Keeping elements at bay

A SIZEABLE grant has put students at St Joseph’s College in the shade.
The Ferntree Gully Catholic School will receive $75,000 from the Federal Government to build a shelter in its art courtyard.
The roof will give students a covered outdoor area of more than 408 square metres in which to escape wet weather and days of intense sun.
La Trobe MP Jason Wood announced the grant, the maximum available from the Investing in Our Schools program, on Wednesday, 22 November.
Sue Martin, business manager at St Joseph’s, hoped to add seats and tables to complete the area.
She said the grant was a very big plus for a school of 900 boys who had to compete for tree shade in hot and wet weather.
“This way they have a very large area they can sit under to have their lunch and have outdoor classrooms in better weather,” she said.