New primary school plans for growth

By Bridget Brady
The school will be built on Pattersons Drive, near Aylmer Road, and will be the second school for the parish of St Kevin’s in Hampton Park. It is planned to be open for the 2010 school year.
A wetlands area and early learning centre are part of the plans for the new school, which will be close to the existing Lynbrook Primary School and the site earmarked for the development of Lynbrook Railway Station.
Mayfield Ward councillor Amanda Stapledon said the new school would help alleviate the high demand for primary schooling in the Lynbrook and Lyndhurst area.
“There are many growing families here and the demand for primary school education is high. The inclusion of an early learning centre is an added benefit to this community,” Cr Stapledon said.
Regional manager for the Catholic Education Office (CEO) Melbourne Jeff Burn said he hoped building would begin by June and be finished by December.
“We’re pretty excited by the open design of the school and how students will be able to access different learning resources as they need to,’ Mr Burn said.
The current principal at St Gerard’s Primary School in Dandenong, Des Dalton, will be the principal of the new school, which has yet to be named.
“We’re looking at creating a wetlands area and to have a lot of other environmentally sustainable design features.
“We are very pleased with the council’s decision … it is exciting.”
Mr Burn said the CEO chose Lynbrook to build a new school because it knew the current Catholic school could not support all of the Catholic families in the area and that all schools had experienced increased enrolment.