Stupid Question - but do you consider air-conditioning in a school to be important??
Seems ridiculous to ask but just curious. I'm planning on sending him to the local primary school which doesn't have air-con where the one in the next suburb does, it also rated better in the myschool business.
I think it depends on where you are? If you are out where you get 45 degree summers, where I grew up I do think air con is necessary, but here where the summers only get in the 30's I personally think fans are sufficient.
But then I grew up in that heat & my body is adjusted differently to those who haven't. My DD's school has air con, but we live without here at home, as we haven't felt the need
They may have made that decision due to the allergy reactions that air con can cause as well I guess?
Btw - is it a public school? If so, you might find that you are zoned & won't have a choice where you send your child. If you want to choose a different school you will need to discuss this with the schools & apply to the other one & hope they accept.
IMO air conditioning is a luxury not a necessity and I wouldn't put it up there in importance with what the teachers are like etc. but then.. I don't know.. I guess it's a more comfortable learning environment with air conditioning.
We all survived without air conditioning tho do they get sent home if it's over 40 degrees? haha
Liz...presuming it won't be a Penrith school, then! 40 degrees in a hot box in Penrith is horrible! I worked in a place with no ac for 7 yrs and it was horrible esp having customers ask to have the ac on!
I went to school in Winmalee with no ac from yr 2 - yr 10...no dramas!
IMO - I think the rep of the school, teachers etc are more important. i think kids these days need to toughen up.
Definitely depends on the area. Up here, no air con for the kids, especially in the middle of summer, would be torture for them! But like ~clover~ said, if your summers only get in the 30's and not high humidity, then you probably don't need it.
YES!!!
i went through primary and high school with no airconditioning and it was awful, those portables heat up like its no bodies business! and with 20 plus kids in 1, its so hard to stay focused all u can think about is getting out of there, filling up ur water bottle and tipping it over yourself.
of course the staff rooms had air con, we didnt get squat!
my son is a child who thinks its boiling at 20 degrees and sweats just thinking of exercise.
so for his comfort and ability to learn as he can concentrate better yes aircon was a decider in teh school we chose.
i knwo it is a luxury.
but we decided if he was able to be comfortable in class eh may pay attention more as he is concerned about sitting there dripping in sweat.
Hmm, some food for thought there! We live in Sydney and while it isn't excruciatingly hot it does feel warm in the class room. I noticed it on their open day. I teach at a high school without an aircon further out west and it doesn't really make a difference. Only last period after lunch the kids feel the heat and by then most of them aren't paying attention anyway. I think next year I will look at both schools again, but it is hard to go past the convenience of being able to walk your kid to school and being near grandparents for emergencies. What do you all think? I also want to make friends for myself and my son in our local suburb, this seems very important to me too....Gee it is complicated!
Having worked in schools both with and without aircon I do think it is important if you live in an area where it gets reasonably hot in Summer. I think it is particularly a factor to consider in primary school where the kids, not matter how hot it is, run around like mad things at playtime and then come inside hot, tired and unable to concentrate. There are so many factors to consider when picking a school - good luck!
We don't have air conditioning at home and I agree kids need to toughen up. I never had it when i was a kid and it was horrible... especially as i went to school in hot places like Kalgoorlie!!!
Because we dont have it at home i feel that my kids benefit from having it at school. I know my daughter can't wait to get to school (a private one) in summer because it has a/c. My son however really feels the heat and doesn't have it at his local public school. I really notice the difference in their moods at the end of each day in summer. This has kind of swayed me to go private too with my son when we move interstate. Melbourne is getting hotter with several 40 degree days now each summer and then have never sent them home... so public schools really need to consider getting a/c in the rooms... adults in their offices wouldn't put up with it so why force it on kids? Makes me cross when that's the prevailing attitude. My daughter's school isn't creating "soft" individuals either... they expect resilience in many other ways... but when you pay so much for them to learn well, you can't expect a child to learn if they are uncomfortable. The girls are expected to cope with the elements in many other scenarios... just not in the class room.
ETA: I also don't drive... so my kids don't get a reprieve in an a/c car... they often arrive hot to school in the mornings after walking to school... it would be better if at least they had a/c at school. If i drove an a/c car and had it at home maybe it wouldn't be so important ?
I've just gone on maternity leave after working as a teacher in an area with high humidity and 35 degree plus temps. The first 5 years I spent in a class without air con and noticed my students were often listless and unable to concentrate, not to mention numerous nose bleeds and even vomiting from heat stress (I did too when I first started).
I think that children concentrate better in an air-conditioned environment. Having said that, nothing rates more highly for me than quality teachers.
How old are the buildings? New classrooms are being designed to take advantage of breezes and with better materials that don't heat up so much, so that would be a factor too.
It is a brand new building, so it surprised me even more when there wasn't any air conditioning. The air in the top rooms felt humid and stagnant. Though I was happy with most other factors there, there were a couple of older teachers which I have heard from some can be a negative as younger teachers are generally more enthusiastic? The principal seemed great but the AP didn't seem to happy to be there, hard to tell when you don't know them and going off first impressions.
Im pretty sure ALL of the schools in townsville have air conditioning, it just gets too humid here. I didnt have air conditioning for half of primary school and it was hell! But i did learn, i didnt know any diferent, but i did realize that when ac was first being bought into my school and only a couple of building had it, i couldnt concentrate in the non ac room, all i was thinking about was going into ac. I think it depends on where you live, here in townsville i couldnt send my kids to school with no ac in summer, but if it wasnt as humid i dont think i would have a problem.
In some places yes, it is essential, but most schools in Oz are off during the majority of summer so no worries.
I would 'prefer' my child to have aircon on the hot days.
Each to their own I guess.
The hottest month down here in Vic often seems to be February though... here we are late April and we are having 20'C MINIMUM overnight temps... it was 29.4'C here yesterday. Climate change is scary. I think every public school really needs to look at generating some of their own energy with solar panels so that a/c can be provided.
Stupid Question - but do you consider air-conditioning in a school to be important??
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do they get sent home if it's over 40 degrees? haha
40 degrees in a hot box in Penrith is horrible! I worked in a place with no ac for 7 yrs and it was horrible esp having customers ask to have the ac on! 
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