13 September 2018

Newsletter Articles

Facilities Update Term 3, 2018 Edition 2

School Master Plan

A consultation process for approval of the Master Plan was undertaken on Thursday, 9 August. Thank you to students, staff and parents who participated in this process.

New Building

The project went to tender on Monday, 10 September. The Department of Education is currently in negotiations with the Brisbane City Council to be granted temporary access to a parcel of land adjacent to the new build and beyond the school fence-line. This would allow for the establishment of a temporary operations centre for the new build. We have not yet been made aware of an outcome of these negotiations. The new build is identified as “1A and 1B” on the Master Plan.

Enrolment forecasts for 2019 are being closely monitored by the School Council. Department of Education HR and Department of Education Facilities. 2019 forecasts and actual figures will help to inform if Stage 1 and 2 of the new build are done in unison. This would provide 15 new classrooms for the start of the 2020 school year.

View from bottom oval

View from bottom oval

View from Singleton Oval

An additional double classroom temporary building has been requested for 2019. Numbers may require a further double temporary space. A temporary toilet block is to be installed adjacent to the existing temporary builds, hugging the school fence-line. An additional temporary toilet block is to be installed in one of the corners of Singleton Oval. This is to offset the toilet block lost during the new build. A modern toilet block is a feature of the new build.

Once the 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.

Prep Playground Re-development

Junior Playground - For Use Predominantly by Year 1 and Prep Year 2019

Term 4 will see the construction of a new playground on the site of the present Prep Playground. With a significant contribution from the P & C and a small contribution from the student council, this project will come in just over $200,000. OSHC are still considering the contribution that can be made by them and Private Providers are being sought for the **other stages coloured in Yellow above. The playground was designed with consultation by all significant parties. (Prep and Year 1 students, Teachers, Playground Committee Parents, OSHC, Yr 6 Azure Flower Group). The playground is challenging, with opportunities for risk taking at the different skill levels of the children. The play will centre around the ‘hero piece’ below with other smaller centres for other forms of play. A creek bed will be incorporated into the natural flow of water on the site, with small tennis ball size rocks available to play with within this space. There will also be opportunites for an outdoor learning space with sandstone retaining blocks acting as a seating area. A cozy dome will allow our quieter children an opportunity to play without the ‘business’ of the main areas. We will also retain our lovely cubby house, which children adore.

Dragon Playground

Additional soft-fall will be placed in the “Dragon Playground” during the September vacation.

Taking advantage of our school site

Whilst challenging for building and movement around site, our multi-platform location proves very advantageous as our school grows. Each platform helps to create a series of distinct sub-schools which breaks down our student population into unique and connected communities. Year 5 and 6 for example, have a distinct world on the top platform off Moggill Road. Even though they know they are connected to all students in the school, their world centres around their classrooms, handball and basketball courts. Our Prep students have the "back verandah" and adjacent grass area exclusively.

If our site was completely flat, I believe that there would be far more unintended overlap between sub-schools. School wide connections are essential within our school. Defined learning and play zones that map out “your section of the world” give our students a sense of home and security. This is important as our school and community navigate this growth period.

Taringa Parade “Stop, Drop and Go” Re-development

The Brisbane City Council (BCC) latest budget gives fully funded approval for the redevelopment of the “Stop, Drop and Go” zone at the Moggill Road end of Taringa Parade. The BCC is yet to provide the school with further information regarding this process.

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