07 Feb 2018 Seymour Telegraph, Seymour VIC (General News) by Gus McCubbing Symes announces $6.88 million school bonus Seymour College is on its way to a multi-million-dollar overhaul designed to turn it into a cutting-edge centre for education and a major community asset. The school has been given $6.88 million which will cover a new building for the schools middle and senior students as well an extension for food technology. It will align closely with another major project on the Seymour College site an integrated community/learning hub which will host a range of activities including maternal and child health services, an early learning centre, extended day care, allied health, and parenting and community groups. Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes joined students to announce the funding. Ms Symes said the new facilities would provide a big boost to students with great new spaces to enrich their learning experience in and outside the classroom. It is important to make sure every student has access to the latest facilities and modern teaching to give them a great start in life and I am proud to be helping the Seymour community achieve that, she said. The kids have been waiting a while and to be able to give them that news felt pretty special particularly chatting to a lot of those Grade 5s and 6s, whose years 7 to 12 are going to be in state-of-the-art facilities, they were pretty excited. Seymour College principal Gail Hardman said the colleges council had been working tirelessly in putting its case forward to the government. The community has been extremely patient, because the merging of the schools started back in 2009 and the new buildings here were completed in 2013, so this next stage really affirms to our students we care about them and we value them as students, because theyve got very old facilities at the moment, she said. But theyre also now able to access 21st century learning facilities . and that will further increase their opportunities and hopefully their aspirations to go into the workforce or for further study, Ms Hardman said. Continued Page 6 Whole community to benefit From Page 1 So our parents, staff and students are very excited today, because this is a great thing for our community. Ms Hardman also said the new developments would be a gamechanger in terms of the everyday schooling experience for Seymour College students. The main problem at the moment, she said, was that the current buildings of the secondary student centre were located on a large block, meaning there was a lot of distance students moving between classes. The students will be able to access their teachers and resources, and theyll be a lot closer to the library, she said. Theyll have the concentration . and so well be able to keep an eye on their learning and development, and it will be something nice and bright, with good computer access points a place where they will feel comfortable learning. Adding to this, Ms Hardman said the visual impact of the new building would have a deeply positive impact on the school and the wider community. Children spend a lot of time at school during the day, and families trust us with their children, so if its appealing and it looks exciting and a great place to learn and engage, then it will hopefully affect those people coming through and help our enrolment rates increase, she said. So thats another positive thing for the community. Seymour College assistant principal (7-12 learning community) Derek Rimes said the school had undergone a positive transformation in the past few years. Weve a got a really good teaching staff across the school now who are working together and have a really positive outlook for the future, he said. I think having these new buildings now is really going to give them the opportunities in the secondary school area to work together and really work with the kids in a good space. At the moment the teachers and students are all over the place, so this is an opportunity where they can come work together and its been a real focus in the last few years. Former Member for Seymour Ben Hardman who currently works at the school as the literacy intervention supervisor said it was always important for governments to finish the job it started. When the facilities are nice it does help the students understand that education matters, so those silent messages are strong, he said. Also, from the kids point of view, when they have good facilities, good teachers and some good friends, they see that coming to school is important, and they put more effort in, so I think its really good for the future of Seymour. Member for Euroa Steph Ryan said the announcement had been a long time coming for Seymour and congratulated the school council and the wider school community for their efforts in securing the funding. However, Ms Ryan said the campaign to fully rebuild Seymour College was not finished yet. When Labor came to government, the school community had to start again from square one, she said. Unfortunately the governments announcement is still more than $8 million short of what is required to complete the school rebuild. Its a shame its taken three years for the Andrews Government to part deliver on a promise made by The Nationals three years ago. Ill continue to fight for the full funding we need to completely rebuild Seymour College. Ms Symes said Seymour College played a crucial role in the town, and therefore making sure it was fully equipped to cater for its students helped the broader development of the town. Seymour College is the rock of the community, she said. When the early learning centre opens, this is going to be an educational precinct from birth to Year 12 and potentially beyond, with the training centre on site. So this is going to be the place where the community can connect. Having kids from such a young age as they transition into school . were going to set people on the right path to successful futures. If you were designing schools in communities from scratch, this is what youd be doing youd be having the one-stop shop from birth to 18, Ms Symes said. Caption Text: Great start to year: Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes (left) joined Seymour College students and school principal Gail Hardman (right) to announce a $6.88 million funding boost. Done: Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes and Seymour College principal Gail Hardman seal the deal. Pleased with funding: Seymour College assistant principal Derek Rimes (left) and the former Member for Seymour Ben Hardman (right), who currently works at the school as the literacy intervention supervisor.Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.