If you have visited the Secondary Campus this term, you will have noticed a startling change: the canteen is no more, we have several new food and beverage outlets and there is a very distinctive green hoarding snaking its way through the campus. The KLASS Hub is well and truly underway. In this week’s Secondary Blog, our Vice Principal for Community and Enrichment, Stefan Rodic, is delighted to update you on the progress of the KLASS Hub building project…
It was Winston Churchill who once said “We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us.” This serves as a thoughtful reminder as to the importance of our environment and how a sense of place and space is integral to the culture and behaviour of those who inhabit it. The KLASS Hub will undoubtedly impact both our Secondary Campus and our Whole School Community. We are now seeing the laying of the foundations, both physically and metaphorically of what will become a new central space within the campus that will allow us to provide a whole raft of upgraded facilities within 18 months and ensure the ongoing development and sustainability of our school, such as:
- A brand new kitchen, canteen, dining and deli space - indoor and outdoor
- A multi-storey car-park and covered bus area to support safe and smooth pick up and drop off
- A single point of secure entry for students and visitors with an electronic gate system
- A welcoming lobby and reception area that speaks of the history and innovation of KLASS and provides spaces to show off our students’ learning and creativity
- A new KLASS Shop - uniform and more!
- A heritage centre to showcase our KLASS history
- A parent delicatessen and bespoke seating area
- Spaces for community events, such as for our Parent Teacher Association
- A new Admissions centre
- Increased capacity for solar panels to support our sustainability mission
Contextual Wellbeing Guru, Dr. Helen Street, highlights in her work the importance that school spaces have upon learning, and upon our intended outcomes. Providing a space that meets the needs of our learners and wider community is therefore of paramount importance as we move forward as a school.
Paying a visit to EP campus right now permits you to see that the campus has already undergone a lot of physical change, with the old canteen from 1998 no longer there, but demolished. In its place a barrier to ensure the safety of all on site and meet our safeguarding needs. What can be found on the other side of that fence is a blank slate of earth, and the buzz of busy construction workers and their machinery preparing the foundations for our new multipurpose building. You’ll also find the new eateries: The stables, a Grab’n’Go food outlet for students; The Tuck Shop, a traditional style outlet for a whole raft of edible delights; and The Bakery, a place to unwind, socialise, take a break and of course have a coffee for parents and Sixth Formers.
The pictures below will give you a snapshot of the work that has already gone into KLASS Hub at such an early stage, only a month into the project…
These are exciting times for our Secondary Campus as we look towards the future. If your curiosity is piqued, please feel free to drop onto campus and take a look at the scaled model of the KLASS Hub in the Professional Learning Centre. Perhaps you might also like to drop into the newly opened Parent Bakery and have a coffee. You are most welcome. Please sign in at Reception and ask for directions from there.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,
Maria Osowiecki
Secondary Principal