25 Apr 2018 Euroa Gazette, Euroa VIC (General News) by Will Murray Modernised facilities will enable innovative learning area EUROA Secondary College received $950,000 from the State Government this week, money which will enable the school to undergo a much-needed modernisation program. ESC was one of 60 regional schools across the state to benefit from a $180.9 million funding announcement from the Andrews State Labor Government. The major funding injection is the first the school has received since 2008, money it used to build a new science and technology wing; the LearnIT Centre. Euroa Secondary College principal Harold Cheung said it was an exciting day for the school, and would ensure its students wouldnt be left behind as the education system evolves and adapts to suit the rapidly changing workforce. We want to modernise our facilities so that every student receives a really innovative learning environment, so we can bring the best out of them, Mr Cheung told the Gazette. This means having access the technologies, access innovative ways of engaging with the curriculum, and having buildings and facilities that support it. As a community, we want our students to have access to the kinds of opportunities that Melbourne school students have, and we also want them to have the facilities that those students have. We will be looking into upgrading our science and technology facilities so that we can access some of the modern approaches to learning that we hear about from Melbourne schools. The school has already begun reconfiguring some of its existing classrooms into more open space environments, which have become the norm when designing 21st century classrooms. This style, Mr Cheung explained, is designed to allow greater collaboration between students, which it is hoped fosters creativity, teamwork and innovation between students. This funding allows us to convert more of our spaces into this type of configuration, Mr Cheung said. We will be working with the Victorian School Building Authority to determine exactly what we can get done with the money weve received, but hopefully we will be able to upgrade and modernise much of our existing wings. Other schools in our region have also received funding from the State Government recently, with Seymour receiving $6.88 million for a major upgrade early this year, Benalla P-12 undergoing a major modernisation program in 2017, and schools in Shepparton in the process of undergoing one of the largest and most ambitious reconfigurations the state has seen as part of the Shepparton Education Plan. Labor Member for Northern Victoria, Jaclyn Symes, said the funding announcements made in recent weeks were part of the governments plan to make sure every regional community has access to a high quality school. No matter where you live in Northern Victoria, students deserve to have a great school Labor is getting on with rebuilding schools across our state to give hard working families the facilities they need.Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.