Significant resources and consultation have taken place over the last 24 months within the Salesian Community regarding how the College will deliver specialist teaching, learning, and wellbeing spaces on the Mannix Campus, in order to ensure that we maximise student learning and live our values as a School That Prepares for Life.
A dedicated counselling office will offer a comfortable and private space for students who access the counselling services provided by our psychologists and counsellors. The adjacent wellbeing area will be a calm and welcoming space for students to wait for their appointment, calm down before returning to class, or speak to a staff member.. The emotional state of a student can greatly enhance or inhibit learning, and these areas will facilitate emotional support when students need it. Age-appropriate handouts and resources will be readily available on topics of mental health, wellbeing, and the challenges of adolescence. In 2024, the Wellbeing Team introduced a Therapy Dog, Daisy to assist students with particular needs. Daisy will also operate out of the Mannix Campus in 2026.
Two dedicated Learning Diversity classrooms will be constructed to allow for targeted teaching and assessment of both individual and small groups of students. The design of the space will take into consideration effective acoustic treatments, a calming visual palette, and the availability of natural light. Students can also access break-out rooms and quiet internal spaces to enable them to self-regulate if feeling overwhelmed in the larger learning spaces, thus catering for the diverse needs of our boys. Within these spaces, a student may receive supplementary teaching, special exam provisions, or explicit instruction from a learning diversity teacher or support assistant.
As part of the scope of works in 2025, the current building on the Mannix Campus will be renovated to accommodate the Year 8 cohort and dedicated STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Maths) facilities including a new Art Room, three Science Labs, and two Makerspace workshops. The junior Science, Art, and Makerspace curriculum is currently being developed for Year 7 and 8 in 2026, to guide student inquiry, discussion, problem-solving, and hands-on experience.
The new Year 7 building has been designed to include four separate Tute rooms, which are embedded into a pairing of Studios, allowing for group and independent learning. The Tute rooms, which can accommodate up to six students, are fitted out with modern teaching and learning tools, allowing students to interact with this technology via their own laptops while remaining connected to the learning and teaching taking place in Studios.