$2 million grant to modernise Kallista Primary School.

This is very exciting news! We have received a grant of $2,000,000 from combined state and federal funding. Our local State government member, James Merlino, has worked with us for the past 5 years to promote our cause. He said “Kallista will now have buildings that match the quality of its educational program and support its great connection to the community.”  Building works are planned to start this year and there has already been a lot of action. We have been assigned a project manager and architect who have visited us and are working on concepts for our consideration. Teams of engineers and other associated professionals are also involved and have already been surveying the site.

The main priority for us is to have larger classrooms and more space to allow the children to work in a hands-on manner. We cannot rebuild our whole school for this amount of money but there are many exciting ideas to consider. To work within budget we are looking at modifying the current building by moving walls and re-arranging spaces. To maintain 7 classrooms, we will need to either extend the current building or build additional classrooms. Discussions are taking place with involvement of staff and overseen by School Council. If you would like to be involved or have some ideas to contribute, please contact me.  Everything is happening very fast at the moment.

Open Day and Kitchen Garden Week: This year Kitchen Garden Week 18th – 22nd May,  has been combined with Education Week. On Open Day we will be showcasing our kitchen and garden classes in action for you to come and see. You will be able to wander through the school from 9.30 am to 12 pm and our programs taking place.

Click here -Kallista-Open Day Poster

School Camps: Last week, our Grade 3 & 4 children had a great time at the Flinders Camp. This camp has an activity focus with the children doing a beach walk on the first day then a range of camp activities on the following days. The Grade 5 & 6 children went to camp at Beechworth staying at the “Old Priory”. Their camp has a “history” theme which was an extension of their class unit of work on the first gold discoveries in Australia. You will see from their reports that they keenly lapped up the history found in Beechworth.

To allow camps to take place, the staff need to work as a team and plan every minute of the camp day and night. I would like to thank the teachers and camp parents for their commitment and time.  Without this support, camps would not be possible. Teachers value the relationships that are strengthened during camp as they get to know the children even better. Each child is an individual and each child’s welfare is paramount to us at Kallista. As principal, I am proud of my hard working staff who are so genuinely caring for every child. A school is as good as the quality of its teachers and the fact that Kallista Primary’s positive reputation is spreading, reaffirms the quality of our teachers.