Freshwater Creek Steiner Schoolcelebrates $2.2m classroom upgrade

FRESHWATER Creek Steiner School has unveiled a new classroom building for its Year 5 and Year 6 students, as enrolments at the school continue to rise.

The project included the construction of two purpose-built classrooms, along with two breakout rooms, practical activity areas and a covered outdoor learning space, allowing students to shift from portable classrooms into state-of-the-art learning facilities.

Principal Gabby Brennan said the upgrades offered benefits to the entire school community, with the new classrooms allowing the school to offer its full program to its Grade 5 and Grade 6 students, and open up space in other classrooms for its broad range of specialist subjects.

“Steiner education is unique in this region and we’re getting more and more people interested in this kind of education that we offer,” she said.

 

“We offer strings class, extensive music classes, craft, gardening, farming, lots of very hands-on activities [and] experiential learning for the children – so having purpose-built spaces really supports us with those programs [and] being able to really bring them to a high-quality for the children and the families.”

She said the new facilities, which also include additional storage and new toilets, have been designed to be accessible and inclusive spaces, suitable for the needs of a diverse range of children.

Corangamite MP Libby Coker visited the school to officially open the new facilities last week.

She described the project as a win for students, teachers and the entire school community.

 

“This is a fantastic result for the Freshwater Creek Steiner community,” Ms Coker said.

“These classrooms are more than just bricks and mortar – they’re places where students will explore ideas, try new things and grow into confident leaners.”

The upgrades were supported by $2.2 million in funding from the Federal Government’s capital grants program, which helps fund infrastructure improvements at non-government primary and secondary schools.

“Our government is investing nearly $1 billion in school infrastructure over the next four years, because we believe every student – no matter where they live – deserves the chance to learn in a space that supports their potential,” Ms Coker said. “We’re proud to be supporting schools like Freshwater Creek Steiner to help create inspiring learning environments that open up opportunities for every young person.”