THE hall at Longbeach Anglican Church – St Chads is receiving a much-needed facelift thanks to a group of dedicated students.
Mount Eliza Secondary College, Padua College, Cranbourne East Secondary College, Narre Warren South P-12 College, Frankston High School, and Bayswater Secondary College students teamed up last week to paint and renovate the hall. The children are part of the Hands On Learning program.
Hands On Learning is administered by Save the Children. The program, founded 25 years ago by Frankston teacher Russell Kerr, aims to improve student engagement and attendance by giving them hands-on projects to tackle. 140 Victorian schools run the program.
Hands On Learning network development manager Zoe Wilson said the students had made a big improvement to the Thames Promenade hall. She said “the Longbeach Community Hall in Chelsea is an important community gathering place but was in need of a fresh coat of paint as well as some TLC for the garden.”
“Hands On Learning students from six different schools in South East Melbourne – Mount Eliza Secondary College, Padua College Mornington, Cranbourne East Secondary College, Narre Warren South P-12 College, Frankston High School and Bayswater Secondary College – joined forces to complete an ambitious project to refurbish and paint the venue, giving it a new lease on life,” she said.
“Undertaking authentic hands-on projects like this is a big part of what makes the Hands On Learning program so successful – by creating opportunities for students to discover their talents, they experience success and gain confidence while also contributing to the wellbeing of their communities.”