First look at Curl Curl North Public’s new $41m school
This new school on the northern beaches has been designed to cater for a new way of teaching, with two classes sharing two teachers and a choice of seating from stand up desks to wobble chairs (which also strengthen the core). SEE VIDEO.
Manly
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Work on the first phase of a futuristic new state-of-the-art $41-million primary school on the northern beaches is well underway.
The Manly Daily was allowed in to get a first look at the impressive development at Curl Curl North Public School which will provide 40 new classrooms, a new hall and sporting facilities for around 1000 pupils.
The classrooms will also include wobble chairs for kids who can’t sit still and desks you’re allow to write on.
The new school is due to be completed in 2021.
The development is staged, meaning pupils have been able to remain on site throughout the construction.
The first phase which began earlier this year will be completed in early 2020, when the children will move from the north of the site to the new buildings.
The second phase will include a new 1000-seat hall, plus futsal and basketball courts.
The design will ensure the classrooms stay cool in summer and warm in winter. This will be achieved with lots of shade, windows that open, insulation and antiglare double glazing, as well as airconditioning when needed.
Many environmentally friendly materials have been used and there are also solar panels and water tanks.
Landscaping will see flora and fauna native to Curl Curl planted to help boost the local ecosystem.
Donna Blatchford, principal, said the forward-thinking design will bring with it a new type of teaching.
“All classes from Kindy to Year 6 will have co-teaching, with classes joining together and teachers working together,” she said.
Co-teaching is further developed for Years 3 to 6 where instead of one teacher per class, two classes will actually share one space with two teachers.
“We will have two teachers co-teaching in a classroom and they will work together collaboratively to plan, to assess and to write lessons.
“They’ll be able to bounce ideas off each other and split the group depending on ability.”
The classrooms will also incorporate different spaces to suit the different ways kids learn.
Forget a row of desks facing a whiteboard.
Instead pupils will be able to choose from working in a collaborative hub, to low-level tables with writeable surfaces, stand up desks for those who struggle to stay seated and even wobble seats for those who like movement and which also help build core strength.
There are also quiet learning spaces and presentation areas.
At the weekend the futsal and basketball courts will be open to the community.
Marin France, 12, was one of four school leaders who joined the tour.
The Year 6 pupil said he was disappointed to be leaving before the new site opened but he was looking forward to playing on the sport courts at the weekends.
Member for Manly James Griffin said the buildings were sensitive to the surrounding community and was something to really be proud of.
“It’s quite a low profile school with an incredibly large space in the middle which will house natives trees, plants and fauna,” he said.
“It’s actually a really unique design for a unique area.”
