[Electronic music plays throughout.]
[Aerial shot of a large school building with a black roof and solar panels.]
[On-screen text: Greener Government School Buildings Program]
[Aerial shot of a large school building with a white roof and solar panels.]
[On-screen text: Elsternwick Primary School]
[A person is speaking to camera in front of a wall covered in plants and flowers.]
[On-screen text: Michael Portaro, Principal]
Michael Portaro: For our school, solar panels means that we can be a little bit more confident in the amount of energy that we use at the school.
[A large, wall-mounted TV screen, displaying energy usage statistics.]
Michael: The kids are taught from very early on that solar energy is the way to the future. And I think having a practical example of that that exists in the school means that the learning is contextualised. The VSBA have organised all of the contractors and it was quite a quick and efficient way to get that done.
[Spinning aerial shot of a white roof with solar panels.]
[A student is flicking a wall switch. A gap in the roof above opens and sunlight shines through.]
[A hand reaches behind a TV. The TV has a pink sticky label on it which reads: ‘Power standby button for TV is here :)’ ]
[7 students gathered around a laptop in a school classroom.]
[Aerial shot of a school roof with solar panels. Children are playing in the adjacent sports field]
[An indoor sports hall. There is silver insulation panelling on the roof and walls]
[A person is speaking to camera.]
[On-screen text: James McLean, Parent]
James McLean: So as a present parent at the school, I was also on the school council that really focused on the school being the heart of the community and wanting that to set the example of clean energy and how you should be using renewables. It was a very easy process to have the solar panels installed at the school.
[Aerial shot of the school with the Melbourne skyline in the background.]
[Aerial shot of rooftop solar panels.]
[A hand turns a circular switch to operate an overhead fan.]
[Spinning aerial shot of rooftop solar panels.]
[A student is speaking to camera.]
[On-screen text: Isabelle, Student]
Isabelle: Solar power’s important because it's sustainable for our future.
[A student is speaking to camera.]
[On-screen text: Rania, Student]
Rania: By just being in a school we can make a big difference by just having solar panels on the roof.
[Aerial shot of roof solar panels.]
[A student is speaking to camera.]
[On-screen text: Miles, Student]
Miles: Our learning has, like, adapted so much, like, laptops, just like the big screens, sometimes now they’re, like, really fancy whiteboards.
[A hand operates a remote control for an air conditioning unit.]
[Students are speaking to camera.]
Ava: We'll use it for air conditioning, for heating, fridges, just all those everyday needs.
[On-screen text: Charlie, Student]
Charlie: I think it's important because it can help us reduce all the coal that we're using.
[A hand flicks an overhead light switch.]
[We see a microwave.]
[A student is speaking to camera.]
[On-screen text: Hugo, Student]
Hugo: It's better for the environment and it's a cleaner source of energy.
[Michael is speaking to camera.]
Michael: For many schools there are hundreds of students in and out of classrooms using energy throughout the entire day. What we intend to do is ensure that our students have the capacity to charge their laptops at school. Lots of feedback from the community, a lot of people who are really supportive and really happy that the school has taken these steps in terms of becoming a school that uses renewable energy.
[Two students are unplugging electronic tablet devices from a power supply.]
[Students are seated on a sofa looking at electronic tablets.]
[We see students standing in a line and smiling at the camera.]
[Aerial shots of rooftop solar panels]
[A white background appears with the VSBA and Victoria State Government logos.]
[On-screen text: www.schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au]
[A black background appears and white text appears.]
[On-screen text: Authorised by The Victorian School Building Authority, 33 St Andrews Place, East Melbourne]
[Transcript ends]
Updated