Teacher offers up her centre ideas

By Tania Martin
TEACHER Sue Graham of Monbulk Primary School has returned to Australia with a pocket full of ideas for the town’s community centre project.
Ms Graham has spent the past six months touring New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom looking at models of community centres that have a shared use between schools and the community which is similar to what Monbulk is aiming to achieve.
The study tour was awarded to Ms Graham as part of a 2006 Westfield Premier’s $24,000 education scholarship.
The Monbulk Community Centre project is a joint venture between the primary school, the Shire of Yarra Ranges and the community and aims to incorporate a shared school and public library, a pre-school, day group, maternal and child health services plus rooms for social support services and community groups.
Ms Graham said it is essential for the success of the Monbulk Community Centre project for everyone to work together to develop the centre.
On her travels she witnessed several success stories of communities working together with schools to create living and learning centres which everyone can share.
“I saw learning centres in Christchurch that buzzed with preschoolers story-time, while in one of the computer suites adults were brushing up on their internet skills and in another students from the adjoining school were involved in more formal computer workshops,” she said.
Ms Graham said shared space like the centre in Christchurch is what is needed to make Monbulk’s community centre project a success.
She said if designed carefully, the Monbulk centre will give community groups bigger and more useable space to run programs.
“I’m now looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead in the development of the Monbulk centre and I am excited about the day we will see it in full use,” she said.