Our school roll continues to grow. So we are building new classrooms, and upgrading the main building at SWIS for our students, teachers and staff. The Ministry of Education is funding this work and we hope construction will begin on the new building in December 2021. It’s very exciting!
Check out this video where our Principal Toby Stokes introduces and explains the design of the new classrooms.
The final design has been developed with the Ministry of Education using feedback from teachers, staff and Board of Trustees members (all sought throughout 2021) and future students (Year 6 visits to SWIS in August 2020) on the draft concept design.
The final design of the new building and upgrades to the existing main building was confirmed in July 2021 after teachers and staff had an opportunity for final review.
Previously, design concepts were developed by architects MacKenzie Higham, appointed by the Ministry of Education, with the Board of Trustees. To lead this work, the Board created a property sub-committee – led by Board member James Wallace who is an architect – to support our Principal and keep the property development progressing.
Since 2019 we have been asking our staff and students for feedback on the design concepts. While the staff and the Board of Trustees have had access to the designs, our students have been offering feedback about the key elements they deem as necessary in the new build and the upgrade of the current main block. One example of this is their investigation into student school-bag storage along with places to charge and keep the ICT equipment safe.
During 2019 some of our teachers visited a range of schools to see different types of learning and teaching environments in action. Their feedback fed into the design concept.
Landscaping, artificial turf, and covered walkways are outside the scope of this project.
If you have any questions, contact our office and your query will be directed to the right person. The best way to contact us is by using our email address office@swis.school.nz