Facilities News 

 

Dr Denise Clarke                                 Frances Hansen

Acting Assistant Principal              Acting Facilities Manager

Facilities Coordinator

There are updates occurring in playgrounds around the school.

Playground 3 swings will be stabilised and new swings installed next week. Playground 4 trampoline net will be installed later this week. A trampoline has been ordered for Playground 2 and will be installed soon. We are looking at storage options for this area. Playground 1 swings will be replaced soon.

Capital Works Program 

The school was visited by John Duggan (Architect), from the Victorian Schools Building Authority (VSBA) and three architectural firms who were selected  by VSBA from a panel of approved suppliers. 

The architects were given a briefing about the specialised nature of the school, the programs we are running now, and hope to provide in the future, and the challenges of the current facilities.  The briefing included a walk through all the areas of the school and further explanation on how the various areas of the school operated. The short comings of various buildings were also discussed.  The architects asked questions about programs and facilities so when they left, they had a comprehensive overview of the school.

The architects  have a short period to submit a written plan to a VSBA panel which will include the school, the region and VSBA representatives. Part of the brief is that the school will need to be functional while construction takes place. This will be a challenge in itself.

The panel will read the submissions and rank against a set of criteria. This will be followed by interviews of each of the presenting firms. The panel with then make a determination and based on the criteria the most suitable firm will be selected for the Jacana Project.  

Each school type in Victoria has a facilities schedule that is determined by the current and projected enrolment. Based on the latest schedule and the projected increase in student numbers over the next 5 - 10 years Jacana School is entitled to more specialist rooms and class space. 

Generally schools in Victoria are 80% permanent buildings and 20% relocatable, so that if there is a decrease in the population, additional unused spaces can be transferred to other schools as needed.   Currently, Jacana has approximately 20% permanent buildings and 80% relocatable buildings. This will be re-dressed in the new Master plan.