Local Schools Working Together Round One – 15 projects worth $31.7m announced

Media Release
The Hon Julia Gillard MP

    The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, today announced the 15 successful projects to receive a total of $31.7 million under Round One of the Local Schools Working Together pilot program.

    The Local Schools Working Together pilot is an important part of the Rudd Government’s Education Revolution. It will provide $62.5 million over two funding rounds towards the development of approximately 25 shared educational facilities.

    Every State and Territory has been successful and projects will benefit metropolitan, regional and rural communities across Australia.

    The projects selected will provide innovative and new education initiatives that include sustainability and environment education, science and technology, music and the arts and Indigenous education.

    The aim of the program is to encourage government, Catholic and independent schools to work together to develop shared educational facilities that will broaden the benefit of government expenditure on capital infrastructure.

    This partnership also extends to third parties such as local councils or businesses where projects may feature a broader community benefit.

    The Government’s Local Schools Working Together pilot is a common sense approach to the needs of our schools and their local community.

    Once the selected Round One projects have reached the final development stage, all funding agreements will be signed and first payments made.

    In Round One, the National Assessment Panel assessed each submission against the selection criteria and the program priorities outlined in the guidelines.

    Round Two of the LSWT pilot opens on 1 April 2009 and closes at midnight on 22 May 2009.

    For details of the successful projects, information on the programme or how to apply for Round Two funding, visit www.localschoolsworkingtogether.deewr.gov.au

    New South Wales
    Lead Partner Other Partners Project Name Project Description

    Amount
    Eagle Vale High School Mary Immaculate Parish Primary School & Claymore Primary School Eagle Vale Community of Schools Music and Performing Arts Project Refurbishment and upgrade of two facilities to create:
    1. A Recording Studio with an attached Performance Room.
    2. A centralised performing arts venue suitable for large scale productions including concerts, plays and musicals.

    The purpose of the project is to support the participating schools arts programs while enabling and encouraging ongoing quality community wide performance projects.

    $1,704,419
    Hunter Wetlands Centre Australia Hunter Central Coast Region & Catholic Schools Office Environmental Learning Centre Construct a purpose designed education facility to be built at the Hunter Wetlands Centre Australia increasing capacity for school visitors and significantly enhance the experience for all. The complex will include an administration block for education staff, two fully equipped classrooms, a technology centre with facilities for video-conferencing and a range of ICT equipment, all weather areas and a community interpretation space which will benefit community visitors as well as schools.

    $2,272,726
    Plumpton High School Australian Islamic College of Sydney & Good Shepherd Primary School Performing Arts and Multi-Function Centre Construct a Performing Arts and Multifunction Centre. The centre will include: tiered seating for up to 430 people, technologically advanced projection, light and sound facilities including video links to external venues, rehearsal rooms for music tuition and practise, and appropriate service facilities (kitchen, toilets, dressing areas, storage for costumes/props). The Centre will provide local schools with a modern facility for large-scale school events and will also serve as a venue for local organisations to conduct similar activities.

    $2,272,727
    Victoria
    Box Hill High School RMIT University (School of Education), Deakin University, and several local schools Science and Technology Education Resource Network (SATERN) Construct a science and technology hub for teaching and learning suitable to the digital age. The purpose of the centre is to provide engaging, real world science programs. It will initially cater for local primary and secondary students, with the scope to extend throughout Australia or World wide.

    $2,262,337
    Edenhope College St Malachy's School Edenhope Multisport Facility This project involves the installation of a synthetic turf oval, enabling the partner schools and local community to access an athletics track and sporting field. The oval will include a 100m sprint track and will have scope for 200m and 400m distance events. The inner oval will cater for sports such as soccer, hockey, bat tennis, super 8s cricket, volleyball, T-Ball and a long throw area. Construction of this facility will permit the schools to train all year, improving Fitness and Physical Education programs.

    $1,057,470
    Ivanhoe East Primary School (IEPS) Mother of God Primary School Multi Purpose Learning Facility Construct a Multi Purpose Learning Facility that complies with Sustainable Energy Standards. The facility will incorporate a Performing Arts Centre and a Before and After School Care Programme. The works include the construction of an external undercover area with seating. Potential uses of the facilities include drama, performances, meetings, training sessions, community activities, social functions, Outside School Care Programme, basketball, tennis, netball, Manager's Office (multi-use) or Councillor’s Area.

    $1,000,000
    Sebastopol College Redan Primary School & Sebastopol Primary School Ballarat South Community Hub Construction of the Ballarat South Community Hub will develop an innovative community multi-use precinct comprising of: a fitness workout centre, flexible learning spaces, change rooms, community meeting rooms, kitchen/kiosk, rehearsal and performance centre and occasional childcare facility. The Hub will be the focus of community renewal and re-education projects. The moral purpose is to unite a diverse community, reduce crime, re-engage youth and improve health standards. The scope of the project is found in the understanding and trusted connections that the Lead partner has propagated with its local community partners. The Lead partner has generated an educational landscape where “school” and the “community” are integrated. The provision of dedicated community assets within the centre represents a genuine opportunity to value-add to a community that is actively seeking low cost recreation activities.

    $2,476,214
    Queensland
    Undurba State School Living Faith Lutheran Primary School & Pine Rivers Neighbourhood Centre Multi Purpose Facility Construct a Multi-purpose facility capable of seating up to 1,350 students for performance activities. The facility will feature a stage, lighting and sound systems capable of high quality performing arts events. The flexible flooring design will allow for a multitude of activities including, but not limited to: performance, sports, and art activities. Additionally, the facility will contain a commercial kitchen, an ICT area, "break-out" rooms, a Neighbourhood Centre, storage and amenities. The facility has been designed to accommodate both large and small groups in a variety of activities that can be conducted simultaneously.

    $1,548,085
    South Australia
    Northern Areas Council Gladstone High School & St Josephs Parish School Southern Flinders Regional Sports Complex Construct a multi-purpose regional sport and recreation facility for school and community use. This project involves building a facility containing two sports courts, change rooms and a function area with a commercial kitchen. The complex will form an integral part of the schools curriculum, inter-school sport calendar, and extra-curricular school sporting activities. The multi-purpose facility will provide opportunities for a range of recreational activities that are not currently available in the region. The facility will be constructed as a partnership between local schools, Council and local sporting groups.

    $2,134,377
    St Columba College Munno Para Inc. Andrews Farm Pre-School & City of Playford Together in Health and Community Wellbeing Construction of a Community Gymnasium to include: a full sized multi purpose court built to international standards (suitable for basketball, netball, volleyball, and badminton), a weight training/physical fitness area, gross motor skill development space, change rooms, offices, meeting area, wet area/small kitchen, storage areas, an office for Agency support services, furniture and equipment, and a car park. The design process has prioritised ‘value for money’ making extensive use of locally manufactured prefabricated components minimising transportation costs and promoting local employment. The building is solar passive minimising heat gain and naturally ventilated to eliminate the need for air conditioning dramatically reducing life cycle costs. Sunlight and rainwater will be harvested and utilised throughout the centre.

    $2,500,000
    School of the Nativity Theile Primary School & Pilgrim School Abefoyle Park Campus Arts & Media Centre Construct a state-of-the-art performance and technology centre housing two music classrooms (capable of being transformed into a performance space) and a media hub containing computers and a sound house, integrating ICT and Music. The sound house will see students digitally recording their music and give students the capacity to transmit their music and voices across campus via the radio station, ‘Campus FM’– staffed by students from each of the three schools. Additionally the centre will include 3 purpose-built, sound proof music suites for individual music tuition. The centre will be self-contained, secure and independent of the school, ensuring that the after-hours usage of the facility does not disrupt normal operations. The centre will be constructed with consideration given to environmental sustainability.

    $2,500,000
    Western Australia
    Merredin Senior High School Northam Senior High School & Central Midlands Senior High School ICT Learning & Multi-arts Facilities The project has two components. 1. Construction of three world class ICT learning facilities in each of the participating schools. The ICT Learning Centres will connect young people to a wider range of curriculum options catering for the diversity of clientele through precinct partnerships 2. Construction of a Flexible Multi-Arts Centre (Performing Arts) including a recording studio. Enabling a suite of performing arts components to be delivered, during and after business hours. This project will cater for K-12 students across sectors, the region and the broader precinct community.

    $2,506,459
    Tasmania
    Department of Education (TAS) Catholic Education Office & Association of Independant Schools (TAS) Sustainability Learning Centre (SLC)

    Construct the first sustainability and climate change education centre for Tasmanian schools and community. The centre will be an interactive building in a bush setting that demonstrates sustainability principles as a 'hands on' educational tool, supporting leading edge pedagogy.

    $2,500,000
    Northern Territory
    Kormilda College Nungalinya College & Larrakia Development Corporation Centre for Indigenous Culture & Spirituality The Centre for Indigenous Culture and Spirituality will create a cultural and spiritual 'home' for the 100 Indigenous communities across northern Australia that send their children to Darwin to access educational opportunities not available in remote communities. The Centre will provide a space for cultural celebration and spiritual reflection for the hundreds of young people from saltwater, billabong, and desert cultures. Many of the languages, cultural and spiritual practices of these different Indigenous cultural groups are under threat, and the Centre will provide a forum to facilitate and promote inter-generational transference of traditional knowledge, performance, spiritual and cultural activities and events. Indigenous parents, teachers, elders, and other groups will have access the centre. The building form and configuration will reflect its Indigenous inspiration and an adherence to environmentally appropriate design principles, such as passive cooling.

    $2,500,000
    Australian Capital Territory
    Gold Creek School Holy Spirit Catholic School & ACT Department of Territory and Municipal Services Joint Use Sporting Facility Building on an existing highly successful model partnership between government and non-government schools. This project will encompass the extension and enhancement to existing sporting facilities in an area of high demand, for the benefit of both students and the broader community. The project involves installation of a synthetic sports ground and associated components including: fencing, lighting, soccer pitch, multi-use field (including hockey pitch, 2 futsal pitches and 2 netball courts) and a 4 lane running track with 100m sprint lanes and 2 cricket practice wickets. Additionally extensions to the hall will provide associated change rooms, amenities, and an entrance for after hours use. This project is designed to enhance school programs impacting on childhood obesity and the innovative construction methods will minimise water usage.

    $2,500,000

    For more information

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