Officially, it is referred to by the Ministry of Education as a Modern Learning Environment (MLE), but George Street Normal School principal Rod Galloway affectionately describes it as a $1.2 million ''big living room'' in the middle of his school.
Construction began this month on the new learning centre project, which will link 11 of the school's classrooms with two floors of interconnected learning spaces.
Mr Galloway hoped the MLE project, with the assistance of the National Library Service and architect Philip Gilchrist, would be completed by May next year.
He said the project replaced the existing library.
The ground floor would feature a large multipurpose library ''learning lounge'' with expanded e-learning opportunities.
In other areas, classes would have access to ''learning cafe'' spaces, where small group presentations and collaboration would happen, he said.
Science and technology activities were also catered for in ''creative commons'' areas.
''Key to the design has been our need to have the space connected to classrooms and flexible enough to allow a range of educational activities to occur at the same time.
''Learning spaces need to be capable of evolving and adapting as educational practices change ... our new facility is designed for all ages to participate in active learning that can make the most of collaborative teaching approaches.''
Board of trustees' planning and fundraising for the learning centre took two and a-half years and Mr Galloway was pleased construction was under way.
He was grateful for the community support the project had attracted.
Funding for the MLE had been provided by a combination of grants from the Ministry of Education, the Lottery Grants Board, local businesses and school-raised funds - including the proceeds from two school fairs.
''Our learning centre will provide significant additional space for the school and wider community.
''Teachers and children will have increased opportunities to engage in high levels of collaboration and allow us to continue innovative curriculum practices, such as strengths-based approaches, that have been successful in the school in recent years.
''We are excited to be building a modern facility where e-learning, literacy and inquiry skills will happen for many years to come,'' Mr Galloway said.
