Good things come to those who wait. For five years the staff, families and students at Sacred Heart Primary School in Diamond Creek have been waiting for their extensive development project to be completed. Finally, the wait is over and the newly refurbished building is ready!
And just in time too, explains Gina Murphy, Deputy Principal. ‘The students are so excited, coming back after the COVID-19 school-ground closure. For us, it’s wonderful that they’re returning to the refurbished building with exciting new learning spaces.‘
Collaboration is the key focus for the building design. Eight classrooms were re-designed to allow for greater interactions between students in the same year level. While students still have their own class, they are grouped around learning levels for work throughout the day. They study in settings that range from formal classroom seating, to smaller break-out spaces as well as pods for individual silent work.

The building features a lot of natural light, and spaces are linked in a way that allows people to transition through spaces without disturbing learning. Gina speaks about the effect of the internal and external building design:
‘The light and flow within the newly refurbished building has already led to new ideas for our teachers and students alike. It’s amazing to see how these new classrooms are creating changes within people.
The front of the school will soon feature a new pathway and a large open garden that encourages (socially responsible) gatherings of parents. This garden encourages people to linger and to take time to speak with one another, rather than just rushing in and out of a traditional school-front entrance.'
She concludes, ‘This project has created a great energy throughout the entire school community. We’re really thankful for CDF’s support, particularly from Rowena Gonzales our Relationship Manager, who made the whole loan application a very easy process.’
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CDPF Limited, a company established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, has indemnified the Catholic Development Fund ABN 15 274 943 760 (the Fund) against any liability arising out of a claim by investors in the Fund. In practice, this means your investment is backed by the assets of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. The Fund is required by law to make the following disclosure. Investment in the Fund is only intended to attract investors whose primary purpose for making their investment is to support the charitable purposes of the Fund. Investors’ funds will be used to generate a return to the Fund that will be applied to further the charitable works of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and the Dioceses of Sale and Bunbury. The Fund is not prudentially supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). An investor in the Fund will not receive the benefit of the financial claims scheme or the depositor protection provisions in the Banking Act 1959 (Cth). The investments that the Fund offers are not subject to the usual protections for investors under the Corporations Act (Cth) or regulation by ASIC. Investors may be unable to get some or all of their money back when the investor expects or at all and investments in the Fund are not comparable to investments with banks, finance companies or fund managers. The Fund’s identification statement may be viewed here or by contacting the Fund. The Fund does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence.
