More space for learning at Penrith Public School
Penrith Public School in Sydney’s west now has a brand new library, a new two-classroom block, refurbished classrooms with interactive whiteboards and refurbished office space. The school also have a new bell system to ensure students have the time to learn and play.
With nearly 400 children on only 1.9 hectares, learning space at Penrith Public is at a premium. When the Australian Government’s Building the Education Revolution (BER) program promised education infrastructure, the school’s priority was on maximising their learning spaces.
Principal Ken Jackson said ‘I thought we did really well with it. We’ve done some terrific things at the school with that money.’
‘They’re fabulous spaces. They’re great facilities and something we’ll probably never see the like of again and something we sorely needed. We’re over the moon with the actually facilities themselves. And they are being very well used and our school community is very pleased to see them in use as well.’
‘The facilities are giving an added dimension to our teaching spaces. Because we’re a very old school and most of our classrooms are just four walls of a hundred years ago. These are wide open airy spaces which are great.’ said Mr Jackson.
The larger, open learning spaces and new classroom technology such as interactive whiteboards are boosting the way teachers interact with the kids. ‘The new whiteboards will certainly change the way we do things. Because you can open up the classroom into a large space, that’s going to benefit a bit of team teaching. The library is a great facility for kids to learn in. Whether we’ll change things, it’ll certainly enhance what we do.’
The school received $2.6 million dollars funding under Primary Schools for the 21st Century element of the BER and an additional $150 000 for maintenance and landscaping under the National School Pride Program.
Mr Jackson said ‘We’re pretty pleased with what we’ve got. It’s a boon to the education of our kids because we have these new facilities.’