VICTORIAN Premier Daniel Andrews visited the region to officially open the redeveloped Kalianna School last week, announcing further upgrades for the site.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Mr Andrews said the old infrastructure was not up to standard, with the major works taking some six years to complete.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe buildings here were simply not fit for purpose. They were old, they didn\u2019t work, and these kids deserved better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also about making sure that the classrooms and physical infrastructure matches the quality of the teaching and learning, and that\u2019s always been first class here. Now we\u2019ve got buildings to match.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I know is that if we train up the next generation of young hospo workers, then they\u2019ll be more likely to have the skills that industry needs [and] more likely to go and work in hospitality businesses, whether it\u2019s here in Bendigo or in other parts of the state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kalianna School principal Peter Bush said students had already benefited greatly from the new learning environments which for the first time included air conditioning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n