Official Opening and Dedication of the Fine Arts Building
On Friday 21 May, the Governor of Victoria, Her Excellency the Honourable Linda Dessau AC officially opened our new Fine Arts Building which sits prominently on Kalinda Road next to the Science and Mathematics Faculties. His Grace, Dr Philip Freier, Archbishop of Melbourne also joined us to Dedicate the building. The official opening ceremony held in the George Wood Performing Arts Centre and the Dedication was a great celebration as the new facility provides our community with many more opportunities. The visual arts are an important part of our school curriculum which values creativity and originality in student work.
Increasingly, education is about the student鈥檚 capacity for independent learning, and the new building provides both expansive classroom and work spaces as well as breakout areas where students can work singularly or in small groups. The ground floor of the three-storey building is dedicated to Design and Technology in the area of wood with workshops and machine rooms. There is a fine tradition of wood sculpture and furniture making in the School.
The new facility also provides a dedicated art gallery for the display of student and community works. This is consistent with the School鈥檚 philosophy that we are a community resource enjoyed at times by the wider community. The George Wood Performing Arts Centre, the John King Sports Complex, the indoor swim centre and the playing fields are all made available to community groups during the course of the year attesting to the fact that 性视界 Grammar is not just located in Ringwood but is also an important part of the local community.
At the moment we have a show which celebrates the work of our young artists from each of the Junior, Middle and Senior Schools. Their artistic skills are quite extraordinary, including a large piece produced by all Year 7 students working with our artist in residence.
I acknowledge and thank our choristers and musicians whose skills have been evidenced once again during the opening service. It is uplifting to spend the day surrounded by the energy, enthusiasm, skill and creativity of our visual and performing arts program.
Dr Mark Merry
Principal
