In the last four years, St Joseph’s has undergone three major stages of facility development to improve the quality of learning spaces in the school. Designed by architect Stanton Dahl and built by Ware Building, this $20 million project will stand St Joseph’s in good stead for the future.

“In 2015, the decision was made to expand the school’s structure to provide education across Years 7 to 12. The developments have ensured the current students and incoming seniors commencing in 2018 will have the necessary facilities to provide greater learning opportunities in a contemporary school environment,” said CSO Assistant Director, Gerard Mowbray.

The new school facilities include:

• Multipurpose hall space that seats up to 1000 people

• Refurbished music rooms

• New hospitality and food technology kitchens

• State-of-the-art TAS facilities

• New cafeteria

• And later this year, refurbished science laboratories.

CSO Facilities Manager, Geoff Whitnall, said, “Until this point, the students didn’t have a suitable group meeting place where they could gather. The school now has a multipurpose hall space that can be used for basketball and other sports, as well as for formal school gatherings and functions. The new associated hospitality and food technology facilities also provide a compatible function for the hall, allowing for the catering of various functions the school may host,” Geoff said.

This is one of the most exciting new features of the school, according to Geoff, who also explains the extent of funding provided by the Government and the diocese. 

“Along with a $2.4 million grant from Commonwealth Australia, approximately $1.8 million was also provided through the diocesan school building fund, as well as $1.5 million from the CSO funds and over $800,000 was contributed by the school,” Geoff said.

St Joseph’s Lochinvar Principal, Paul Greaves was elated by the attendance at the event and finally being able to unveil the new facilities. 

“It was an afternoon to feature the outstanding growth of our school and something we have been working towards for a long time – it has been a privilege to share it with our community,” Paul said.

Testimonials:

Hospitality teacher, Julie Elliott
“I am very appreciative of the CSO  allowing staff at St Joseph’s, such as myself to work in collaboration with the architects to design a space for our students that’s flexible, interactive and suits my vision for the future of the school. I was able to provide a lot of input which I am very happy about.”

Assistant Principal, Nicholas Wickham
“One of the major benefits of the upgrade is the multipurpose facilities. The hospitality room for example gives students a taste of what real world life is like by providing them with the necessary skills and experiences they need to pursue a career in hospitality. It will be especially beneficial when we host functions in the school hall.” 

Music teacher, Louiza Mavros
“The music room opened on Monday and the students are already loving it. It is a contemporary design structured to run more than two classes at once, as the classes are interconnected to encourage team teaching and collaborative learning.”

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