By Derek Schlennstedt
After two years of planning, students with a learning or physical disability will have a new inclusion building to work from at Emerald Secondary College.
The school held an official opening on Tuesday 31 October, with students, staff and community members taking part in a Wurundjeri smoking ceremony before taking a tour of the new inclusion building.
Jodie Doble, principal of Emerald Secondary College said the new building was a testament to the hard work of students, parents and the local community.
“There is an African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child, and it certainly has taken the whole Emerald community to make sure we have got exactly what we want for our children and for their future,” she said at the opening.
Much of the landscaping surrounding the inclusion centre came from VCAL students whose final year project was to construct a garden area for students to enjoy.
Many of the tools and plants used for the space also came from local Emerald businesses, including Mitre 10 and Emerald co-op.
Inside, the building has several rooms including a sensory room, interview room, meeting room and a physio room run by Emerald Hills Physiotherapy.
“Inside we do have a sensory room, intervention rooms, small group meeting rooms, conference room, counselling room, and multi-purpose rooms that we can use for support programs as well as learning and education programs … it really is a fabulous facility,” she said before taking staff and students on a tour.
Though the road to the facility’s construction hasn’t been without its problems, and following James Merlino’s $1.5 million funding announcement in the 2015-’16 budget, there were worries from parents about the future layout.
The new inclusion hub was originally part of a funding promise by Mr Merlino which would replace old school portables where integration students took part in specialised education programs.
Ms Doble said that the new building could not have been done without the help of local community groups and businesses.
“It certainly has taken the whole Emerald community to make sure we have got exactly what we want for our children and for their future,” she said.
“It’s an absolutely amazing facility and I’m very proud of the inclusion leader and all staff.”
