High school students and community team up to build gaga ball pits at Calmar Elementary
Two new Gaga Ball pits are open to Calmar Elementary School students thanks to parent fundraisers and to students attending Calmar Secondary Collegiate School (CSCS)
The project represents months of community fundraising, and a hands-on construction effort led by Grade 11 trades students from CSCS. Parents, staff, students, and local supporters all contributed to turning a popular recess game into a durable, long-term fixture on school grounds.
Gaga ball, played in an enclosed octagonal pit where players try to eliminate others by striking a ball below the knees, has become one of the most popular activities at the school. CES’s Parent Teacher Association, a parent fundraising group, built temporary pits which could not outlast the amount of use they received, and revealed a need for something more permanent.
The new permanent pits came after the parent group raised over $15,000 through bottle drives, meat and flower fundraisers, school markets, donations, and support from the Town of Calmar. PTA president Jenny Balding said the goal was a clear priority this year.
“My focus as president was to really make sure that the gaga ball pits got accomplished,” Balding said. “This has been a goal for a couple of years now.”
The Grade 11 students who built the pits are among the first cohort of CSCS’s new trades programming, which launched in February. Students assembled the structures using metal brackets, wood framing, and reinforced fasteners designed for heavy use.
Zachary, a trades student working on the project, described the experience as a chance to build something useful while learning how to work as a team. “It’s fun to do, and it pushes towards something useful for the kids,” he says.
“It’s good to see them working on something meaningful,” says James Wallis, a trades teacher at CSCS. “They all went to school here, so it’s cool to see them building something for the school they came from.”
Once completed, the pits will serve both the school and the wider community during after-hours use. School staff say the hope is that the durability matches the game’s popularity. For students, the impact is simpler: more space, more play, and a game space that rarely sits empty for long.
