By GEORGIA WESTGARTH
CLOSE to two years in the making, Merinda Park Learning and Community Centre now has a Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) hub for its growing student base.
From six students to 35, the Cranbourne North centre’s VCAL program has vastly expanded over more than eight years and now employs up to three trainers.
Lyn Craig from the centre said the two new portable classrooms mean the students weren’t crammed into one classroom.
“This means we can take on more students and grow the VCAL program we offer and it has given the students their own space, one they can look after which they have been and feel proud of,” Ms Craig said.
The two classrooms and joining verandah were installed in June and officially opened late last month.
Costing the centre in excess of $150,000, Ms Craig said it was a long time coming.
“We’re the last resort for so many people that the school system won’t take or those that dislike school or have a learning disability, and these classrooms mean they don’t have to pack everything up and it’s great for running night classes as well,” she explained.
The portables are also securely fenced off and named after the centre’s CEO Jan Gilchrist.
“It was our president Kevin Harris’s idea to name the portables after Jan and she was speechless when we revealed to her the sign,” Ms Craig said.
