26 Oct 2016 Euroa Gazette, Euroa VIC (General News) by Will Murray LONGWOOD Primary School recently received $21,450 from the State Government for the creation of new shaded areas in the playground. Principal Travis Stefanos said that the school planned on building a new permanent 15x15m structure to cover the area between the school building itself and the toilet block, another 10x10m undercover area for the front of the school, and new shade trees along its boundary fence. Its an impressive amount of money for a small school (equating to over $2000 per student), and the structures will dramatically re-shape the school grounds once the project is complete. Longwood Primary was one of nine schools throughout the north of the state to receive such funding, with Jaclyn Symes (MLC, Northern Victoria) announcing the money was to go toward protecting kids against the impending summer heat and potentially damaging sun. Australia has the highest rates of skin cancer in the world and in 2014 melanoma was the fifth most common cancer in Victoria, Ms Symes said. Its estimated that 40,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in Victoria every year. Childhood and adolescence are periods where over-exposure to UV radiation is more likely to contribute to skin cancer later in life. Having already sought quotes from shade providers during the grant application process, Mr Stefanos said the school was hopeful they could begin the process of turning the funding into new structures in the near future. These will now make great spots for the kids to be able to play downball, bat-tennis and table tennis underneath the new shade facility during summer, he said. We are hoping the shaded area at the front of the school will offer kids, teachers and visitors somewhere to beat the heat, but also enjoy being outdoors while they eat their lunch. Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.