Penola’s Mary MacKillop Memorial School recently received some major redevelopments, which has created three dynamic learning spaces for students.

Mary MacKillop principal Nicole Coote said there was lots of excitement amongst students when they moved into the new spaces.

The school received a federal grant which assisted in the redevelopment and they worked with Edge Architects and Dycer Constructions.

The redeveloped 1936 building is part of the Junior Primary classes, which Ms Coote said had not been upgraded for a long time.

“They are fantastic, dynamic, 21st Century learning spaces that offer a really comfortable learning environment with different opportunities for breakout spaces in those learning spaces,” Ms Coote said.

AT the other end of the redevelopment is a space for the Early Years program, which has direct access into a fenced area outside for a safe play space.

Another addition was the Woods Learning Centre, named after Father Julian Tenison Woods, which can be used by all classes for visual media arts lessons, science and the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program.

A new nature play space will also be built by Climbing Tree later in the year.

Ms Coote lots of calming, natural tones were used throughout the learning spaces.

“Green also is a calming colour and that brings in the outside to the inside,” she said.

Ms Coote said teachers allowed students to have agency over their learning environments by asking them what they wanted, how they saw the space and if there was anything that did not work for them.

“That’s been a really big focus for us as educators this year is making sure that children understand student agency and what agency is of their learning,” she said.

“Depending on how you set up the learning environment, it can actually be part of that educational understanding and process for children.”