By Shelby Brooks
A new running track and undercover sports court at Bayles Regional Primary School have kept students active since the beginning of the school year.
Principal Alison Andrews said the old gravel track had plenty of potholes to cause hazards but the new surface ensured a safe running space for her students.
“We have very active kids and they need brain breaks to help them focus on learning,” she said.
“There was nowhere for them to go when the weather turned bad.
“The new undercover area means they can be active and burn off energy all year round.”
In the last 10 years, Bayles Primary School has grown by an estimated 60 per cent, Ms Andrews said.
They now boast 170 students, a far jump from the 50 to 60 they used to have.
“We get a lot of overflow from Kooweerup and Lang Lang as those towns grow bigger and bigger,” Ms Andrews said.
Teachers got busy in lockdown, turning the original chook house into a greenhouse for the school’s Grow4Growth program.
The program encourages students to get their hands dirty and learn about the fundamentals of growing your own food and discovering the journey from vegie patch to dinner table.
A new sensory garden in the prep area is also under construction.
“Our kids go home dirty. They love getting involved in gardening,“ she said.
Ms Andrews also hand painted the school bathrooms to brighten the usually unpleasant spaces.
“That’s what happens when you get bored in lockdown,” she said, laughing.
Bayles students recently participated in ‘Spud Olympics’, where each student decorated a potato ‘athlete’ and competed in events like best slider, best roller and best sailor (in a sail boat).
