28 November 2018

Newsletter Articles

Facilities Update Term 4, 2018 Edition 3

The purpose of our Facilities Newsletters is to keep new and continuing families up to date with major planned changes in our school environment. 2019 promises to be a very busy year for our school. I am confident that the strong partnership between our staff, students, P&C, School Council and Department of Education Staff, will allow us to work through any challenges that may arise.

School Master Plan

Development within our school is guided by our school master plan. This was developed and approved earlier in 2018. A copy of our school master plan documentation can be found on the school website. Plans are located under the “Facilities” tab at the top of the webpage.

New Building

Construction of a new 15 classroom permanent building is scheduled to commence in December 2018. The 15 classrooms are delivered in two stages; Stage 1, 11 classrooms and a flexible learning area, Stage 2, 4 classrooms. Tenders have been submitted with the Department of Education hoping to award the contract in early December. This process cannot take place until Ministerial designation has been obtained. The new building is scheduled for opening for the start of the 2020 school year.

Temporary Facilities on Bottom Oval

Installation of our final four temporary classrooms and a temporary toilet block will be completed by the end of the 2018 school year. This takes our school capacity to 51 classrooms. In December / January a temporary toilet block will also be installed in a corner of Singleton Oval. This will allow for the demolition of the existing Singleton toilet block and the construction of the new permanent building.

Current enrolment forecasts for 2019 are sitting around 49 classes. This may create the opportunity for discretionary classroom space, however, this will ultimately be determined by the number of in-catchment enrolments we receive at the start of 2019. This year, we used spare classrooms for instrumental music and our challenge and extension programs. One classroom space was also available for OSHC. We will have a much more accurate view of this situation in late January, 2019.

Once our new building is complete, the temporary classrooms on the bottom oval will be removed. Both sets of temporary toilets on both the bottom and Singleton ovals will also be removed.

Outside School Hours Care

The school has made both the music room and school library available for afterschool care in 2019. This should provide a much needed boost to afterschool care waitlists. As indicated previously, any excess classroom space will be carefully considered as future Outside School Hours Care options. Management of the OSHC will transfer from an incorporated parent body to our P&C during 2019. The OSHC service continues to explore potential off-site opportunities to increase options for parents who are currently waitlisted.

Junior Playground Re-development

The Junior playground is well underway with a termite infested tree being removed, allowing for our larger pieces to be installed. The major elements are being embedded into the soil this week. Attached are photos of the ‘hero piece’ going up and the ‘cosy dome’. In the pictures you can see that we have retained the cubby house and step down platform. We expect some large equipment deliveries to be made in the coming weeks, which may disrupt access on the side path on occasion. Teachers will be deployed to make sure students and parents access school by alternate and safe routes.

Brisbane City Council’s Taringa Parade “Stop, Drop and Go” Re-development

A plan for this project can be found on the school website under the ‘Facilites’ tab. As yet, we have not received information regarding project timelines. For more information about this project plan call the BCC Project Team on 1800 884 681.

Your facilities contacts are-

Keith Warwick, ISS Principal. kwarw2@eq.edu.au
Belinda Tozer, ISS Parent and School Council Chairperson. belinda_donges@hotmail.com
Carmel Fitzsimmons, ISS Business Manager. cfitz22@eq.edu.au
Wendy Fender, ISS Prep Deputy Principal/ Head of Curriculum. wfend1@eq.edu.au