100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

New Matthew Flinders learning facility to create a world of wonder

Do you have a news tip? Click here to send to our news team.

Don’t ditch sunscreen amid SPF label concerns, researcher urges

A University of the Sunshine Coast PhD researcher is urging people not to ditch sunscreen amid news about some brands failing to match their More

Principal of new college wins top award

The principal of the Coast’s newest Prep to Year 12 college has been recognised for his dedication to the community. Notre Dame College foundation principal More

Queensland teachers strike over pay and safety

The school day will be in disarray in Queensland, with teachers going on strike at state schools over pay, safety and staff shortages. Thousands of More

New college proposed for former supermarket site

A new college that could accommodate up to 300 students has been proposed for a site that previously had approval for a shopping centre. A More

$11m college stadium expansion takes shape

A new health and fitness precinct at a prestigious Sunshine Coast college is taking shape, with the first stage expected to be completed by More

College set to expand with new campus

A senior secondary school that supports disengaged and at-risk young people is planning to expand its footprint on the Sunshine Coast with a new More

Primary students at Matthew Flinders Anglican College will soon be learning in their new Wonderarium – a place which aims to excite curiosity through literature, artifacts, works of art and provocations.

The $1.3 million state-of-the-art facility will open mid-2021 as part of the five-year Flinders Masterplan.

The masterplan will see a suite of new agile, contemporary learning spaces constructed for the College’s 1,300 students from Prep to Year 12.

The Wonderarium is located alongside the College’s new Years 5 and 6 Precinct, to open in January 2021, also as part of the Flinders Masterplan.

The Wonderarium is wholly funded by the Flinders Foundation, which aims to connect, engage and support the College for the long-term benefit of its students.

Foundation Chair Mr John Gannon said the project was an exciting addition to the quality facilities on offer at the College.

“Flinders has a reputation for providing the highest quality education to its students, and the Flinders Foundation is committed to supporting and enabling this mission,” Mr Gannon said.

“The Foundation is delighted to fund the Wonderarium as an innovative and aspirational facility that will help to boost student engagement and outcomes now and into the future.”

Flinders Head of Primary, Trudi Edwards, acknowledged the Foundation’s generous philanthropic contribution to the college with the Wonderarium project.

“The new Wonderarium will provide a sense of wonder, connection and inspiration, welcoming students, staff and parents to explore their creativity in an environment of books and adventure,” Mrs Edwards said.

“It is made possible thanks to the financial support of the Flinders Foundation,” she said.

“At Flinders, we design innovative and aspirational facilities such as the Wonderarium because we recognise that to teach well, we must ensure that creativity and innovation are always present.

“As a Primary School, we have an incredibly important role to provide contexts, environments and a culture that enables and inspires our students to enliven their curiosity, creativity and critical thinking.

“Although excellent teaching requires organisation and routines, it should never be inflexible.

“While our Wonderarium will teem with beautiful literature, it invites students to explore more than just books.

“It also seeks to engage creative and critical thinking and experiences.”

The Wonderarium will feature ever changing and evolving physical and electronic displays, art works and items of interest to draw students into new ways of seeing, perceiving, understanding and engaging with their world.

Outdoors, the facility will feature landscaped sensory gardens with seating pods for quiet reflection and collaborative work, and decked learning areas.

As an example of the facility’s potential, “Wonder Lessons” will be led by the Flinders Head of Information, Literature and Resources.

Lessons will be purposefully curated to draw on children’s natural curiosity. What is courage? How did football start? Why do humans like music? What is empathy? What would happen to earth if all the insects disappeared?

Students will soon learn that the Wonderarium is a place to engage the heart as much as the head.

 For more information visit www.mfac.edu.au  

Subscribe to SCN’s free daily news email

This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
[scn_go_back_button] Return Home
Share