Tuesday, 9 December 2025

 Anthony CIANFLONE (Pascoe Vale) (17:03): (1480) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Education. The action I seek is for the minister to provide an update on the investments the Victorian Labor government is continuing to make to support local schools across Pascoe Vale, Coburg and Brunswick West, including for St Oliver Plunkett Primary School in Pascoe Vale. Located on Landells Road in Pascoe Vale, the school of blessed Oliver Plunkett was first opened in January 1942, with 87 students from prep to grade 8, taught by two nuns. The original church school building was built in 1941 at a cost of £3000 raised through fundraising efforts by the many committed and hardworking families of Pascoe Vale at the time. The parish of blessed St Oliver Plunkett was officially established in 1948. In 1954 the main school building, which still stands, was opened. In 1958 over 1000 students were enrolled at the school at the time. On 19 January 1959 the school church building was, sadly, destroyed by fire, with the current parish church reopened again in July 1961. In 2022 St Oliver’s celebrated its 80th birthday. Today it is home to 380 students, providing for a truly nurturing, vibrant and welcoming school community. Every student is supported to succeed and aspire through its breadth and depth of curriculum offerings from STEM, arts, an explicit teaching of English, maths and accompanying wellbeing supports.

I was very pleased to have supported and visited the school on several occasions throughout the year, including the school production of Emotions in Motion facilitated by Sara Belante-Tankard, the deputy principal, and Alessia Del Campo, the production lead, and all the teachers and students who participated, including the leading cast members Georgia Coviello and Sofia Saccone.

The unveiling I attended of the school’s new peace pole was an initiative by Pascoe Vale Rotary led by Deborah and Bruno D’Aprano. I attended a school assembly recently to announce the winner of the Pascoe Vale Christmas card competition, Mila Flint, and to present the annual Pascoe Vale endeavour award to Georgette Weston for her efforts in helping bring the school community together.

In my recent trip and catch-up with hardworking, outstanding principal Delfina Pieri she briefed me on the school’s new concept master plan, which I would like to draw the house’s attention to. It puts forward a staged approach to the school’s facility, infrastructure and resource growth, including stage 1 accessibility upgrades – namely, via the need for a new external lift to ensure all areas of the school are accessible; stage 2, with capacity expansion to accommodate increased growth via the extra classrooms and flexible learning spaces; stage 3, a proposed new administration building to streamline school operations; stage 4, a proposed new dedicated specialist learning spaces; and stage 5, proposed new landscaping and outdoor environments. These proposed upgrades would of course build on the previous $1 million investment we have made as the Victorian Labor government to provide the school with a magnificent new and ongoing indoor gymnasium and hall.

I welcome the minister’s, the Department of Education’s and the Victorian School Building Authority’s ongoing consideration of that masterplan. I commend all the school’s students, staff and leaders, including the principal, as I said, Delfina Pieri; Cecilia Garden, deputy principal; Sara Belante-Tankard, deputy principal; and all the other staff members and hardworking teachers and families who are there. This is of course part of our ongoing investment to support the school community outside of the school gate as well, with our investments in local high schools, the Merri-bek North education plan, free kinder, upgrades to road safety on Gaffney Street, the new Metro Tunnel and Craigieburn services and much more.