Rebecca and Scott's Post Conference Tour

Friday there were 4 possible tours that conference attendees could pre-register for.  Scott and I chose the Albert Park College tour.    There had been a school on the property that was only attacting 7% of the community students, it is now attracting 70% of the yr. 7 and 8's.  It is having a staggered opening and will serve up to Yr. 12 and 950 students.

The school is a 3 storey, open central courtyard, rectangular building ustilizing natural lighting as much as possible.  The external walls are used in a number of ways, glass showcases, balconies, sitting areas, activity areas,,,

The students all have iPads.  No notebooks or textbooks.  The curriculum is online and students can be working on different aspects at the same time and at their own pace.  Class sizes are maxed at 21.  Believe it or not this is a government school! There are NO bells, music, public announcements.  A quiet, peaceful environment and teachers and students get to their classes and activities on time.

The school is all open all day. No locked rooms.  Open space and use concept.  Environmentally conscious with numerous recycling bins throughout.

The staff are all young and technological wizards! This is the science team leader.

Similar to Calgary, there seems to have been little input from science techs in the design and layout of the prep room.  It is small and will lack storage space once the school approaches capacity enrollment.  There is a small, slow water producing, deionizer rather than a distiller for making water and placed in an inconvenient location.  I will save going on about the science department for tech meetings when we get back to Alberta.

The library and the gymnasium.

 

The tours returned to the Hemsphere Centre. The three of us walked to get our car hire, collected our bags and off to the interesting community of Frankston.

You will have to visit this place yourselves to appreciate the uniqueness and variety of the place.  It seems to have all our needs within a few blocks distance of the fantastic beach.