Laura Smyth (La Trobe, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to be able to update the House on the activities of three schools within my electorate that I have been fortunate enough to visit in recent weeks and months. The first is Maranatha Christian College in Officer, which is at the south-eastern edge of not only my electorate but, substantially, Melbourne as well. It is servicing the needs of the growth corridor. It is a new school and it is one of three Maranatha schools, with the other two located in Doveton and Endeavour Hills, not terribly far from my electorate.

I was there to open the $1.4 million multipurpose hall, constructed with the assistance of the federal government under the Building the Education Revolution program. I am delighted to convey our appreciation as a federal government to the school for taking on the project and providing excellent education in a growing part of Melbourne, and also to convey the appreciation of both the head of campus and the school council president to the federal government in relation to that project. I would note that David Gleeson, the Head of Campus; Vernon Clark, the principal of all of the campuses overall; and the school council president were very appreciative of the program. I hope to visit the school soon.

The second school that I would like to mention is Belgrave South Primary School, which is excellent in making a significant commitment to civic education and civic life within Melbourne. I am pleased to be able to say that I was there not terribly long ago to present the school with awards from the federal government's 2012 Anzac Day Schools Award Program which, as members will no doubt know, assists in encouraging schools around the country to learn about our wartime history. It is important, certainly, in the context of us approaching the centenary of the First World War. I would like to commend the school principal, Fran Luke, and teachers Julie Price and Meagan Street on their endeavours. The primary school was the winner in the special category of 'Best Veteran and Community Involvement' and runner-up in the primary school category, having undertaken a 10-week unit of work involving role-playing, poetry, creative writing and an Anzac Day ceremony. They have also had a significant fundraising drive for the 39th Battalion Association in its endeavours to create a Kokoda memorial, and I was delighted to be there with Captain Alan 'Kanga' Moore of the 39th on the day of my award presentation.

The third and final school I would mention is Minaret College. Particularly, I extend my thanks and congratulations to Mr Mohamed Hassan, who is the college director, in relation to the opening of its early learning centre. That follows on from the opening last year of the BER facilities at Officer, which included an impressive classroom refurbishment, a new multipurpose hall and a science and language centre—another excellent school in the growth corridor.