Petition to Save Tharwa School
The ACT Government is set to close Tharwa Primary and Pre-Schools. Tharwa is the oldest school in the ACT with much historical and heritage value. Tharwa primary delivers real educational outcomes for families who have chosen to educate their children in a small school environment.
To close Tharwa would be to ‘close down’ the Tharwa community, which has been recovering from the devastating 2003 bushfires.
Please sign our petition to support the Tharwa Primary School and the Tharwa community.
Tharwa School Motto - Students In Harmony With Each Other And The Environment Experiencing Success and Challenge - A Century of Learning 1899-1999
June 15th, 2006 at 5:32 pm
Karim Haddad, Tharwa
June 15th, 2006 at 9:08 pm
Ali Wass Tharwa
Since when should education be about profit and loss statements and therefore overall viablity?
I have presumed for a long time and as a former relief teacher in the ACT, that education should be offered so to challenge and extend the potential of all students. How can any sort of potential be realised let alone reached if students are packed into classrooms of 30 plus? It just doesn’t happen.
Allow parents and students the right to have thier choice to the type of education they think is ideal NOT a short sighted government do it for us.
June 16th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
Tough Decisions? Certainly not a collaborative decision… why is it that the government has not been able to answer any of the questions as to WHY such a successful and popular little school, the oldest one in the ACT, should be closed?
June 16th, 2006 at 3:02 pm
How interesting that the chief minister says his government is courageous in making these hard decisions regarding school closures…They are the only government that has unfortunately had majority!!!!
Not courageous…. stupid, bloody minded and reflective of the poor financial management of this government. How the independant schools in Canberra must welcome Labors unprecidented support!
Perhaps if funding matched NSW at 25% and not the 17% the ACT receives, schools would be more secure.
No child deserves to have the insecurity and uncertainty about their school that this government has layed upon them shame Stanhope and Barr Shame.
June 16th, 2006 at 7:35 pm
Tharwa school/preschool provides a vital education service to the people living around southern Canberra and Tharwa. It is a school that is very rich in community spirit and heritage value. The school adds value back to the people of ACT.
Simply question: Why destroy something that is so good to the people around it ?
June 16th, 2006 at 7:59 pm
If it is dollars that are driving the government to close so many schools and preschools across the Territory then I think more thought should be given to priorities. I would prefer to have less of the public’s money spent on things like roads and refurbishment of the National Convention Centre and more spent on maintaining the schools that are the lifeblood of our local communities. The school at Tharwa is an excellent case in point.
June 16th, 2006 at 8:44 pm
Patrick Haesler, Gordon
If you close down our school basically all of Tharwa will close down. So please do not shut down our school.
June 16th, 2006 at 8:53 pm
Emily Haesler, Gordon
Visit www.savetharwaschool.com for all the evidence to support the existence of the best little school in Canberra.
June 17th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Canberra…the bush capital…but no bush schools???
Tharwa School has had a stable enrolment for the past 100 years, with four generations of kids going through the school.
Tharwa school was started well before Canberra and the ACT were even dreamt of - and the school will continue despite idiotic and insensitive government proposals to close down the lifeblood of community and cultural heritage in the southern ACT region.
June 17th, 2006 at 1:05 pm
Jackie Neill, Tharwa
Dear ACT Ministers,
Why try to ‘create communities’ out of mid air, and destroy one that already exists? If you really do value communities- like you say you do in the Towards 2020 Proposal, please respect the ones that exist, and instead of threatening them, support them. Ours has been going 100 years. Help us thrive, not die.
cheers for listening
jackie
June 17th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
It is stated in the governments proposal `towards 2020′ “MEETING THE DEMOGRAPHIC,SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF THE ACT COMMUNITY AND TO ASSIST WITH MEETING THE NEEDS OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND ENSURE PUBLIC EDUCATION IS A REAL CHOICE FOR STUDENTS AND THIER FAMILIES” By closing Tharwa primary and pre schools I believe that not even 1 of the above mentioned actions or needs are indeed being met .These along with the majority of statements made in this proposal are a load of hogwash! If the government is infact concerned and committed for the rights and needs of our children then I ask them to put thier money where thier mouth is and prove that these are indeed statements in which they can truly stand by ,by allowing our children to continue thier educational success within the environment that is best suited for them.THIS IS OUR CHOICE!
June 17th, 2006 at 4:48 pm
Impersonal super-schools like the government would force on us are like factory production lines. They may work well for most, but those who are a bit different are stifled. Tharwa school gives every student a chance to do their best.
June 17th, 2006 at 4:52 pm
Since starting at Tharwa Primary, only 5 months ago ,my life has changed so much, my educational and social skills have impoved dramatically.
Large public schools such as Conder Primary have a large number of bullies and foul mouths .I experienced having no help available
when I have been bullied,and in class when in need of help with school work I was shoved aside and unassisted.At Tharwa I’m always recieving help when I need it.It is such a good environment and all us kids are kind and helpful towards each other.In my time at Tharwa there has never been an issue conserning violence or anything like that.If you close our school you will be taking away our future.There is not one single child who is unhappy here at Tharwa ,all the kids love it !
June 17th, 2006 at 5:34 pm
Dumbfounded….
Tharwa is a unique school which is the lifeblood of the local community.
The entire Canberra community is behind supporting this school staying open. For evidence just look at the support “The Monster Raffle” received from businesses across the entire Canberra region. There was in excess of 2000 people who attended the yearly tradition of “The Tharwa Fair”.
When we understand the minimal savings to be gained from the closure ,which wouldn’t even buy the tiles for building a toilet block in the new proposed school. The fact they the government has earmarked $1million in a feasablity study which may produce nothing. Surley this money could be earmarked for Tharwa as the school could then run for another 50 years.
Don’t let such a small bottom line destroy such a valuble community assest
June 17th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
I choose Tharwa primary this term for my son and it has been the best choice for us and in the 6 weeks he has come along in leaps and bounds.
The children that attend the Tharwa Primary School and Tharwa Preschool and the children wanting to come next year, don’t deserve the uncertainty and insecurity that has been put upon them.
We need more special little schools like Tharwa.
keep us open
June 17th, 2006 at 9:34 pm
Our family has CHOSEN Tharwa preschool and primary school for it’s unique rural setting and it’s small size.
Daily, it offers valuable links to the natural environment, a tangible connection to the past, a program of focused and tailored education, and it provides our sons with a smooth, nurturing transition as they embark on the adventure of their school years.
We fully support the Tharwa community in it’s efforts to retain the precious school - it is an asset to the ACT, rather than a liability.
June 19th, 2006 at 10:22 am
I place a high value on our ACT rural communities; I wish we had more. Please preserve the diversity that Tharwa provides & the strength in its community.
June 19th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
I do not know why I find this school closure any different to way the Stanhope government have mismanaged, and tried to cover the truth just the way they have in the aftermath of the 2003 bushfires. Yet again, we are left to fend for ourselves.
Mr Stanhope, you have left our children feeling that the government does not want to nuture, or protect a truly bush school with unique attributes in an ever declining educational system.
Shame on you.
June 19th, 2006 at 2:27 pm
We chose Tharwa school for our children due to its solid and consistent reputation. It represents traditional vaules in modern society, values which form an important foundation on which to guide our children through the most important times in their lives. Tharwa school provides an excellent standard of education and should be allowed to continue to do so. It’s a special school and it should remain available to all children for many many years.
June 19th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Tharwa school was attended by both my children and had unique and special qualities, offering a caring and supportive environment as well as excellent education. Small schools like Tharwa offer children the chance to flourish, feel part of a real community and develop individuaity and independance. To close such a great school and make the current students attend a large, more impersonal school runs the risk of jeopordising their well being and seems completely unnecessary. Aren’t we trying to create more sense of community? Keep Tharwa open or you certainly won’t get my vote!
June 19th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
As landholders in the area keen to finally move out of the hustle of city life, and offer our children a wonderful, wholesome life in the beautiful rural surrounds of Tharwa, this closure notice has been a real shock. Don’t take away the opportunity for our children to learn and grow in the community that we have chosen to become our home.
Truly make public education a “real choice” by allowing the community to have one!! If Tharwa school is closed, public education in our community will not be an option. We want to send our children to a school with real roots in the area, which can offer an individualised educational program to best meet the needs of our little people. As a teacher and a parent, I know the value of personalised instruction. Large schools are not able to offer a conducive learning environment for all students, and regardless, we as parents should be given a variety of options when it comes to the provision of educational for our children. What is more important than them?
June 19th, 2006 at 8:45 pm
Please don’t close down Tharwa Primary. This has been my first year here and I love it. I was at Gordon Primary school for 3 years but i was being bullied. My parents spoke to my teachers to try & stop this problem but the teachers didn’t do anything about it. Since then i have moved to Tharwa where i have made new friends & don’t have any issues.
Tharwa is a good place. Like our song say’s
What’s a little place that’s like a village
With a shop that’s run by Val,
It’s a world away from the Canberra suburbs,
and everyone there, they can be your pal?
It’s Tharwa,Thawa, Tharwa is its name…….
June 19th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
I think the govt has no moral to close the school. It is imperative that the parents, teachers and the community be consulted. If anything, the school may need support to upgrade it’s infrastucture. Schools are not to be traeted like hardware shops. Lives are being formed and transformed in schools. I am conviced therefore that the timing for the closure is immoral and uncalled for, and poorly thought of.
More consultation is needed, and actually, the school should be empowered. I see Tharwa Pre-school as an excellent laboratory of how nature bonds with nurture.
ndekezi
June 19th, 2006 at 10:10 pm
Our two boys started at Tharwa primary part way through the first term this year.
Our reasons for this change from Charles Conder to Tharwa are many, but the most important to us was to give them the best education.
We as many other parents believed that this is in a smaller school environment.
Due to the over population of classes in bigger schools, too many children with learning problems are either lost in the system or over looked. A perfect example of this is our oldest son who was picked up as having learning problems in kindergarten at Charles Conder, but by the time he was in year one nothing was being done to help him.
While at Charles Conder he would be physically sick of a morning and not want to go to school. Since he has been at Tharwa he gets up in the morning, happy to get ready to go to school. No more sicknesses.
Mr Stanhope you say there are systems in the bigger schools for kids like him,
We have tried the bigger schools and found these systems you talk about, DO NOT WORK.
Not only is it a shame that you want to close Tharwa Primary
But if you do this you’re killing this lovely community where people actually care about each other and the environment sending these children some of which have never experienced a larger school environment could only be disastress for them. Our children are our future what are you doing to them and our community!!!
June 19th, 2006 at 10:32 pm
We live and work on the land out here and we don’t do it for the money Messrs Stanhope and Barr. We do it because we are country people and its the life we know and love. My wife drives our kids 10k’s into Tharwa because we want them in a country school, we sure won’t be driving them a further 10 so they can go to a “superschool” and grow up to become dollar driven idealists like you blokes who think they know whats best for everyone. Live and let live gentlemen, I don’t begrudge you your city living or Universities please don’t begrudge us our small schools and rural values.
June 20th, 2006 at 11:20 am
I can not see the equity in small private schools, that are not meeting thier capacities, are not getting their funding withdrawn. I can not afford to send my child to a private school, so I chose a comparable one in the public system. If tharwa was not available, where is my choice based on my income.
My son attened Charles Conder Primary. Due to a congnitive disability he can not cope with the noise and comotion that comes with a large school environment. My son was also being bullied. The principal at the time, told my son if being bullied yell back at them as loud as you can. Other teachers basically shugged thier shoulders.
He then started to get physically abused. He was being stabbed with a pencil by a particular student. When I persued the issue the teacher said well there is nothing I can do about it. On top of that they were sarcastic and demeaning.
Their only advice was to send my son to the library. My son at 5 years, started showing sign of depression and acute anxiety. My son said he was always scared and lonely, and that his brain felt crazy. I was informed by professionals to find a more intimate school for my son. I found Tharwa.
My son is happy and loves school. He, at his pace, in a supportive environment, is learning to socialize and is gaining emotial and psychological strength. In turn his school work has improved dramatically.
My son states that at Tharwa “I feel great in my head and heart. My brain feels good indeed.”
June 20th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
I would like to express my support for the community of Tharwa and its school and pre-school. I cannot understand the policy behind this decision.
The school is the centre of the community - and removing the children from this beautiful environment would be such a retrograde step.
Whatever the economics about closure of suburban schools, Tharwa is special and deserves special consideration.
Since the bush fires I have made it a point to give support to the community when there are fetes etc. To see the crowds at those occasions, from all over Canberra, shows there is support for your community.
I hope that reason prevails and this fine example of a bush school is preserved for many years to come.
June 20th, 2006 at 3:01 pm
Tharwa is the only true Small School in the ACT serving as it does a true rural community.
For decades Small Schools have servred the country parents and children of Australia very well and many good and great citizens have come from them.
The skills that develop in teachers at Smal Schools enable them to handle the challenges of working in suburban schools in terms of dilgence, care and responsibilty towards parents and children.
Small Schools encourage a loyalty and support within and beyond those who might be called the iommediate ’stakeholders’.
A Small School lioke Tharwa is an asset in the training of teachers for the suburbam schools of Canberra. The presence and and continuing existence of the Tharwa PS can be juustified as a Demontration School for teacher training and develpopment in much the same way as Pallamallawa was used at Armidale teachers’ College in the past.
June 20th, 2006 at 5:13 pm
Mr Stanhope,
My husband and I have been residents of Tharwa since early 2002.
My daughter Brianna has attended Tharwa Primary since 2003. We also have two other children who WILL BE ATTENDING Tharwa school in the coming years. Our community is growing rapidly, ensuring the enrolment numbers of locals will be sufficient. Families come from Canberra suburbs because they want to be in a relaxed country atmosphere. What makes you think you can dictate the way we raise and educate OUR children????? We ARE a viable school and you need to realise that. Do you have children, Stanhope? If so, ask them how they would feel if you closed their school, took them from their friends and where they feel safe. Step into the shoes of our children. My children will not be enroling in a school of 800 students and losing their identity and becoming just a number in the system!!!!!!!
Paul and Alison D’Elboux
Smiths Road,
Tharwa
June 20th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
I think it is an abomination to try to close this school so that the big superschools can get more kids.
This school sounds like a great little school for kids who dont like being swamped in a huge school with 700+ kids and being totaly ignored.
I heard about this school and this site because Patrick’s dad sent my mum an email and I heard about this and I was shocked that the goverment would try to close tons of nice little schools.
I am 13 years old from Melbourne and both my primary and secondary schools have been closed by the goverment and reopened by community pressure or have been threatened to close and the community has hit back hard.
I think what you are doing is great and I hope you succeed in keeping this great school open.
June 20th, 2006 at 9:35 pm
Hi I am Tash. I am 9 years old and I live in melbourne. I also go to a small school. I really like small schools because I know all the kids and its not that big. I think there is no reason what so ever that someone should close down the school. When I heard this school was going to be closed down, I kept asking myself why would anyone want to? Some people say that it’s so they can save money by stuffing everyone into a big school. I don’t want to see this school close down and I hope it will stay a small and happy school.
June 20th, 2006 at 9:56 pm
The Happiness of our children is PIRCELESS. Small schools like Tharwa are so important to ensure our kids don’t get lost in an overcrowded education system with the risk of been ignored or unseen. Is it really so vital to our economy that we surrender these wonderful schools? Is it going to make things better for our future? For us to stand by and let it happen is even worse. STAND UP!
June 20th, 2006 at 9:58 pm
Tharwa school is an important & valuable community resource for this small community. The children attending the school are members of a close knit small community. To expect them to leave their school & for them to attend the closer primary schools to their area, which are very large schools, means they will be thrust into a large environment - certainly not an easy transition by any means.
June 20th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
Closing small schools in the name of economic efficency not only displays a lack of compassion but is also astonishingly short-sighted. We need to invest in our communities and the quality of education. The ACT government’s announcement is robbing a range of small communities and our future generations.
June 21st, 2006 at 4:55 am
We visited the school last Christmas and thought it was lovely, and obviously a very important and valued part of the community of Tharwa. Please keep the school open!!!
June 21st, 2006 at 9:01 am
please don’t close my school
June 21st, 2006 at 9:42 am
First the school, what next Mr Stanhope? The shops, then the community like is happening in Canberra suburbs?
Whilst we live in Kambah, my best friend and her young family live in Tharwa and we are out there almost every weekend relishing the country life. The community spirit out there is just amazing, moving from a country town myself to the ACT I deeply miss the interaction that is achieved in a small community and my husband and I are planning to move our family out that way in the near future.
AND YES, I too have a young family who WILL BE GOING TO THARWA SCHOOL during their primary school years.
June 21st, 2006 at 12:22 pm
Why can’t I have a choice in where I send my children? I may live in Banks, but I work in Tharwa, my husband works on a property in Tharwa, my in laws own a property near Tharwa, I consider myself a local. The fires of 2003 didnt know when to stop at a state border, so why should our schools only be offered to ACT residents?
I have seen my daughter grow into a very bright, happy little girl, but if I was made to send her into one of the two schools on offer, that bright, happy little girl would disappear. Would I then be able to send the government the bills for the therapy sessions?
I want my son to go to PreSchool at Tharwa next year. I dont want him having to fight to be heard at another preschool. He needs to be able to go to school at Tharwa.
We need to get as many people as we can to sign this petition, we need to put Tharwa on the map as actually being in the ACT. If our police think we are in NSW, what hope have we got.
June 22nd, 2006 at 6:55 pm
All 3 of our children went to Tharwa Primary. We as parents watched them flourish as members of the school and of the wider community. They as children look back on their primary school days with fondness - knowing they had privileges that come with greater adult contact, greater outdoor educational opportunities and seeing themselves as contributing to the community. It is a wonderful school, unique in the Canberra region - closing it would effectively close down a vital part of the Tharwa community.
June 22nd, 2006 at 7:55 pm
tharwa school is a very important part of our heritage and should not be lost to political gains or mismanagement
June 22nd, 2006 at 8:09 pm
Dear Mr Stanhope,
In a recent conversation (at the Ministers afternoon tea in Tuggeranong) you mentioned your children were past the primary school age. I ask you to please think back for a moment to when they were about to start school and remember the things that were important to you as a parent, not a politician, when chosing their school.
Was it somewhere that provided a quality education? Was it a school that would make your child feel safe? Did you want your child to be nurtured by both his/her teachers and fellow students? Did you want your child to have good solid values and to respect others?
I am sure all of these things were important to you, as they are to most parents. They are the things that are extremely important to me. They are just a few of the wonderful things that Tharwa Primary school has to offer. Your children may be finished with the system - mine aren’t. PLEASE DON’T TAKE THARWA AWAY FROM THEM.
June 22nd, 2006 at 8:19 pm
Schools are at the centre of our community, especially Primary Schools. The closure of any School damages a community, but none more so than small country communities such as Tharwa.
I don’t live in Tharwa - my kids go to school on the north side of Canberra, but that doesn’t matter. This is a community issue for all Canberrans. Does the ACT want to become known for destroying small communities? Aren’t our communities, be they in the suburbs or in the bush, the heart of our Australian society?
Make some different choices Mr Stanhope and Mr Barr.
June 23rd, 2006 at 12:07 pm
Canberra will no longer be called the bush capital as we won’t have any bush schools. Tharwa and Hall might be small schools but we have big hearts and super minds. Don’t destroy our heritage. You could say “if the bush fires didn’t get you Stanhope will”.
June 23rd, 2006 at 2:16 pm
PLEASE SAVE OUR COMMUNITIES, HELP OUR CHILDREN, SUPPORT FAMILIES.
June 23rd, 2006 at 2:33 pm
save this historic school
June 23rd, 2006 at 2:41 pm
Our children’s primary school, Brunswick South Primary School in Melbourne, was one of the schools that Jeff Kennett tried to close because it was too small. The community resisted the closure, and the school, the children and the community are now thriving.
When I collected my son on his very first day, two older children called out goodbye to him from across the playground. I was astounded that THEY KNEW HIS NAME.
This year, our son started High School. He is going to Fitzroy High School. Jeff Kennett did manage to close that school, but even then the local community did not give up! Fitzroy High School was re-opened due to community pressure. It too is thriving.
We are so grateful to those parents before us who fought so hard to keep these wonderful small schools open.
Best of luck and a big thank you for the wonderful work you are doing.
June 23rd, 2006 at 2:46 pm
What on earth is this government doing with our lives? It would be good to see them thinking about their true priorities. Good luck with saving the school, fingers crossed!
June 23rd, 2006 at 3:04 pm
Please use some logic here! These smaller community schools are desperately needed. If it were your children you would be outraged.
June 23rd, 2006 at 5:06 pm
Although I have left Canberra I still have family that live there. My nephew attends Tharwa Pre-School at the moment and was suppose to be going to Tharwa Primary next year. I know that my brother and sister in-law considered many schools and choose Tharwa because of the community involvment and closeness of families that go there and just how much the teachers are respected and how the teachers in turn respect the students.
I’m sure you only wanted the very best for your children and I know all my brother and sister in-law want is the best for their children so PLEASE KEEP THARWA SCHOOL OPENED!!! Let my newphew’s enjoy a wonderful historical school experience
June 23rd, 2006 at 7:32 pm
We have enough problems with the little amount of education provided for our children now let alone closing down a much used and needed preschool.
June 23rd, 2006 at 8:10 pm
Please don’t close this school and add another fire sale to the experience of those poor children. The children are worth more than the few measly dollars saved surely.
June 23rd, 2006 at 8:15 pm
I would like to add my total support in asking to keep the Tharwa Primary and Pre-Schools open, and the Tharwa community flourishing. As a parent helper and a prospective teaching assisitant and primary teacher, I am only too aware of how our local primary school impacts upon the lives of our community, creating it - as a safe and secure place in which to raise our children and address issues relating to this - and and sustaining it as many voices within one.
June 23rd, 2006 at 8:27 pm
I support the petition for retaining Tharwa Primary and Pre-Schools open, local children need to be able to get their education locally and to be part of the community. PLEASE KEEP THARWA PRIMARY AND PRE-SCHOOL OPEN.
Children are our future and need to be proberly educated and feel confident in their community.
Thankyou
June 23rd, 2006 at 11:39 pm
Schools are important for not just for the education they provide but also for the sense of community they can impart to the area they serve.
By closing down this school, many generations now & in the future will be poorly served.
June 24th, 2006 at 9:17 am
we need as many schools as we can get
June 24th, 2006 at 6:03 pm
As coordinator of Outdoor Education at Cranbrook School in Sydney I have been coming to the village of Tharwa through Cranbrook’s 35 year association with Outward Bound Australia. Hundreds of Cranbrook students have interacted with the Tharwa community through this association which involves a component of service. This service regularly takes place at the Tharwa primary school. This year our Year 9 boys assisted the Tharwa students in painting murals on the Tharwa bridge. Cranbrook values our association with the Tharwa primary School as we believe the notion of community and caring for one is vital in a balanced upbringing and education of our young. The closure of Tharwa primary school would be a tradgedy not only to this wonderful community but to the other school communities who regularly interact and benefit from it.
June 24th, 2006 at 6:15 pm
My God son attends this wonderful school and my God daughter will be starting there soon. I am so impressed by the wonderful sense of community both children have as a result of attending (or being associatedwith) the school in their village of Tharwa. They are being educated in more than the three Rs but more importantly to care for the people of all ages who live in their village and the surrounding farms. In an age when children are becoming inreasingly self focused, teenage suicide rates are at a frightening level, child obesity and child abuse is out of control we need to foster these wonderful schools not shut them down.
June 24th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
Good luck with your campaign. Although we no longer have any connection with any schools in the ACT, we hope you are successful in keeping your lovely little school and preschool open! It is so short-sighted of the government to want to close them.
June 26th, 2006 at 8:10 am
Our children attended Tharwa pre-school, this is a wonderful close knit community school and should never be closed.
Its seems to be shortsighted to contemplate closing schools like Tharwa and Hall which have been arouns for 100 years. What will happen to the buildings ? Will they be left vacant and then allow to rot and be vandalised as know one will be around. These buildings I presume would be historically listed and can never be destroyed.
June 26th, 2006 at 10:38 am
this is so wrong!! the Australian Government is truely a failure!!
i once was educated in canberra, and i was so proud to say i went to school in canberra!!
the education levels were so much higher then that of sydney!!
and my father has always told me if you want your children to have a really education go back to canberra!!
sad to say ill never think those thoughts again!!
i feel sad and sorry for all that will feel the lose!!
and i am hoping this petition works, at least just for one school!!
good luck and illbe praying for a miricle
June 26th, 2006 at 10:58 am
This is just wrong, very bad idea
Keep schools open & give our kids a chance
June 26th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
Goodluck with the campaign.
How very sad to shut down a school where the children have already established all their friendships and learning relationships.
So very wrong.
June 26th, 2006 at 1:24 pm
save the schools!
June 26th, 2006 at 8:40 pm
Sad to see what the govt has come to… and what the children will have to go thru when the schools close. They shud be ashamed of themselves!
June 26th, 2006 at 10:25 pm
Please keep the school and the site . Populations move - soon it will have more pupils again . It belongs to the people and is part of all those who have attended.
June 27th, 2006 at 6:39 am
This school deserves to stay open! Think of the children…..
June 27th, 2006 at 4:14 pm
My daughter is pictured above and I believe this is the BEST preschool in the ACT. It is unique in it’s setting and teaching methods, Shay and Narelle are very special and made the transition from home to school a wonderful, happy and learning experience.
June 28th, 2006 at 9:47 am
Very sad that history is going to be shut down and the present children are going to be disrupted
June 28th, 2006 at 6:07 pm
Do keep the school going. In my time I attended both very small (13) and very large (2,000) schools, and found myself lost in the big school. There is more to learn than just abc, and I know that is where Tharwa is so excellent, as well as giving the children a thorough abc education.
July 2nd, 2006 at 10:15 am
Keep the school open, think not only of the kids but a historic community that has been treated unkindly both by nature and a local government devoid of any compassion or community responsibilty
July 2nd, 2006 at 6:34 pm
Clearly, the Stanhope government has mismanaged the ACT economy. Why should the ACT public education system suffer for the government’s incompetence?
In fact, the ACT government has no need to destroy the public education system. The Stanhope government could save over $130 million by putting a hold on the ACT prison.
We want our schools not a jail! It’s not too late to recast the budget. The work that has been completed on the jail so far will not be lost if the project is put on the back-burner.
July 9th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Please do not close the Tharwa Primary School and Pre-Schools because it is an essential part of the Tharwa community. In a broader sense the village of Tharwa is considered an extension of the out-lying suburbans of Gordon, Condor, Banks. For many citizens of those ACT suburbs travel to Tharwa - not only to Church but also to access towns in the mountains as well as for weekend recreational outings.
July 9th, 2006 at 7:38 pm
Barr asked “What would you like us to spend the $90m on?”
We replied “Keeping our schools open!”
He could also save $67m by not building two new schools.
Surely if many of our schools are currently “under capacity”, we have room for more students. Why do we need to build new super schools when the smaller schools have room for more and do such a wonderful job with our children.
I’ve been to both small schools and super schools (in London).
In the smaller school, I had a chance to stand out in some way, to be recognised for my unique potential. In the super school, I became a nobody. I disappeared into the masses and felt insignificant.
I thank my lucky stars that I had my children while living in Canberra because it has given my children the wonderful start that every child deserves. They are all special and should be treated as such.
Super schools deliver low self-esteem, frustration, and violence.
Lets keep our schools small and our communities close-knit.
Put the children first, they are our future.
July 9th, 2006 at 9:12 pm
The Tharwa School must not be lost to impoverished politicians and bureaucrats. Those of you who have carriage of the fight have a heavy responsibility to the village and the families and the district, including the southern suburbs. Do not hesitate to ask for help! The Tharwa School must not be lost.
July 10th, 2006 at 7:08 am
A local school is at the heart of a strong community, and an essential component for the community to continue to thrive. In the longer term closing local schools doesn’t even make economic sense.
July 12th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
Please don’t destroy the Tharwa school, it’s history, the community and most of all the children deserve better.
July 18th, 2006 at 5:23 pm
What a shame it would be to see Tharwa School close.
My 3 boys all attended Tharwa Pre-school and I was looking forward to my daughter attending Tharwa pre-school also next year.
It is a beautiful little school, a very positive start to a young child’s education.
PLEASE SAVE THARWA SCHOOL
July 20th, 2006 at 5:11 pm
Tharwa is more than just a collection of houses across the rickety old bridge. It is a community of people who work hard, who own businesses, and want to raise their kids in a positive environment. Tharwa School is one of those environments. The teachers are fabulous, the atmosphere is fantastic. This alone should be worth saving!
This is not just an emotional plea - this about keeping a reason and a purpose for people to stay working on the land and in rural communities - so they can manage to educate their kids without having to drive a long ditances to dump them in an anonymous super school.
July 25th, 2006 at 5:53 pm
I have been to to Tharwa, but not to the school. Nevertheless, I was charmed by this serene and beautiful place.
The value of children experiencing life in a small and closeknit school community in this rushed and increasingly reckless world is priceless.
I am part of a smallish school community, it is a joy.
Keep Tharwa school open.
August 3rd, 2006 at 3:16 pm
Someone from the Chief Minister’s Dept., apparently, has made the comment, in relation to the proposed closure of schools in the ACT, that “it doesn’t matter how loud you shout, it is what you shout that matters”. A sensible attitude I thought, given that, for whatever reason, money must be saved on ACT Schools now. And there is plenty of substance in our plea to save this little school. Tharwa School(s) is (are) really different from other schools in the ACT. Its historical and heritage values and the value to those “who have chosen to educate their children in a small school environment” have been commented on already. Then there is another aspect different to other Schools: Many of us live at the “wrong end” of town and bringing our children to the nearest school, which happens to be Tharwa, already means a 1.5 - 2 hrs commute by car every day. Closing Tharwa Schools will extend this commute substantially. The length of commute is not a really strong argument; the heritage value, school being a corner stone to community and all the other arguments expressed here all are strong though! When money must be saved on schools that are half empty, it is understandable. But why closing schools that do not suffer from this problem and that are in high demand and popularity because of the service to community that they provide? Anything else we could save money on Mr Stanhope? No idea, really???
August 3rd, 2006 at 6:45 pm
To close Tharwa School is a crime to the people of the Tharwa Community. Not enough thought or planning from those that were voted in by this same community has been done in regard to this proposal. This proposal has the potential to cut people off from members of the community and scatter us to the four winds. For those of us without family close by the school community is like a substitute family, I am damn sure I am not going to get that anywhere else if Tharwa gets shut down. It just shows how out of touch the polititions are with the people who are the real backbone of our country. By shutting down our school they are penalising us for living a rural life, dictating to us what is right for our children and taking away our choices.
August 11th, 2006 at 11:49 am
I have a child presently at Tharwa Preschool and would have liked him to continue on to Tharwa Primary school. We are in area for Tharwa School and William is my third child to attend the school. However, the absolutely unworkable decision of announcing whether the school will close after 6 Dec 06 for the following year has meant that I have had no choice but to accept a position at another school.
I am both appalled and disappointed how badly this issue has been handled, with no thought to the teachers or parents throughout the ACT & surrounding region who will have work and live with these decisions.
The timeframe is completely unrealistic and unkind to all involved.
Not to mention the fact that the school is the center of the Tharwa community.
August 14th, 2006 at 7:20 pm
As a former student of Tharwa Primary School, and a Tharwa community member I would like to offer my support for the Save Our Schools effort. My brief time at the school is still a fond memory, and I have always appreciated how the school brought the community together. My experience of the school was that it was a creative, vibrant and unique institution with a fun atmosphere for learning that celebrated it’s agricultural surroundings. Major advantages were the strong sense of community and a strong relationship with staff, all in all exceeding any other public system that I have experienced. It would be an enormous social, historical, and communal loss to have the school close - it really is the heart of small Tharwa, and I am very proud to say that I once attended.
August 15th, 2006 at 9:57 am
To close a school that has been the heart of the Tharwa community for over 100 years is akin to a criminal act. Having attented Tharwa school for preschool through to year 5 I fully understand the amazing experience that is a childhood in Tharwa.
In situations such as these the size of the school is irrelevent next to the benefit it can offer to its students. The size of the school and the classes enabled students to develop close relationships with each other and with the staff. These relationships last a lifetime, unlike the relationships formed in larger schools.
There have been suggestions that larger schools would offer a better range of opportunities to students. Whilst this is the case for some small-middle size schools, Tharwa is a diferent story. The size of Tharwa actually gives students more ‘room’ to develop as individuals, learn at their own pace (be it faster or slower than the other children in their year), and gives students a sense of community, something that is not developed in many larger schools.
We must do everything in our power to save this wonderful school. We must give our children a future, and this school is the one I would choose for my children.
August 29th, 2006 at 10:52 am
I like the Stanhope billboard “Bush Capital with NO rural schools, Towards 2020″ Very Funny!
November 5th, 2006 at 9:36 am
Living in Conder, our choice for Tharwa Preschool was a deliberate decision due to the learning environment Tharwa offers. Our two children were given a wonderful introduction to formal education. They flourished in the small-school environment and have gone on to become confident and happy children who enjoy learning and think school is fun!
I hope the government will recognise the value in retaining a small-school option in their education system.
November 14th, 2006 at 9:57 pm
Save our wonderful small schools. We are going through the same problem here in Grafton NY. We will continue to fight for what is best for the students not what fits the budget formula. I hope you do too.
December 1st, 2006 at 12:59 am
Small school should not be lost– part of Australia’s history and values. Tharwa school is an ideal situation for students from larger less personal schools to visit. An example of what education should be.
School is the heart of the community.
December 1st, 2006 at 1:49 pm
I was a student at Tharwa Primary over 10 years ago and was a Tharwa resident for many years after I graduated from the school. I could not have asked for a better start to life. The schools approach to learing encouraged individuality, creativity and acceptance of people from all walks of life. All the people I know who attended Tharwa primary over the years have grown into well rounded, successful individuals. The school is not only a learning institution but the heart of the village community. PLEASE DON”T CLOSE DOWN THE BEST SCHOOL IN THE ACT!
December 9th, 2006 at 9:58 pm
The ACT Government’s decision to close 39 schools beggars belief. I cannot think of a more socially disruptive and destructive policy. Who are the fools who think this is a good idea?
Please find below an email I sent to Getup and to everyone in my address book on behalf of you who are affected by this stupid and callous decision. I live in a small community myself, and know what disruption there would be to current and future generations if the local school were to be threatened.
Good Luck. and may good sense prevail.
Dear All,
I would like to bring to your attention an autocratic, socially irresponsible decision by the ACT government, made for financial reasons and introduced by stealth, that will affect thousands of small children for years to come and cause major social disruption in the ACT.
The current ACT Government is going through the ludicrous step of closing 39 public schools, many of them in thriving small communities. The idea is to set up large, central schools and cram students into these sheep pens.
This is disastrous from an educational viewpoint, but even more so from a social viewpoint.
For many small communities the focal point to community building is the local primary school, where people and their children meet, form ongoing relationships and join together in local causes. To wipe out 39 schools in one fell swoop is socially disruptive, unnecessary, and damaging to local communities. People who have bought houses near schools thinking they could walk their children to school, people who have entered their children in local preschools hoping they would get to know their future classmates, teachers and students already who have already formed ties with small local schools are in for a massive upheaval.
The scary thing is that this is going through with barely a whimper. A few letters published in local newspapers, teachers being intimidated by their employers not to speak out, an education minister and government that don’t seem to care that no one wants this.
No-one thinks this is a good idea. This immensely socially disruptive policy is being implemented purely to save money, and with no apologies. There have been a few lame attempts to defend the policy but it is blatantly obvious that the well being of the next generation of primary school children is being sacrificed to improve the budget, so that money can be spent on higher priorities, like a speedway for example.
The ACT Government aimsd to replace these small schools with large “super schools”, however the disadvantages of the type of education are well documented. In the US, where the large central school experiment has been played out to it’s disastrous but obvious consequences it has been found to cause increases in social isolation, peer pressure, and a reduced ability to relate to people not of the same age, clothing and hairstyle. Embedding children with large groups of the same age has been well documented to create an insular environment, retarding emotional development. As this group approaches 200 the psychological “tribal limits” are reached and children cannot relate well to those outside their immediate peer group, who are considered “other”.
Anyway, the purpose of this email is not to go into the various psychological reasons why this is a disruptive and completely irresponsible social policy, the reasons should be self evident. (You don’t need a double blinded crossover trial to tell you that parachutes make a difference to those falling from planes.)
This thing has got me angry on behalf of those affected. I am angry because it is such a retrograde step in education and so against well accepted developmental and educational principles. I am angry because of the social disruption to the thousands of people whose schools, and whose children’s schools simply will not be there next year.
I am thankful that I live outside (on the edge) of the ACT, and the small local school that my wife went to, that my children go to (the same teachers), and that unmistakeably binds together the local community, will not be destroyed by misguided and simple minded bean counters who do not have the best interests of the community at heart.
Regards
Dr Stephen Myers
March 25th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I want to send my kids there!!!
September 5th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
this is unfare our kids were raised at tharwa school and it should be kept because it is a loyale place to be!
September 8th, 2008 at 7:24 am
Just leave Tharwa School alone, there is a community there and children and the school provides this special community and a place for children to go with out travelling.
JUST LEAVE THARWA ALONE
November 27th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
I occasionally go driving\riding around the cotter and Tharwa.
It’s a gorgeous little community and I think the kiddies should have their school, please don’t take away their school!
February 20th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
I very much like this blog. Yet time I will come here
April 5th, 2010 at 5:13 am
so what do you think?