Tuesday, 7 February 2023

 Bronwyn HALFPENNY (Thomastown) (16:10): I had the great pleasure on Monday 6 January, together with the Minister for Education, of attending the opening of two brand new schools in the electorate of Thomastown. Barrawang Primary and Wollert Secondary College are state-of-the-art new schools. We toured a number of magnificent specialist classrooms and were guided by student leaders together with principals of each school. Classrooms were full of activity and excitement and inspiration. Facilities were second to none. Congratulations and thank you to all those involved in the building and organisation of these schools.

Our government knows about the hard work and planning that goes into new schools. We know because we have been providing the funds for so many since our re-election, starting in 2014. In the electorate of Thomastown alone we have been funding and building seven brand new schools, and 10 established schools have been rebuilt or are under construction, demonstrating how strong the commitment of the Andrews Labor government is to supporting student learning and the right to have modern facilities for that learning.

Thank you so much for the dedication and hard work of school leaders, staff and parents that contribute to the most important aspect of the school, which is the work that goes on inside. Special thanks to Barrawang Primary School principal Alisha Campbell and student leaders Amanat, Shiloh, Kirtvir, Mohammed and Simone and to Wollert Secondary College principal Melissa Lozanovski and student leaders Jaideep, Minuri, Andrew and Ariana. I look forward to visiting the school often and celebrating very important milestones in the students’ journey of learning.