Students at Warracknabeal Special Developmental School will enjoy more practical and exciting learning outside the classroom following the arrival of a new school bus.

Variety the Children’s Charity, a not-for-profit organisation that helps children who are sick, disadvantaged or have special needs, delivered a more than $60,000 Variety Sunshine Coach to the school yesterday.

Warracknabeal Special Developmental School provides education to 40 students aged five to 18 who have intellectual and physical disabilities as well as a range of social, emotional, behavioural and sensory impairments.

Principal Peter Clayton said there was growing demand for a reliable transport method to empower students and enable their learning outside the classroom, particularly with the school itself steadily expanding.

He said the new coach would provide students additional education that fostered their learning and future employability skills.

“With no public transport in the area, and a climate that frequently sees the weather exceeding 40 degrees, walking the four-kilometre round trip into town is not a viable option for the students and faculty,” he said.

“The new Variety Sunshine Coach will allow students to go on camps and excursions, as well as actively participate in pre-vocational classes to assist in developing crucial employability skills as part of the combined Wimmera Specialist Schools program.”

Mr Clayton said these additional experiences would offer students education on real work situations including at a university café, as well as auto detailing and audio-visual programs, graphic arts and GarageBand jam sessions in nearby regional towns.

“We are very grateful for Variety for making this opportunity possible,” he said.

Variety the Children’s Charity aims to help children reach their full potential in life by providing grants, scholarships, running programs and hosting children’s events.

Variety chief executive Mandy Burns said the charity was proud to assist Warracknabeal Special Developmental School.

“It’s fantastic to see the commitment of Warracknabeal SDS to connect their students to the local community,” she said.

“Some of life’s most important learning takes place outside the classroom. The team at Variety is honoured to have the chance to assist the school in making education opportunities more accessible and empowering students to participate in hands-on learning that will prepare them for success in the long run.”

The entire December 18, 2019 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!

The entire December 18,, 2019 edition of AgLife is available online. READ IT HERE!