Visit celebrates a classy design

By Lia Bichel
STUDENTS and teachers at Dandenong High School welcomed a special visitor for a guided tour last week.
Governor-General Quentin Bryce met with students and teachers after accepting an invitation from principal Martin Culkin to visit the award-winning designed school.
Ms Bryce told him she was interested in meeting with the student leadership group and teachers and seeing first-hand the diverse student learning community as well as the learning centres.
“I am delighted that the Governor-General has accepted our invitation to come and see the work the school is doing so successfully with such a large and diverse group of students in a socio-economically depressed environment” he said.“We want to show her about learning and teaching in a new environment. We are very excited and honoured. It’s magnificent.”
With a student population of 2100, Dandenong High School is one of Australia’s largest public school campuses following its recent merger with Doveton and Cleeland secondary colleges.
Ms Bryce saw first-hand works completed at the halfway point of a three-stage, $45 million building redevelopment program that will ultimately house all students.
The school is developing seven SWIS (Schools Within Schools) Learning Centres with 300 students, from Years 7 to 12, to be accommodated in each of the seven houses.
The school landed an entry into the world design awards for its newly constructed learning centre.
The Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) awarded the 2010 major facility construction award to Melbourne architects Hayball in association with Mary Featherston Interior Design.
Mr Culkin said the design was a “home grown” design with a number of sustainable features that the school worked with the architect to create.
Ms Bryce told Mr Culkin she was impressed and exclaimed that the environment was vital to a student’s education. “It’s a great privilege to be in this role and see there are such wonderful new ways of learning” she said.
Dandenong High School is also involved with an $8 million federally-funded Trade Training Centre development to be located on the Chisholm campus, and a federally-funded $2 million Language Centre which is to be built on the school site.