Active space boost

Students returning to Wangaratta District Specialist School this term received a welcome surprise: a newly-upgraded synthetic grass basketball/netball court, which has replaced their aged asphalt playing surface. The court was installed over the school holidays by Grassports Australia, using a $45,000 Active Schools grant from the state government. The school found out in term four last year that it had been successful in applying for the funding, which is allocated to 100 schools each year, and staff have been working over the last six months to make arrangements for the project. Replacement of the cracked asphalt surface, which had been in place for more than 20 years, with the much more inviting synthetic court took place over the last school holidays. WDSS students were delighted when presented with the change as term four kicked off last week. The school's physical education team of Rowan Barrow and Jordan Lovett saw the Active Schools grant as an exciting opportunity to transform the school's facilities into a safer, more accessible and inclusive space for students with disability. "By combining the Active Schools grant with our PE allocation and additional funding from WDSS, we have been able to invest in a court space that will support our students, staff and community for years to come," Rowan said. "We are incredibly grateful to the Active Schools Grant team, in particular Belinda Dutton, our regional advocate, the Victorian Department of Education for supporting this project, and to the WDSS leadership team for providing the additional funding needed to bring our vision to life. "For our school community, this project is about much more than improving a court; it is about creating opportunities, improving access and levelling the playing field, so every student has a safe and welcoming place to be active." Jordan said the space was used by students during recess and lunch breaks, and by middle and senior students for their PE sessions. "It's a lot safer, the lines are much clearer now, and it enables us to play more games," he said. "Overall, it's much more inviting, so the kids are drawn to it." He said students had enjoyed games of basketball, futsal, soccer and dodgeball on the court in recent weeks, and were relishing the chance to be active in the new space.

Active space boost

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