School redevelopment

It is a great feeling now that the school redevelopment process has actually become a reality. Whilst there is still a great deal of uncertainty about timeline and on what site we will eventually redevelop Island School - the process is definitely underway. We know that by the end of August 2012 we will have a detailed concept brief for the next design stage and we will have a full technical feasibility study for both the existing and the alternative site at North Point.

Whilst we may have our own personal views on which route would best benefit the community, it is essential that we explore both as ultimately the decision as to which one we take will not be in our hands.

It is such an exciting time as we are now developing a clearer idea of how our curriculum will develop over the next 2-3 years; the timing of the redevelopment process has helped us here. Imagining what bricks and mortar need to exist in order to support our vision for teaching and learning has literally helped to make our thinking more ‘concrete’!

We are asking ourselves fundamental questions about how the new campus can best reflect our core educational aims. We are agreed that we need to identify what it is about our existing building that we might need to ‘take with us’ and what essential elements of the Island School spirit need to be embodied and made explicit in the new design. Clearly we need to ensure that all that is great about Island School is held onto and cherished by the new design, but at the same time we need to ensure we are more outward looking and take the best features from cutting edge designs from around the world.

A conversation about school design does not get very far without focusing on the need for flexible and agile learning spaces. Future buildings need to be able to adapt to accommodate changing educational trends and the emergence of new technologies. They need to be able to support different modes of learning and yet still allow for specialism by subject. Of course it is very difficult to have a dependable ‘crystal ball’ with regard to these issues, but we do know that standard classrooms with one teaching focus area are just not good enough for our students anymore.

We are fortunate enough to be working alongside the architects Ronald Lu & Partners who really value stakeholder input and want to ensure that whatever design we develop reflects the real needs of all groups within our school community. To that end there will be opportunities to be involved in developing the vision for the new school. To kick this process off we will be holding an Information Event for Parents at 7.00pm in the School Hall on Wednesday 18th January. Please join us to hear about the project in more detail and to find out how you can contribute your ideas and views.

Gareth Stevens - Vice Principal