Cash boost for Harvey school science lab

Harvey Primary School is one of 100 schools from around the State selected to receive first-round funding to convert a classroom into a science laboratory.

The money is part of a $17 million State Government election pledge to focus on science in schools, which includes $12 million to transform 200 primary school classrooms into science labs by 2021 and an additional $5 million for resources.

Principal Jason Romeo said staff were over the moon about the announcement.

“This funding is going to be huge for us,” Mr Romeo said, adding the school was lucky to have such a great science teacher in Paula Elliot.

“Paula is so passionate about science, so this is amazing for her,” he said.

“We have kitchen science resources at the moment, and this will really lift up what she can do.”

Mr Romeo said having a laboratory at the school would allow students to become familiar with the equipment and scientific methods of investigation they would use once they got to high school. It would also give structure to the kindy and pre-primary programs.

“This really gives students the opportunity to be scientists,” Mr Romeo said.

“These resources will help to stimulate our students’ scientific understanding, boost their knowledge of what science is and how it works, and link the upper school to the high school.”

Schools from all over the State put their hands up for the program, which will see 100 primary school classrooms be converted into science labs in 2018 and 2019, with a further 100 schools selected for 2020.

In addition, each school will receive $25,000 from the $5 million allocation, to purchase laboratory equipment and resources such as 3D models of the solar system and human anatomy, digital microscopes, 3D printers, virtual reality headsets, robotics kits and renewable energy kits.