Photo by Samantha Davis True Light Christian School students play with one another on the new playground outside of the school Friday after a ribbon cutting ceremony.

MARSHALL — Expanding its outdoor creativity and opportunities for students, Marshall’s True Light Christian School officially opened a new playground Friday morning with a ribbon cutting ceremony, celebrating the end of a long process with kids eagerly waiting around.

“When I started here in 2020, one of the things I heard a lot about from parents is that we don’t have a playground … I was like, ‘Well, what are the kids doing for recess?’ Well, they make up what they’re going to do, they are really creative.'” True Light Principal Zach Schubert said when introducing the playground. “There’s been all sorts of games that have been created that would not have otherwise been created if we had this wonderful playground. Now, I’m not suggesting we go back to those days, but if you are a student who is part of those games, you probably had some creativity dosed in you, and that’s not such a bad thing.”

Schubert was surrounded by students, faculty and community supporters, all of whom stood by at the entrance of the playground, which is located just outside the school.

The process of bringing a playground to True Light was long with moments of doubt, yet with the help of the school board, staff and a plethora of community members, the new area came to life over the summer and was ready for students as the school year began.

“Some years back, a group of moms got together and said, ‘We should have a playground.’ Everybody agreed,” Schubert said. “So, they got a plan together and they presented it to the school board, that the school board had to deny. They had to deny it, and it was a sad denial for a $250,000 (playground) … It wasn’t the school board’s fault, but we don’t have $250,000 sitting around.”

“But, and this is such a lesson for me and all of us, because of their work and because of the denial, the school board started having conversations like, ‘What would it take to get a playground we could use, and what would that look like?'” Schubert added. “Do not despise the day of small beginnings.”

After conversations continued, Schubert was presented with an opportunity toward the end of last school year.

“A parent came to me this last spring and said, ‘Hey, would the school want to buy a playground?’ I was like, ‘The spring is a busy time … I don’t know. Just send it to me, I’ll look at it,'” Schubert said. “I started scrolling through, and I was like, this is exactly what we would want … I went to Grace Life, and I said, ‘Hey guys, you own the property. Would you be up for this?’ I was expecting kind of a no, because it’s a big project … They were like, ‘Yes,’ and Pastor Doug Wing offered (financial support) as well.”

The playground came from the city of Blaine, and True Light was able to buy it for $9,000. The project as a whole, with transportation of equipment and the installation of the park, is near $45,000.

“The school board said, ‘Hey, let’s do it, and Zach, you’re responsible for raising the funds.’ So, I said, ‘Great, let’s do this. It’s going to be great,'” Schubert said. “The playground you have in front of me was just an idea, and like by faith, we stepped into that. We raised the $30,000, which is awesome.”

Schubert thanked numerous people within the school and church, as well as community members and businesses that offered help to make the playground a reality, whether through monetary donations or volunteered time with getting it put together.

Cory Deutz joined Schubert in the ribbon cutting, who played a heavy hand in building the set.

“Then, we had all the funds raised. How are we going to build this? … I knew I couldn’t do it, but I knew I’d need the help. So, I was looking for some farmers. They are going to be people that could do this, because farmers deal with ambiguity, they’re problem solvers,” Schubert said. “Cory Deutz was here all the time, the guy nearly lived here. I’m so thankful to Cory, so I really appreciate that … We’d be at the end of a day’s work here, putting stuff together, having a few problems and figuring stuff out. He’d be like, ‘All right, what time are we showing up in the morning?'”

The United Way of Southwest Minnesota was also present at the ceremony, and presented True Light with a $3,000 check to further help with costs.

The yard at True Light now holds plenty of room for activities for students. Along with the new playground, there was also a recent basketball hoop installed on the side of a garage in the parking lot, a sand volleyball area just behind the playground, and a gaga ball pit that True Light alum Augie Sturrock built for his Eagle Scout project last winter.

Along with a large play structure area with tunnels, slides and climbing poles, the playground also holds a swingset and rock climbing wall among other attractions.

The playground will go by the name of “Fellowship Park,” Schubert noted, as “We have a lot of good fellowship around it.”