Wyoming’s new $4.7M learning centre officially launched with blessing from new Bishop
Ergonomic seating, ottomans, booths, standing desks, and full Wi-Fi. No it’s not Google’s new head office — it’s what classrooms of the future will look like and it’s right here on the Central Coast.
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In one of his first official duties since being installed, new Bishop of Broken Bay Anthony Randazzo has opened and blessed his first building.
Bishop Anthony opened Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School’s new ultra-modern $4.7 million learning centre on Friday.
The new “St Mary of the Cross Centre” looks nothing like a traditional classroom and has been designed to support the Wyoming school’s Harvard University approach to teaching, by allowing big activity spaces for group work as well as smaller class pods.
The school uses Harvard’s dynamic “cultures of thinking” model to encourage students to solve real-world problems such as the environment and population control.
The learning spaces in the new centre can be opened and partitioned to allow for whole class, group, paired, individual and guided learning to take place.
Each learning space is equipped with the latest Apple products and interactive projectors, and is fully wireless for students to make use of the Google Suite of classroom applications.
Principal Dr Frank Cohen said traditional streamlined classes could lead to poor attitudes to learning among students who have not been identified as gifted and talented, and who might feel that they are not smart enough for school.
“The double storey consists of four classrooms on each floor with open learning spaces through the centre of each floor,” he said.
Each teacher has a `caddy’ to link technology and a console desk for small group instruction. “There is not the traditional teacher desk as the rooms are designed as agile learning spaces.” Rd Cohen said.
“The Year 1 and 2 grades who occupy the lower floor have modern ergonomic seating that appeals to developing bodies. In the upstairs rooms for Year 3 and 4, ottomans, booths and high tables are used that allow for collaborative thinking design,” Dr Cohen said.
“Each room has been designed in such a way as the furniture can be configured for individual, paired, groups and camp fire lecture style seating.”
The NSW Government contributed $1.33 million towards the $4.7 million cost of the centre.
Bishop Anthony thanked the students, parents and teachers for making the new learning centre a reality.
“Good teamwork, community spirit and creative vision has produced a state of the art learning centre, which I blessed today,” he said.
Joining Bishop Anthony at the opening was Parliamentary Secretary for Education Kevin Conolly.
Assistant Principal Maria Kennedy said the school had consistently high NAPLAN results when compared to similar schools.
“The school is seen as an outstanding educational hub,” she said.
Meanwhile teacher Emily Cairns was enthusiastic about starting work in the new building.
“It is definitely a different way of teaching and learning,” she said.
The school is also in its third year of a coding program for all year levels, and has an innovative gifted and talented program.
All teachers at the school are trained in the Gagne Model to identify, assess and differentiate gifted and talented students and in Term 1 the school appointed a new Diversity of Learning Coordinator, Ms Sam Sheather.