Tharwa School Welcomes New Students
On Thursday night hundreds of people gathered at Caroline Chisholm High School to attend the Public Forum on the governments’ controversial Towards 2020 Proposal, hosted by Education Minister Andrew Barr. Following a successful meeting between school board, P&C Presidents and Mr. Barr earlier this week, the Forum was a confirmation that while the government recognised Tharwa is doing a lot of things right, it all comes down to the bottom line.
While Tharwa locals warn that there is much more to lose than just the school if the proposed closure goes ahead, the government has been clear that it placed Tharwa Preschool and Primary school on the hit list solely because of its low numbers, and that big picture issues such as access to education for remote rural families, and the school’s value as a unique alternative to large school life will not feature in the final decision.
An irony which many Tharwa parents grapple with, is that the Preschool currently operates at capacity and for next year the numbers look even more promising, with enough students on a waiting list to fill another class. While the government has expressed interest in expanding the preschool they have failed to recognise that these would be the future students of the Primary school too.
Encouraged that the Department has given the all-clear to take new enrolments, the Tharwa community now embraces the challenge to increase student numbers and decrease the bottom line. Once again Tharwa will band together to show the rest of Canberra the unique traits of it’s local school– wide open spaces, freedom to learn in and experience the natural environment, a strong, supportive community and tangible links to it’s heritage. Now more than ever, they will be hoping to share it!
July 3rd, 2006 at 12:19 pm
Mr Stanhope seems to have conflicting agendas regarding rural villages. In one breathe he closes a rural school with hardly a concern to the impact on the local Tharwa village, an in another he proclaims the benefits of rebuilding Uriarra and Stromlo rural villages….. I’m confused!
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ACT Government Media Release 3rd July 2006
WORK ON RURAL VILLAGES COULD BEGIN WITHIN MONTHS
Work on rebuilding the rural villages at Uriarra and Stromlo could begin
in months as negotiations with the Village Building Company had reached
a very positive stage, Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said today…….
Mr Stanhope said a lot of hard work had gone into getting the rebuilding process to this stage. “After the 2003 bushfires, the ACT Government was determined to see the Territory’s rural villages rebuilt,” he said. “We were also determined to see rural villages which were truly sustainable – places which could offer the lifestyle its residents had valued so highly while still being designed to meet the needs of the future.”
The redeveloped Uriarra village would have 100 houses in total, and Stromlo 40. …….