new Registration form

We would like to inform everyone that we now have a new registration form available online at our webpage. We encourage everyone to sign up even if you already have.

The reason we would like you to sign up again is so that we can begin to divide volunteers up based on what activity they would like to help with on Build Day. There will be many, many different things to do on September 22 (and a few days leading up to it), so we need to know what people are good at doing.

We need people to assemble the playground equipment and prepare that area, obviously. But we also need people to look after and entertain any children who may need looking after while their parents help out. We need carpenters to put things together. Gardeners are required. People to work the registration table. People to serve coffee, snacks, and meals. Someone to paint murals. So please sign up and select an activity for Build Day because we don't want to have someone painting murals when they really wanted to be helping build shelves for classrooms. So help us out and tell us what interests you!

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In other news, due to the sudden rain shower we experienced in Norton a couple of days ago, the paving of the school driveway has been put on hold. But it will be happening soon. Maybe Friday? When the driveway is paved, we politely request that people refrain from driving on it for a few days. 

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Build Day will soon be here: September 22. Oh my! We'll be providing you with plenty of information in the upcoming weeks leading up to Build Day, so please continue to check in here for the latest news and information about the new Norton Community Playground & Park. Which reminds me, we are still accepting ideas and suggestions for a name or dedication for the new space. Any ideas, please let us know.

nortonplayground@gmail.com

New Asphalt

There will soon be new asphalt on the parking lot at the elementary school. Once it is down, we ask everyone to please stay off it till at least Thursday, please.

As for the playground field, last week a large group of volunteers from the community got together each evening and laid new sod. We want to thank everyone who came and helped! Many hands make light work. And a huge thank you to the Norton Fire Department for watering the new sod on those hot late summer evenings.

We would also like to send a big thank you to the Village of Norton for fixing a sinkhole that appeared in the new parking lot. And a special thanks to Ernest Raven for coming out on his birthday to help with this repair. Talk about stepping up for the community! Also, thank you Dave Baskin and Tony Raymond for supplying materials to fill the hole. Dave Baskin has also kindly donated the base material for a new basketball pad.

Here's a photo of what the playground used to look like. What a difference we're going to make. It already looks better! Just wait till we get the new equipment set up on September 22! 

a dirty, sloppy mess

Last week of August

Twenty-five days left till Build Day! Where did the summer go? Let's enjoy the remaining days of warm weather while we still have it. The teachers have begun arriving at the elementary school in Norton. For now, it looks like they have to park on the side of the road. But in a short while they will have a nice new parking lot!

I have some news to share with you all about this past weekend and our continuing fundraising efforts.

Last Saturday, during the day, several volunteers helped pack groceries at the Sobeys in Sussex. Their efforts helped raise $937.90! We would like to thank Sobeys for having us and all the people who donated money that day. As well, we want to give a big THANK YOU to all the volunteers:

Emily & Isaac O’Donnell

Kristen & Carly Booth

Shannon & Jill Hall

Derek Anderson

Emma & Callie Cook

Ryanna Boyd

Xander Jewer

Shealyn Jackson

Lara, Layne, & Isabella Johnston

And later on, we hosted a redneck kitchen party Saturday evening at the Norton Legion. Musical entertainment was provided by Tanya Sipkema, Jenni Sherwood & Ian Sherwood. There was redneck basketball (hopefully pictures will be available soon), a silent auction and a chinese auction. We would like to thank all the businesses who kindly donated items for our auctions. In total, on Saturday night we were able to raise $1203.40!

So, overall, as we begin the new week, we know the playground is at least another $2000 closer to the total we need in order to buy all the playground equipment.

Sod Laying tonight & Dance tomorrow!

I see the sod has been delivered to the playground this afternoon. That means we can meet at 5:30pm and lay the sod down. There is not much left to do so hopefully we can get it all down this evening.

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And don't forget about the Redneck Kitchen Party we have planned for tomorrow night. Doors open at 8pm. Tickets are $10 at the door. Bring your instruments and a singing voice and let's have a party. There will also be a silent auction and 50/50 draw. All proceeds go towards new playground equipment. See you there!

No Sod to Lay tonight

Well, since there is no sod to lay tonight, everyone should be free to head over to the Norton Legion to play some BINGO! Doors open at 6:00pm. Bonanza game begins at 6:30pm. A portion of the proceeds go towards new equipment for the playground, so come out and have some fun while helping the community.

A big, big, BIG, thank you to all the volunteers who came out to help lay sod this week!

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And don't forget that this Saturday from 10am till 4pm, volunteers will be bagging groceries at Sobeys in Sussex to help raise money for new playground equipment.

And then beginning at 8pm on Saturday night, there will be a dance at the Norton Legion. Should be a fun weekend!

Dance Dance Dance

The sod is going down nicely at the playground thanks to all the volunteers who have come out to help. Remember, we need volunteers each night from 5:30pm on to help lay sod.

And don't forget that this Saturday we will be bagging groceries at the Sobeys in Sussex from 10:00am till 4:00pm.

Then there is a dance at the Norton Legion beginning at 8:00pm on Saturday night. That's right, a redneck kitchen party. There will be music, a silent auction, 50/50 draw, food, snacks, bar, and prizes for best dressed redneck so get dressed up and come on out. Tickets are $10 available at the door. All the proceeds go towards the new playground equipment.

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And now for some announcements:

Thank You to M. G. Northrup Inc. and Kingso for helping to get the "Tuesday" sod delivered to the playground.

Thank You to Cherie (Totton) and Jason Smith who recently got married. During the reception when someone wanted the bride and groom to kiss, the guests had to make a donation towards the new playground and by doing so they raised $80.

We Need Volunteers To Help With The Sod

So all this week at 5:30pm we will be asking for volunteers to come out to the playground at the school and help us lay the sod for the field. The more people who help out, the quicker and easier we will get this all finished.

Here are a list of tools we need, too, so if you can bring some of these it would be great!

• 2 or 3 wheelbarrows
• small wooden stakes (to secure sod on slopes)
• sledge hammers
• rakes
• shovels
• gloves
• water

Hopefully we will see some of you this week!

Working on the Playground

We would like to thank Medley O'Donnell and Michael Jewer for volunteering to help with the top soil for the playground.

And a thank you to Marvin King for tractor and roller services.

And it is necessary to add another name to our donor list of top soil: Doug Smith donated two loads.

So while most of us were either enjoying or avoiding the giant flea market in Sussex or while we were enjoying the day at the redneck raceway in Norton, these few volunteers were helping to get the property ready for the new playground. So a big, big thank you to them.

Next week we are going to need more than just a few volunteers. The next step for the playground is to lay sod so that when the students return to school there won't just be dirt everywhere. And it is way more work than the few volunteers this weekend could handle, so we are going to need some of you to volunteer some time and come out and help us lay the sod for the lawn and field. Every day and night we will need people to help (at least till it's all down).

Let us know if you can help out. 

nortonplayground@gmail.com

 

Top Soil & A Dance!

We would like to thank the following for donating top soil for the new playground: E J Cunningham Ltd., T A Raymond Landscaping Ltd., McConchie Trucking, the Village of Norton, Sussex Excavators Ltd., L Sanford & Sons Excavating Ltd., and Guy Lemay's Trucking & Excavating Ltd.

We would also like to thank T A Raymond Landscaping for donating a bulldozer and Medley O'Donnell for donating his time and talent to place and grade the topsoil.

And I'm pretty sure we still need more top soil. So if you can help out or know someone who can, please contact Kelly at 435.2288 or Jodi at 434.5276

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REDNECK KITCHEN PARTY - AUG. 25 - 8 PM

Come out and have some fun while also helping raise money for the new playground! We're having a dance at the Norton Legion on Saturday, August 25 beginning at 8:00pm. Food, snacks, bar! There will be a silent auction as well as a 50/50 draw, fun activities and prizes for best dressed redneck, and a good old fashion kitchen party. Bring instruments if you got 'em. Get dressed and come out and paint the town RED(neck!). 

We need top soil ASAP!

We need approximately 60 loads of TOP SOIL as soon as possible.

If you can help, please contact Kelly at 435.2288 or Jodi at 434.5276

We have had some donated but we need more in order to make the new field happen for the playground.

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UPDATE

EJ Cunninghams will be sending us ten trailer loads of unscreened top soil! This will be the equivalent to approximately twenty-five regular dump truck loads at a value of approximately $3000!

Thank you - Thank you - Thank you!

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UPDATE

Sussex Excavators (2010) Ltd. is sending two more loads today. Approximate value $450! Thank You!

We still need some more. . .

EJ Cunningham, Sussex Excavators, Sanford & Sons, TA Raymond, and the Village of Norton have all stepped up. We would like to get all the top soil at the school this week before Debly finishes up so if anyone can help, please let us know!

Dexter Construction helps out again

With lots of groundwork getting accomplished at the Norton Elementary School in preparation for Build Day in September, we realised we would be in need of more granular base.

Dexter Construction had initially agreed to donate five hundred tonnes of the stuff but that is only about half of what we require. So yesterday they stepped up and said they would donate all the rest too! That's an estimated donation in kind of $2300. Wow! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Let's keep all the contributions coming. There is not much time left till Build Day. Everyone can help. And every little bit counts. If you would like to help out, please contact us and let us know what you can do.

Strescon is helping out

Strescon will be helping out the Norton Community Playground by donating concrete blocks for a retaining wall. That amounts to a $540 donation in kind. Thank you.

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I've also heard families talking about giving a $25 donation to the playground. If three hundred families in Norton donated $25 each it would amount to $7500, which gets doubled thanks to Let Them Be Kids and ends up being $15,000 we can put towards new playground equipment. That seems easy to do.

It's Monday. Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful week!

What A Weekend!

Where to begin?

To start, let's thank everyone who came out to the community potluck and corn boil on Friday evening (and I mean a big huge Thank You). And another big Thank You to everyone who contributed baked goods for the Hampton Flea Market on Saturday.

The Norton Community Playground had a few tables at the Hampton Flea Market yesterday. The morning began at 7:30 with three tables (plus some stuff on the floor) of baked goods and other various items to sell, and yet by the end of the day there was only one table left. We were able to raise approximately $350 and also received a $50 donation. A big Thank You is in order for the Hampton Curling Club for allowing us to be a part of the day's events.

As for last Friday: Norton was visited by Ian Hill from Let Them Be Kids. He was able to see the site where our new playground will be as well as meeting and speaking with many of our community members and playground committee members.

Ian Hill speaking at the community corn boil in Norton on Aug. 10, 2012

In the evening, the community gathered at the outdoor rink for a potluck and a corn boil. Bob Bates kindly helped by giving us fresh corn and the means to cook it.

community potluck & corn boil at the outdoor rink

fresh local corn courtesy of Bob Bates

community members gather for corn

The Norton Recreation Council's summer students supplied face-painting skills and fun activities for the children, as well as designing posters for the event.

the ever popular face-painting

Norton: A Let Them Be Kids Community

And there were plenty of big announcements during the evening. We revealed the new design for the playground equipment, which is based on the results from the Dot-Maucracy event we hosted in the Spring where the children voted on what pieces of equipment they would like for the playground.

And several groups stepped up and made contributions to our efforts to rebuild the playground. The Government of New Brunswick donated $50,000 towards the project. And we also received donations from the Potash Corp. (PCS) for $25,000, McConchie Trucking for $10,000, the Village of Norton for $7000, the Norton United Baptist Church for $500, and the Kiwanis Club of Sussex.

Potash Corp. donated $25,000

McConchie Trucking made a $10,000 donation

the Village of Norton donated $7000

Norton United Baptist Church made a contribution of $500

the Kiwanis Club of Sussex has committed to making a donation although the actual amount is undetermined for now

Here are a few more photos from the community potluck and corn boil on Friday evening, August 10, 2012:

children playing at the outdoor rink

a few children holding the $25,000 cheque from the Potash Corp.

the face-painting table

a couple boys playing at the rink

the potluck table --- yummy!

Ian Hill addressing the community

time for our little dude to continue climbing

here he starts. . .

and there he goes!

Brunswick Engineering & Consulting will be helping us out

and so will Debly Enterprises

Wow! What a weekend indeed! So many people to thank. And so much to be excited about. There is truly something amazing happening in Norton for the children as well as for the community as a whole!

It takes a village to raise a child!

The New Playground Design

So here it is! A 3D image of what the new equipment will look like in the new playground. The design is based on the results from the Dot-Maucracy event when the children of Norton voted on what pieces of equipment they would like to be at the new playground.

There will be bigger posters of the design for viewing at the rink tonight for the community corn boil & potluck.

View "A" - click image to view it bigger

View "B" - click image to view it bigger

Remember: tonight beginning at 6:00pm there will be a corn boil and community potluck at the Norton Outdoor Hockey Rink. There will be activities for the children and plenty of information for adults and volunteers interested in helping on Build Day (Sept. 22).

There will be representatives from the Hampton Let Them Be Kids playground project on hand to share their Build Day experiences. There will be announcements and hopefully some more donations! As well as information about volunteering and what kind of tools we will be needing.

And Ian Hill (founder of Let The Be Kids) will be in Norton for a visit and to provide inspirational words of encouragement to our community. Definitely not to be missed!

Anyone wanting to drop off baked goods for the Norton Community Playground table at the Hampton Flea Market tomorrow may do so tonight at the corn boil. Just brings your goodies to the rink and we'll do our best to sell them tomorrow.

Another Lovely Hot Summer Day

I hope everyone has been able to enjoy this warm weather we have been experiencing in Norton.

Just a few reminders:

BINGO!!! - AUG. 9 @ 6PM
Bingo tonight at 6pm. A portion of the proceeds help buy new playground equipment for the playground. Come on out and have some fun.

COMMUNITY POTLUCK & CORN BOIL - AUG. 10 @ 6PM
And of course, do not forget about the community corn boil and potluck at the hockey rink tomorrow evening in Norton. Things will get underway at 6pm. Bring your favourite dish and come out and enjoy fresh local corn. Also, there will be plenty of information about the new playground design and about how you can help out. Of yeah, and one other thing: the founder and CEO of Let Them Be Kids, Mr. Ian Hill, will be here in Norton too! He will be hungry for some corn and looking forward to meeting and talking with the people of our community, so come out and show him a good time.

For more information: visit here or here.

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And Debly has begun working on the site of the new playground. They have been busy all day today doing groundwork in preparation for Build Day on September 22!

Debly Has Moved In

Here is a photo of the Norton Elementary School this afternoon.

So it looks like some work might be getting under way at the playground. We spotted this on the site this afternoon. Soon there will be a new parking lot and a green space for the children to play.

Meet Ian Hill

Don't forget this Friday (Aug. 10) there will be a community corn boil & potluck. And we will be visited by a very important guest: Ian Hill from Let Them Be Kids!

The activities begin around 6:00pm at the Norton Outdoor Hockey Rink but you might also see Mr. Hill walking around the village during the day as he visits our friendly little home.

You will not want to miss this wonderful opportunity to hear the inspiring thoughts, stories, and ideas that Mr. Hill has to share.

You can read more about him at the following webpages:
Day Of Hope And Leadership
The Changing Point

 

Community Corn Boil & Potluck

We will be hosting a community corn boil and potluck next Friday, August 10 beginning at 6:00pm at the Norton Outdoor Hockey Rink.

Everyone (and we do mean everyone) is invited!

Here's what you can expect:

• fresh local corn
• potluck: bring your favourite dish
• revealing of the new playground design
• you can help name the new playground
• talk to members who volunteered at the Hampton Let Them Be Kids playground build day and hear about their experiences
• activities for the children
• and the biggest news of all: meet Ian Hill, founder and volunteer CEO of Let Them Be Kids!!!

 
Good Food --- Good Friends --- Good Times

National Action Campaign

Let Them Be Kids have developed a National Action Campaign, which hopes to accomplish the following:

• Inspire, mobilize, and equip local community members for the successful completion of 250 community improvement projects across Canada by September 2013.
• Ignite local community pride.
• Teach civic and social responsibility through action and participation in local community projects.

Norton will be one of the first communities to participate in this campaign when we build our new playground on September 22, 2012. 

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The Let Them Be Kids National Action Campaign is based on belief that regular people can change their world for the better and that the people closest to the challenges are the best resource to improve those challenges.
 

So if our belief is true, why is it that so often things don’t change for the better? Simply put… a lack of hope. It is a lack of the belief that tomorrow can be better than yesterday and a lack of that hope turning into tangible action. 

We have set out to do something about that "lack of hope"! We believe that with the proper amount of hope, knowledge, tools and support, regular people can change their world, and the world around them for the better.

We know that hope is created when we hear or see someone else do something that we thought was implausible, improbable or seemingly impossible. However, hearing or seeing someone else do something awesome only creates a “spark” of hope which is often extinguished in the first few moments or days of seeing or hearing. The grind of life can and often does snuff out the embers of hope. Those embers must be kindled in some way. We believe that kindling can come through information and education. When we learn how those people did that seemingly improbable thing, then we have a chance to do it as well. Regrettably, this is still not enough to take that spark of hope and create tangible action. The final step to taking that spark of hope and translating it into meaningful improvement is support. When we are supported with guidance, advice or just a listening ear, the spark of hope that was kindled with knowledge turns into a raging fire! It is that raging fire of equipped and supported hope that changes things for the better. 

The most beautiful thing about this cycle is that it self-perpetuates and impacts exponentially. As this cycle of hope is completed someone else hears of the implausible or improbable thing that has been done and if those hearers are equipped with knowledge and supported in their endeavor they too will do the seemingly impossible! Our plan is to take our Hope Strategy and deploy it across Canada to help make the world a better place.

For more information, please visit: HERE.

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And to get involved and help out in Norton, please sign up today to volunteer!

Bottle Drive Success

We raised a grand total of $631.39 from last Friday night's bottle & coin drive! And all of it will be going towards new playground equipment. So once again, thank you everyone who helped out and contributed.

As well, there was $122.25 waiting for us at Norrad's from everyone who has been dropping refundables off and leaving the money for the Norton Community Playground account. So, thank you goes out to all those anonymous bottle donors too.

We encourage everyone to donate their refundables at Norrad's for us. Just mention that you would like the money to go towards the playground in Norton.