Building the Education Revolution
Last night some of our parents met with representatives of School Council and the Buildings and Grounds group and teachers to hear about the process for spending $2,000,000.00 and how it translates into building works at BEPS. Andrew Peel our School Council president opened the meeting by saying what a great opportunity it is to have money given to us. This most probably won't happen again for some time.
Parents asked lots of questions and were overall positive and looking forward to the end results. We still haven't been told whether or not we actually have the money but I keep waiting for the phone call. We should know in the next few weeks as the contracts are due to be signed between August and September. Greg Carden, a parent here who is also an architect working in the Catholic Education sector creating their BER classrooms, says we will be lucky if our contracts are signed then.
One parent asked about the disruption to classes. All of us have either renovated or know people who have and we all think it won't disrupt our lives. You wouldn't believe me if I said there won't be any disruption.
We are however quite lucky here in that we have a large Library and Hall where classes can be held. Hopefully we can move a group of classes into the Hall or Library while the building works are on and complete a section at a time. We also have the Christmas Holidays and term break. Projects usually take longer than anticipated but if we plan carefully we can aim for minimal disruption. A suggestion made by one of our parents was to ensure that we had enough money to furnish and fit out the areas. We have left quite a large contingency in the plans that will leave us with money for extras like furniture.
Laurence Robinson, the architect who drew up our plans understands the limitations, expectations and rules of the BER. He also understands the departmental guidelines with regard to space allocations and entitlements. drew up our plans These plans also fit with an overall national educational plan to support kids to be 21st Century Learners eg, problem solvers, independent thinkers and responsible social beings. The money can only be used to create spaces that allow for flexibility and creative teaching and learning- where children can have focused group work, whole class investigations, use ICT when they need to, work on projects, have a quiet place to focus or read.
Flexibility doesn't mean the furniture gets moved around all the time or the doors can be opened and closed. It's about creating spaces where all kinds of work can happen.
The school is in a tricky position. There will be minimal consultation with the DEECD Project Managers us and parents. The timelines are ridiculously short and don't allow for consultation. Having said that, Andrew asked that parents give us feedback on the plans so we have some negotiating power when it comes to the final plans.
I have placed the plans in the front foyer of the school for all to see. You can now have a look at the plans below and if you would like to make a comment or ask a question you can speak to a rep from School Council, send an email to the school or come to see me. All responses will be forwarded on to School Council.
This is a very exciting time to be part of a school!
Robyn
Please take the time to have a look at the Proposed plans for both floors. Each image will open up as a pdf file in a new window for your convenience.