More upgrades set for Kalianna School

VICTORIAN Premier Daniel Andrews visited the region to officially open the redeveloped Kalianna School last week, announcing further upgrades for the site.

Stage one and two works totalled $15.6 million at the specialist school, including new classrooms and a cafe, and stage three will involve building a new multipurpose space and a lift using money left over from the earlier construction.

Mr Andrews said the old infrastructure was not up to standard, with the major works taking some six years to complete.

“The buildings here were simply not fit for purpose. They were old, they didn’t work, and these kids deserved better,” he said.

“It’s also about making sure that the classrooms and physical infrastructure matches the quality of the teaching and learning, and that’s always been first class here. Now we’ve got buildings to match.”

Senior school students have been able to complete their VCAL hospitality training in the new cafe space, which Mr Andrews said could help address workforce shortages in the sector spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What I know is that if we train up the next generation of young hospo workers, then they’ll be more likely to have the skills that industry needs [and] more likely to go and work in hospitality businesses, whether it’s here in Bendigo or in other parts of the state,” he said.

Kalianna School principal Peter Bush said students had already benefited greatly from the new learning environments which for the first time included air conditioning.

“The number one thing that they said when we finished the rebuild was how quiet the rooms were and that helps with their learning and attention span,” he said.

Mr Bush said the multipurpose space was being designed as a gymnasium which could be used for wet weather play, after school programs and other activities.