General News
26 October, 2023
Skipton Primary gets facelift
SKIPTON Primary School is undergoing extensive works, with students already enjoying the expansions.
SKIPTON Primary School is undergoing extensive works, with students already enjoying the expansions.
The school received $4.3 million of state government funding for the works, which includes new rooms, outdoor areas and facilities.
Acting principal Chanelle Pelchen said the school has been working closely with the VSBA, and they were “lucky enough” to receive the grant.
“The grant was a surprise phone call from the government to give us the money,” she said.
“It needed the love. Each of the original rooms have been used for so many different things.”
Completed works include a new staff room, new classroom, improved toilet facilities, an outdoor concrete area with benches and a garden, and a ramp to allow for accessibility.
School captain Lachie Barr said the upgrades would not be expected at the school, since Skipton Primary School has 70 students.
“There’s more access for people with disabilities because now there’s a ramp; we used to have the stairs out the front of the school, which were hard to get up for the little kids,” he said.
“All the classrooms are like new and clean.
“The new toilets are better than old ones because the roof used to leak.
“It’s good to see it all changing.”
School captain Ruby Sim said students like herself have already been enjoying the new spaces provided.
“All the kids love sitting on them while eating lunch out in the sunshine,” she said.
“We’ve got a first aid room now; when we got hurt, we’d just go in the staff room with all the teachers.
“It’s nice to see how everything changes throughout the term.”
Ms Pelchen said there are more works to be completed.
“We’ve got three brand new classrooms coming over in what’s going to be called Stage Two, which will be ready by the end of the year,” she said.
“More toilet facilities for the students, planning spaces for the staff, a little library and sensory area, and over in the McKinnon Hall we’ve got a little kitchen area being created for the students so they can learn cooking.
“The students and the school community are just looking at sustainability for the school; it’s been really important that we can create a school that holds the history, but also will last for the years to come.”
Ms Pelchen said the school still has the original bricks, as well as the original school bell from its formation.
“It’s really important that we’ve got a mixture of our history because we’ve got parents and grandparents that have been to this school,” she said.
“To keep the community feel here, and just hope that sustainability can come with the school and we can be adjustable to take more enrolments and adapt as the enrolments change.”