Enrolments are now open for Murrumbateman Public School Kindergarten to Year 6 Classes of 2024. Murrumbateman Public School is located at 2 Fairley Street Murrumbateman and opened for the 2023 school year.
The school is still growing and expanding, starting off the year with an initial enrolment of 92 students and successfully growing to 107 as of June 2023.
Murrumbateman Public School Principal Liz Beasley spoke to the Yass Valley Times about the young school, what sets it apart from other schools, what students have enjoyed in their first year, and what curious parents should expect from 2024.
“The start of our year has been very successful, students are happy to come to school and the parents have been happy with our inclusive approach, said Liz.
“We have a good spread of students from K to 6, which is effective as we focus on students’ developing their collaborative and problem-solving skills. We promote working together to solve problems and consider different aspects of learning. The highlight is having students in the school, after many years of waiting for a school to reopen in Murrumbateman. All the kids are happy, some have moved from other schools and they’re really happy to be here. I
love watching the students running into school from the bus and the kiss ‘n’ drop zone.”
Liz notes that a recurring positive from parents feedback is the locality for Murrumbateman families, requiring the parents and children to not have to travel between towns for school.
“They are telling me that the move has been really helpful for their families, including more family time as the kids aren’t travelling the longer distances, said Liz.
A special feature of Murrumbateman Public School, and one that was only possible due to the school’s very recent development, is the adoption of the co-teaching model, as well as more modern learning spaces for more freedom in learning and expression.
“Because we’re new, we’re built for 21st-century learning. We have learning spaces instead of classrooms and the kids can move throughout those spaces, depending on their learning needs or the activities they are doing that day”, said Liz.
Learning Spaces are based on Thornburg’s Zones of Learning and include the Campfire, where students gather to hear direct instruction. The Cave, a place for reflective and individual learning time. The Waterhole is a place for social learning – students talk and discuss the learning to help them understand. The expectations of each space were co-developed between students and teachers.
“When we go out to the workforce we’re not just sitting behind desks. We’re working with people, collaborating with people, so this whole learning space is built to help students build these 21st-century thinking skills; problem-solving and collaborative skills. We are helping students understand that there are a lot of ways to learn.”
“We need to be brave and challenge what has been done before. We need to be innovative in our approach to education to ensure our students are learning the skills they need for their future paths. We also need to consider what is best for our students, what it is they need.
Student voice is invaluable and empowers students to have a positive impact beyond our school and into the community. Students are key to everything we do, it’s their school.”
“An example of student voice is the fact that the new playground equipment was not purchased before the students began at the school. We wanted to hear from the students what they wanted. Years 3-6 spent Term 1 designing the playground and then presented their designs to me. These designs will be the basis for our new playground equipment.”
The students recently voted for some play based learning equipment, voting to have a police station, bakery/café and a drive-through burger/ice cream hut. This play area will also incorporate a new sandpit.
“I could have put them in last year, it would have been easier, but I believe it’s their school, they should have a say in what they want”, said Liz.
Murrumbateman Public School also involves itself in the wider community, having established a relationship with Landcare to allow for gardening, the local Karate club operates out of their hall and Dazzle Dance will be working with Murrumbateman Public School next term.
Murrumbateman is a growing town, with several new land developments in planning. As a result, Murrumbateman Public School prioritises local enrolments.
Liz said, “Murrumbateman Public School is open to curious parents for the Enrolment Evening on Tuesday, the 27th of June, where we can take interested parents for a tour and tell them everything they need to know about Murrumbateman Public School.”
Griffin Palen
