By Jessica Micallef
Mount Macedon Primary School pupils are enjoying a new outdoor learning area and technology facilities.
The school’s $472,000 science, technology, engineering, art and music (STEM) centre and outdoor covered learning area were unveiled earlier this month by Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas.
School principal Trish Hyland said the STEM centre was designed for hands-on learning.
“It’s a lovely explicit teaching area,” she said. “The space has tables for them to work on and then we have the outdoor deck, which is used for music, art and even cooking.”
Ms Hyland said the centre and outdoor space had been a long time coming for the school.
“We were given the money in May, 2017,” she said. “We went through a significant planning process. The building started in August, 2018, and was completed in March this year.
“It is important to us that we continue to get them [pupils] ready for the workforce in a way that will make them really successful.
“We are creating children who are ready to enter a world that is constantly changing.
“Our philosophy is learning to learn, not what you know. The learning journey is really important.”
Ms Hyland said the pupils welcomed the STEM centre with open arms.
“It’s their favourite place to be at the school,” she said.
