Mentone Grammar, situated in Bayside, Melbourne and dating back to the 1920s, is an independent school catering for boys and girls from kindergarten and pre-prep level in the Early Learning Centre, right through to senior students completing Year 12 at the Frogmore Senior Campus.
A contemporary learning environment with state of the art facilities and the latest learning technologies, Mentone Grammar offers a unique education model where students in Years 5-9 learn in separate gender classes, and all other classes are co-educational.
Mentone Grammar has excellent sporting and performing arts facilities, and construction is currently underway on the Eblana Learning Centre, a new Junior School with eight classrooms, as well as Multipurpose, Art, and Music/Drama rooms.
With the latest in classroom technology and audio visual equipment, including interactive whiteboards, multimedia projectors, flat screen TVs, and PC and Mac labs, Mentone Grammar recently undertook a major upgrade of the audio visual system in its 800 seat Thorold Hall, and had a DVC (Digital Video Commander) system installed.
The Thorold Hall’s upgraded audio visual system features the powerful Epson EB-G5200W, a 4200 ANSI lumen projector mounted to rear-project an image on to a large 180” Screen Technics motorised screen. Offering precision and performance with widescreen viewing, the low maintenance EBG5200W is ideally suited to high use, high traffic environments and in this instance the rear-projection approach ensures an impressive high quality image even in a bright hall.
A quality Lectrum CTL lectern was customised by D.I.B. Australia to manage the hall’s audio visual system. The lectern features a purpose built fold-out laptop shelf, a 5 metre custom audio visual cable loom, plus a 12 metre extension loom for extra flexibility in setup configurations, an Australian Monitor mixer, and a Beyerdynamic quality gooseneck microphone.
Perhaps the most impressive feature of the customised lectern is the D.I.B. supplied, installed and programmed Joey Lite control panel which simplifies operation of equipment in the hall. The Joey Lite has 24 programmable buttons and these have been programmed to control the Epson EB-G5200W projector, motorised rear-projection screen, LG DVD/Video combo and even to open and close the stage curtains.
A second Joey Lite is installed in the backstage rack and mirrors the functionality of the one on the lectern. The Joey Lites really simplify the system and do away with complex and easily lost remote controls. The Joeys are also programmed to turn the system off if it is accidentally left on saving valuable lamp life and reducing power consumption.
Users of the new audio visual system who include the Principal, Deputy Principal and visitors to the school have found it easy to use and have been impressed by its quality performance.
