New playground equipment at Windham Primary School was unveiled Monday to an enthusiastic audience of children, who were quick to test out the new apparatus.

A playground committee has raised more than $33,000 so far and has spearheaded efforts to replace a 22-year-old rusting play set at the school, which has more than 800 students in kindergarten through grade 3.

According to lead organizer Michelle Jordan, the playground equipment pictured received a $100,000 allocation in this year’s Regional School Unit 14 budget.

Because of the cost of equipment and the size of the school, more funds are needed to install equipment that meets the needs of the student population, she said.

Jordan said the money that the playground committee is raising will go toward equipment costs above the $100,000 allocation and help pay for other things needed to make the playground complete, such as woodchips, benches, basketball hoops and a baseball backstop.

To date, the playground committee has hosted many fundraisers, including a penny drive in which school children raised more than $5,000.

The next event is set for Friday, Nov. 15, when a family pasta dinner featuring pasta, meatballs, bread, salad, and dessert (gluten-free pasta available upon request), takes place at the primary school’s cafeteria, with seatings at 5, 5:30, 6 and 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 per person. For every dollar raised at the supper, Modern Woodmen, a national fraternal financial organization with a local office in Windham, will match with $1, up to $2,500.

– John Balentine

Dr. Kyle Rhoads, principal at Windham Primary School, gives the go-ahead for schoolchildren to enjoy new playground equipment at the school on Monday morning.Windham Primary School students enjoy testing the new playground equipment behind the school on Monday.