Lillian McKenzie, Max Treacy and Oliver Mills attended the primary this year.

Oliver will graduate into the Year 7 stream at Crookwell High School next year. 

Principal Laura Holt said one of the biggest challenges was to give students the same opportunities as those who attend larger-stream primary schools and make sure they were challenged each day, with the same experience of being part of a wider community. 

The school worked alongside other local primary and high schools, and also participated in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program that facilitated cross-school interactions, she said: “We participate in many shared learning days... including sporting carnivals, gala days, creative arts programs and excursion.”

The curriculum is much like any other.

“We design units of work suited for a multi-stage classroom that are designed to engage the kids with hands-on, meaningful learning experiences,” Mrs Holt said.

Although they have had to adapt their programs based on students’ learning needs and goals, and tailor units of work to suit the students’ interests, she added.

“We are all in one room. Sometimes the students work altogether; other times they work one-on-one with the teacher or independently,” Mrs Holt said.

“We also try to connect the students with real-world experiences to deepen their understanding of topics we are studying.”

Staffed by a teaching principal and a part-time classroom teacher, Heather Davies, the school also has an administration manager, general assistant and music tutor.

Mrs Holt was hopeful there would be an opportunity for the school to grow over coming years as local pre-school students in Laggan, under the auspices of the Crookwell Neighbourhood Centre, would move up to primary education.

“We want to grow the school and continue to be a part of the local community into 2019 and beyond,” she said.