The Local - Mt VictoriaMt Victoria will soon have access to a new community facility, once Clyde Quay School has completed its refurbishment – and the school is hoping neighbours will chip in to help. Jane O’Loughlin reports.
Another milestone has passed in the primary school’s ambitious makeover, with the school hall now moved to a new location on the Elizabeth Street site, upgraded and open for use.
One of the classes has now moved into the hall for a term, while their block is also refurbished.
Toilets have been installed in the hall, along with services for a kitchen, but not the kitchen itself.
Now the school is appealing to the community to ‘kit the kitchen’ – to help it complete its new hall kitchen so it can be used by both the school and the community.
The school is hoping for a helping hand via a Givealittle page.
“We need around $20,000 to $30,000 for the cabinetry, appliances and kitchen sink,” says Phernne Tancock the chair of fundraising group Whanau and Friends.
“Once the kitchen is in it can be used by the students. The older ones are hoping to be able to run a café.”
However, “it’s not just a school hall, it’s resource for the community.”
Having the kitchen means the hall can be rented– something that currently can’t easily be done due to the lack of adjacent toilets and kitchen access.
“The intention is that it will be available for community use after hours.”
The benefit to the community will be a neutral space for people to use that is wheelchair accessible.
Clyde Quay School principal Cameron Ross said he hoped the hall would be complete and ready for community use by the end of the year.
“We are excited to use the hall for a range of activities that benefit our children, and our Mt Victoria community. As well as opportunities for arts or sports groups, community classes and hopefully a table tennis tournament or two, we are working closely with Joel and the Mt Vic Hub about community dinners and other events for us to connect with each other.”
The fundraising team hopes both parents and the wider community will contribute to the cause. To date, much of the funding for the work has come from charities, with generous grants from NZCT, TG McCarthy Trust and the Lotteries Community facilities fund along with two highly successful Taylor Swift concert ticket raffles that captured nationwide attention and brought in money from outside the community.
Tancock says the school is also very grateful to environmental firm Tonkin+Taylor for providing pro bono planning and geotechnical engineering, and Studio Pacific Architecture and Stephenson and Turner who both donated services.
Donations will be accepted through the Givealittle page.
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