically we are supposed to use recycled materials and built a playground for the emotionally abused children in 3d model based on the novel. My group and I went online to find suitable materials for the playground. We suggested that we shall have a soft flooring and the facilities must be safe. Which means that the children will not get hurt so easily. The playground shall also allow the children to feel safe and comfortable.

After my school had moved back from the holding school in Bedok toTampines St 21, I noticed that the playgrounds looked dull and old. They are either not colourful or being vandalized by some inconsiderate kids. Some of them are also badly littered. Recently, I also saw children running about in the playgrounds but end up being injured. I think the reason for this is because that the floorings of the playgrounds are not safe and soft enough. The playgrounds also have limited facilities and they have sharp edges. This may cause injuries to the children who are not careful.

From what my group had researched on the materials suitable for the playground, we found that for the floorings of the playgrounds, we may use SSR(Silicone Sponge Rubber) can withstand the heat well, strong and durable, cheap and most importantly they are soft which means that the children will not be injured so easily and seriously. To make the playground a more safer place to play in, we shall make sure that all the play areas are protected from streets and traffics. Check that the outdoor environment for poisonous plants and remove them. You may also consider hiring more workers to keep the playground clean every now and then. We must also check the play equipment at least once a week, look for sharp edges, rough surfaces, and loose or broken parts.

Though I am in no position to advise you, but I hoped that you can consider my suggestions.

Thankyou.

Yours faithfully,
Lim Jiayan
(Student of Pasir Ris Secondary School)

playground-ed Y

1:22 PM

Pasir Ris Scecondary School
390 Tampines St 21, Singapore 529400

3 July 2008

Mr Mah Bow Tan
Member for National Development
Member of Tampines GRC

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Dear Mr Mah

(Feedback about the playground in Tampines and suggestions to improve it)

I am a student from class 2e6. I am writing to you to provide you with some feedbacks about the playground in Tampines. My school has just moved back from the holding school in Bedok.

When we moved back to Tampines this year, I noticed that the playground located near my school is dull and old. Not the kind that young children would take a second look at.
Also, the playground is badly littered and parts of the playground have become rusty. One time, I saw a young child that got injured at the playground. It so happens that he fell down and got cut by one of the rusty edges of the playground. I fear that those young children that play there would also end up like him. So, I suggest that you renovate and construct a new playground. From what I studied, many of the children that play at the playground are either physically or emotionally abused.

My group and I are currently having a project on constructing a playground based on the book ‘The Bridge to Terabithia’. We have constructed a playground that can help these children get away from the troubles of the world. Example, our playground is brightly coloured and full of ‘smiley’ pictures. It is made with materials that are soft, non-chewable and also materials that would not get rusty AT ALL! Example materials such as wood, plastic and even rubber!

The playground which my group and I constructed is also specially designed to prevent the children from getting injured and from self-abuse. The playground is low lying so children with altophobia can also enjoy playing at the playground. The playground also has handrills to prevent the children from falling off without noticing. It is also not easily detached. There are also shelters erected above the playground to prevent the playground from getting overly hot and also to prevent the children playing from getting heatstroke.

You could also add in volunteers to take care of the children if they get ill or hurt. Counsellors can also be added to help the children get over their emotional scars. I would also advise you to hire some cleaners to clean the playground so that children would not be hurt by the litter.

I hope you would consider my suggestions and advise.

Thankyou.

Yours faithfully,
Lynnete won ee lin
Student of Pasir Ris Secondary School

playground-ed Y

1:21 PM

Pasir Ris Secondary School
390 Tampiness Street 21
Singapore 529400

3 July 2008

Mr Mah Bow Tan
Minister Of National Development
Minister Of Tampines GRC

Dear Mr Mah

I am writing this letter to tell u about how to improve the playground at tampiness for the emotionally abused children.

My project has some suggestion about how to improve the playground.. It is specially designed to help them overcome their feelings of being abused. For my research, I have found out that most abused children were abused by their closest people. ( eg, parents,relatives) Most of them were sexually abused by them, or physically abused.

Our project basically uses recycled materials for building the playground. So it does not harm the environment and can help the children. My group went online to find the suitable materials for the project. We then made a 3-D model of it. We used rubber as the main material. Rubber can absorb impact the best. So we used rubber as the covering as it will protect the children. We will wrap the metal poles with rubber. The safety of the children are our priority. We will think of them when we made this playground.

The total cost also did not exceeded the budget. The floors are made of silicone-sponge rubber. It is to ensure that when the children fall down, they will not get hurt. The height of the playground is not too high. So that even if they fall down, the impact will not be so great. There are nets below the playground.

I hope you will accept my suggestions.

Yours sincerely
Rupert

playground-ed Y

1:15 PM

Pasir Ris Secondary School390 Tampines Street 21Singapore 529400

3 July 2008

Mr Mah Bow Tan
Minister of national development
Minister of Tampines GRC

Dear Mr Mah
How to improve tampines playground for emotionally abused children.

My project is about how my group can build a playground especially for emotionally abused children to help them overcome their fear of being abused again. During my research, I found out that most of the case of children being abused is by their parents, either sexually abused or physically abused.
From what I had seen, I feel that playgrounds in tampines are actually quiet a fun place to be but are lack of colors and pictures to make them more attractive and look more life. To make it suitable for emotionally abused children or even handicap children, I hope you could make the buildings of the playgrounds softer so also to prevent the children from committing suicide. Adding words of encouragements to help the children to overcome their fear. In other words, in order to make the playground a lot safer, you can make sure all the playgrounds are not built near traffic; hire cleaners to keep the playground free of litters for example, broken pieces of glass; check the playground equipments once a month for sharp edges, rough surfaces and loose or broken parts; The ground of the playground should also be soft and can withstand high temperature, to prevent children from injuries and also to prevent the ground from melting due to high temperature in Singapore; material used for equipments should not be poisonous. Avoid using poisonous wood preservatives and also use paints that are lead-free.
Making the playground safer would ensure more parents to let their children to play freely in the playground without worrying about their safety.

Your sincerely,
Lee liang da

playground-ed Y

1:13 PM

Pasir Ris Secondary School
390 Tampines Street 21
Singapore 529400

3rd July 2008

Mr. Mah Bow Tan,
Minister of National Development
Minister of Tampines GRC

Dear Mr. Mah,

How To Improve Playgrounds In Tampines?
To improve it, you should make it much more creative, much more attractive and most of all, much safer. Also, you should include in mind, playgrounds for emotionally abused children.

The current playgrounds that are available in Tampines, the playgrounds are dull colored, unattractive and some how, boring to children who have played there more than once.

In my researches and studies, I have found out that most of the children in Tampines are being emotionally and physically abused. Their parents have scolded them to the state that they ran out of their homes and into the public.

Our playgrounds that we have created are much more colorful, attractive, fun and interesting to play again and again. It is also safer as it is built far away from roadsides so children won’t run into the roads and the materials used to make the playground are also safe such as the floor, which is made of silicon sponge rubber, is soft and at the same time good for kids to walk on as the friction of the floor and the child won’t make them fall down too much. Even if they do, the floor is made of sponge rubber so if they fall it will cushion most of the impact and they won’t feel anything. It is also cheap.

The materials of the playground are strong, sturdy as well as tough enough not to break apart or small pieces chip off. It is also non-poisonous and not toxic, so if accidentally the child chews on it nothing will happen although it is not encouraged. It is also odorless so there will not be any weird smell. It is also high heat resistance so it will not melt easily.

Children will definitely play in safe playgrounds as parents will also encourage it rather that playing playgrounds that are too close to roads and they will also enjoy having fun as well as not thinking of their troubles.

I hope you consider this proposal of this playground.

Daniel Tan

playground-ed Y

1:08 PM