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Owing to the unprecedented flood in March 2022, Living School has moved forward on its strategic plan to secure E Block at the SCU’s Lismore Campus as the home of our new Academy and a temporary home for our new school, while we undergo urgent repairs to our buildings.
There will be remodelling of the building to suit our unique needs – with safety and play areas key strategic intentions.
The benefits of this building will be many. In terms of space, we will have access to a new purpose-built science laboratory, a lecture theatre, a music room and rehearsal rooms, an art room, offices, learning spaces.
We will also gain, via scheduling, access to the swimming pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, bouldering space.
We will have a rainforest beside our room as well as access to a full live music recording studio with green wall. Being sited on the University’s incredible grounds, we have access to all of the amazing facilities.
Our strategic plan is on track – even if water has flooded some physical spaces.
We welcome Pasi Sahlberg’s family to our community. Petra and Pasi have relocated to the Northern Rivers so their two boys can enrol in Living School.
With his recent appointment at the School of Education, SCU in Lismore – we are looking to establish incredible links to the university for years to come.
Our focus is to grow an institute of progressing schooling, and have MORE teachers integrated with our school. The benefits are enormous. We will look to research via two PhD students mapping our curriculum, academic programmes and progress.
We will have more trainee teachers working with our students – maximising our support of individual learning needs.
Over the last week, John has met with insurers and we are focusing on our Business Interruption funding to ensure we support Lismore and our school’s immediate needs.
Our initial discussions involve immediate redevelopment of the Brown and Jolly site. Living School’s desire is to get the students feeling at home, ensure we utilise our funding for our future needs, and promote our confidence in the Lismore CBD. We believe we can be a beacon of hope for those who are wanting to re-engage with the heart of Lismore.
While this is an immediate resolve, we are also looking at our Conway Street site – and the flood has brought forward opportunities to increase play spaces and redefine the buildings and resources we need. We want to define Conway Street as a Kindergarten to Year 4 specific identity. This means we can ensure our facilities are young-children friendly.
We need you to support our dreams. With financial support via our donations page (please do support us – we need you to help us develop our future – donate@living.school) and your ongoing belief in what we are doing, WE can unite to create a truly progressive and involved community in Lismore.
The final two pieces in the puzzle of Living, is our revamped learning site at the farm. We are securing a temporary campus status at the farm and creating more infrastructure to support academic and exploratory learning. These sites have been erected over the last week – and build on the incredible work of Joe and Mick (last year).
To gain access to these sites, we are now able to realise our dream of mobile classrooms. With our Business Interruption funding, we are looking at purchasing buses that can be fully equipped with learning platforms (DVDs, audio) that are programmable and education-based.
The buildings will give us an incredible opportunity to provide immersive nature-based learning, which we know supports wellness.
Included in this option is the establishment of a professional service for teachers/staff via two incredible professional psychologists with trauma support backgrounds. As well, we have ensured our Employee Assistance Program is accessible.