New school to offer ‘unique learning experiences’

Baldivis residents will soon have another option for their children’s schooling, with the suburb’s first Catholic school set to open its doors next year.

Mother Teresa Catholic School, on the corner of Sixty Eight and Eighty roads, will be up and running by February 3 and up to 140 students are enrolled to start in kindergarten to Year 2.

Foundation principal Geri O’Keefe said the school boasted a unique architectural design, with a focus on technology, sustainability and community.

“It will be wonderful,” she said.

“We are trying to build a 21st century school and technology will feature strongly in it.

“The kids will have lots of access to iPads, touch screens and other Apple devices.”

“They (students) are not just going to have one profession for their working lives and because the knowledge a Year 2 child learns is going to be obsolete by the time they are 18, it is about teaching flexibility and resilience,” she said.

Parry and Rosenthal Architects and Education Facility Planners director Paul Rossen said the school design would offer students unique learning experiences and areas to build a sense of community.

“We wanted to create a learning environment which was safe and protected, but also allowed some freedom of movement and interacted well with the environment,” he said.

Mr Rossen said the curved school was built with rammed earth, offered plenty of natural lighting, an easy flow from outside to inside and good ventilation.

“It is a building which enhances and embraces the environment, not shut it out,” he said.

Warnbro MLA Paul Papalia said the new school would help ease the pressure on other schools in the area, which he said were over-subscribed.