Llew O'Brien (Wide Bay, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Cloyna State School, about 20 kilometres north-west of Murgon, is one of 193 small schools in Queensland that have less than 35 students. What you first notice about the 11 kids when you meet them is how confident and engaging they are. Recently, when I met up with them I promised I'd make a speech in parliament about the school and give their words the opportunity to be in Hansard. These are their words.

'Small schools are better because we can learn everyone's name in one day, and it is easier to remember them.' Their classmate said: 'It's easier to play all together in games, and it's a bit cheaper to buy school shirts and ink for the printer.' Another said: 'Cloyna can feel like a team because we can work together, but we can be competitive, and we are kind and polite. It's easy to work out our problems.'

All enjoy having lots of room to play, fun excursions, less fighting, better negotiating, different subjects—from dance to digital design—fresh air, and friendly teachers and classrooms. The response that captures the school's geography the most appropriately has to be: 'Because there are fewer buildings at Cloyna, so we don't have to walk very far.' That last one sounds like me when I was at school.

To the kids at Cloyna: thank you very much for the visit, and I'll see you next time.

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