Secret Harbour Primary School, in Secret Harbour
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| Secret Harbour Primary School opened on 29 January 1997 as a Level 4 Primary School. In 2001 it became a Level 5 Primary School due to the large growth in student enrolments.NATURE OF CATCHMENT AREA AND THE COMMUNITY The vast majority of students live in the suburb of Secret Harbour - which is still a relatively new and developing housing estate. The Secret Harbour Residents Association is attempting to maintain a feel of country lifestyle whilst remaining relatively close to the capital city. This is also true of the school, which is attempting to maintain a small school feel and continuing to develop its caring and supportive approaches to the education of our students. The Parents and Citizens group is very active and supportive of the school.STAFFING PROFILE The school is fortunate to have a very dedicated teaching and non-teaching staff. There is a range of experience on the staff from graduate to very experienced. The length of service at the school varies with some staff being appointed in 1997 (the foundation year) and others being progressively selected and added as the school population increased. The school has Department of Education and Training (Day Labour) cleaning and gardening.SPECIAL FEATURES Secret Harbour Primary School consists of two Pre Primary centres, a Kindergarten centre, three Teaching Blocks, a Library Resource Centre, Specialist Art and Music rooms and an Administration building. A Covered Assembly Area incorporating a Dental Therapy Unit, School Canteen and storeroom facilities, toilets and a large landscaped grass area and oval, shared with the Rockingham Council, complete the school. The Library Resource Centre is the physical and information hub of the school. It serves as the communications hub for Information Technology throughout the school and an innovative Information Technology alcove has been included for student use. The three teaching blocks house 12 classrooms and a purpose designed music and art room leading onto a courtyard. Each block has an activity area and a covered undercroft along with toilets. The storerooms of each block provide storage facilities for curricula areas. Education Support facilities have been included in two of the teaching blocks. There are 3 classrooms with specialist Therapy rooms and toilet facilities to house future Education Support programs within the school. The school grounds are fully landscaped and reticulated from a bore. Hard courts and cricket nets are included on the site. The Pre Primary and Kindergarten play areas are fully fenced. The P&C have installed playground equipment around the school. The school has close links to a range of community organisations. For example, the Secret Harbour Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service is actively involved with the school and a co-operative Fire Safety education program has evolved from this association. The school is continuing to grow but this rate of growth is almost impossible to predict because of the rate at which new subdivisions become available and the range of home buyers. Some residents in Secret Harbour are older people (with no children), younger couples (with no children) and families. To cater for this growth in student enrolment transportable classrooms are added to the site as required.SCHOOL DECISION MAKING AND CONSULTATIVE PROCESS A range of staff committees exist for cost centre management and policy development. The more formal School Council has been operational since 1997.SCHOOL HISTORY The original Secret Harbour Primary School that operated from 1997 to 2001 was a new concept school (adapted from the schools in houses idea) and believed to be the first school in a shopping centre in Australia. The notion of a leased school in shops provided a local school to the community years before a permanent building would have usually been constructed. Following the successful school in shops implementation at Secret Harbour similar schools have now been utilized in developing suburbs. The school in shops consisted of 2 Pre Primary centres (a block of 3 shops); 7 teaching areas and a library resource centre (a block of 10 shops) and an administration centre (a block of 2 shops). Whilst the shop frontage appeared very much like a retail centre, the back of the building resembled a linear school with a verandah, Covered Assembly Area, toilets and a large landscaped grass area and oval. As the school population continued to grow transportable classrooms were utilized until the permanent school was constructed. The lack of wet areas or multi-purpose rooms was a problem for the school. The four year old Kindergarten was housed in the adjacent Secret Harbour Community Centre, which was leased from the Rockingham City Council. Every classroom (P-7) had at least two computers with access to the school's Local Area Network and the Internet. It is interesting to note that following five years of operation the parents, students, staff and wider community no longer perceived the buildings as shops but rather as a school. A full history of the Secret Harbour Primary School in Shops is available on the school website - www.shps.edwa.net.auVersion: May 2005 | ||||
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Date | Rating | The good... | The bad... | And overall... | ||
| 2009-01-28 11:46:09 Added by Anonymous Report abuse
| Lots of green grasss areas for kids to play, both a junior and senior playground, air conditioned rooms throughout school, 3 pre primary rooms and 2 kindy rooms, good parking for parents including a Kiss and Drive, all teachers are friendly and fair, consistent in discipline and have high expectations | can't think of any | A well presented school with excellent staff and fabulous facilities in anew and modern school | ||
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| 2009-06-02 00:38:49 Added by Anonymous Report abuse
| Secret Harbour has really friendly and professional staff who genuinely care about the children and their families. There are lots of extras available. | Can't think of any. | Great school. | ||
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