The first prospective student of a new Sunshine Coast school has toured the site, where earthworks have started.
Everleigh and her parents Gretta and Patrick Little got an exclusive look at the location for Notre Dame College at Bells Creek with foundation principal Dan McShea. They also viewed the future school via a 3D model.
Works are underway on a 7.9-hectare plot on Aura Boulevard, preparing it for the initial stage of the new Prep to Year 12 college, including five new buildings with airconditioned general learning areas, administration block, sports court and car park that will be completed by 2025.
Related story: Principal named, enrolments open for Coast’s newest school
At Notre Dame’s temporary school office at Stockland Baringa, Mr McShea has the pivotal role of meeting, enrolling and welcoming new families while spearheading the recruitment of 15 new staff members who will educate the first cohort of 200 new students starting in January 2025.
“There has been significant demand for a Prep to Year 12 school within the Bells Creek area and it’s incredibly exciting for our community who can now not only enrol their children at our college but also see a 3D model of what our college will look like once complete,” he said via a BCE media release.
Mr and Mrs Little are among the first few parents to enrol their daughter, aged 4, who they hope will start Prep at the college in 2025.
Mrs Little said the new college would mean her children, including one-year-old Amelia, can one day walk to school.
“When we were building our home in Banya, we saw a Catholic school was coming,” she said.
“Little did we know it would be within walking distance from the school.
“As a former Siena Catholic College student, I felt Notre Dame College would be the perfect place for my child to start their Catholic education journey.
“The school motto of compassion, courage and hope also resonated with us. It’s something we are already trying to instill in our daughters, and we felt this helped cement for us that Notre Dame College was the right school.”
Mrs Little added that Everleigh was so excited for “big school”.
“When we drive past the Notre Dame College site, Everleigh always says, ‘That’s where my school will be built’,” she said.
Construction started in December and will continue this year before the completion of Stage 1 works in time for the 2025 school year, with the school now accepting enrolments for Prep to Year 3 and Year 7.
By 2030, the College will cater to 1800 students and employ 280 staff.
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