General News
13 May, 2024
New playground to compliment primary school’s $2 million redevelopment
With over $2 million in upgrades to its main building on the verge of competion, the Tarnagulla Primary School has received a further $250,000 from the Federal Government to improve the school’s playground facilities. Tarnagulla was one of 67...
With over $2 million in upgrades to its main building on the verge of competion, the Tarnagulla Primary School has received a further $250,000 from the Federal Government to improve the school’s playground facilities.
Tarnagulla was one of 67 public schools supported by the second round of the Schools Upgrade Fund, which prioritises infrastructure for schools in low-socioeconomic communities to support First Nation students and students with disability.
Tarnagulla Primary School principal Leigh Mellberg said the replacement of the current playground is a welcome addition for all students.
“The playground has been there for more than 20 years and other than the fact that it is a bit old and tired, the main issue is all equipment is under the assumption that all users have a fit and able body to use it,” he said.
“Needless to say these days we are far more aware of students with a diverse range of needs — we have one student currently in a wheelchair and another student starting this week with similar needs.
“The most important thing for us is to make the playground a much more inclusive place, with elements where students can use it no matter their ability or disability.”
While grant applications state that projects must be completed by June 30, 2026, Mr Mellberg is confident the playground will be completed well before then, with optimistic suggestions already being made by current students.
“We have started asking our students, particularly our older students, about what they would like to see out of the new space,” he said.
“They have come up with some of the most weird and wonderful ideas — one suggestion which made me laugh was a flying fox from the top of a tree.
“We want the kids to feel as though they have been a part of the process and they are well aware of our students who do have additional needs so we will obviously take their suggestions into consideration.”
The school also received over $1.8 million from the State Government to help upgrade and modernise the school’s main building, with support from additional funds allowing the school to build ramping, decking, disabled toilets as well as replace wooden windows and doors, bringing the project total to over $2 million.
Mr Mellberg said the building project, which started in late 2020, is virtually completed with the other works progressing quickly.
“[The building] is now done, a certificate of occupancy has been approved but not issued, so we are just waiting for a piece of paper to come in the mail that says it is complete — the rest of the works, the ramps and the disability toilet will probably be completed in August,” he said.
“There is a new kitchen facility which allows us to easily incorporate kitchen type activities into our program.
“There is also a new office, seems an odd thing to say, but up until this point there was no office and anything we wanted to talk about that was more confidential, we would have to go outside to talk about it.
“The ability to be able to keep our students comfortable is important because we know it is a part of a good learning environment.”
Mr Mellberg said these funds and projects are essential for rural schools to ensure they can provide quality education.
“As a smaller school we are enormously grateful when we get funding like this because it is not just for us, it is also for the community,” he said,
“If there is a new basketball court that goes in or new playground equipment, we have ex-students and students who are not here yet that will use it.
“We work the best we can with the finances we have available and we are thankful we are getting this round of upgrades to really improve this schools capacity to cope and attract students that have those broader needs.”
