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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-09-14 Daily Xml
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LONSDALE HEIGHTS PRIMARY SCHOOL

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (15:30): I would also like to wish South Adelaide well in the finals this weekend. It has been a long hard trial for South Adelaide, but they—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Go Panthers!

Ms THOMPSON: —truly acted as a club, got things right on and off field and their future is looking very rosy. Today I wish to pay tribute to a very small school in my electorate, Lonsdale Heights Primary School. It only has 109 children and it is quite difficult in such a school to offer a wide program of student engagement but, led by the principal, Keith Beal, the staff and families of Lonsdale Heights are working exceptionally well together to provide a rounded education for the children attending that school.

Lonsdale Heights is located in a small community that is bounded by the expressway and the train line, some industrial land and a main road, so it is a very enclosed community and acts very much like a country town. The school acts like a school in a country town—the centre of that community.

Recently I held a forum for leaders in my schools, particularly the parent leaders and governing councils, and we were looking at how we can improve outcomes for children in schools in my community. We used the opportunity to reflect on what we had enjoyed at school that did not seem to happen so much now. I want to mention Lonsdale Heights because they are providing the things that many of us older members of the community regret are not provided in all schools.

The parents said they used to like sports day, and that does not always happen to the same extent. They liked the fetes and they liked the school production. They are their happiest memories of school. Lonsdale Heights, with only 109 children, manages to put on all three, and I think this should be commended. Sports Day is held in term three every year with children from kindy to year 7 taking part. The first half of the day is devoted to teaching clinics, with sports groups that have run a clinic during the year such as basketball and soccer invited to return and run a clinic for Sports Day. There are usually three such clinics during the morning and the afternoon is used for team and individual races and other sports activities followed by presentations.

Lonsdale Heights, for the last few years, has also produced a stage show, a rock musical. This year it was called Just a Fantasy and involved 55 of the 109 children at the school. The teachers are heavily involved in this with their producing the staging and suitable props, and parents, staff and other helpers prepare the costumes. The children launched three productions at the Noarlunga Theatre, and it is available to all sorts of members of the community to attend and is often attended not only by the immediate school community but by other schools and citizens from aged communities.

The school also has a school band which is led again by the able principal, Mr Beal, who has a great interest and facility in music. The children learn to play a range of instruments from things like the guitar, drums or glockenspiel to classical music. Next week, the school is holding its annual mini fete and barbecue. Each class puts together an activity that can be used for a stall. These can range from wet sponge throwing, skateboarding and egg and spoon races, to fancy dress, paper folding, sewing, knitting, painting or cup cake decorating. Staff, including SSOs, help students prepare for the fete by each taking a group to learn a specific activity or craft. Not only do children help prepare items for sale for the activities but they also each take a turn in working on the stall during the day.

The school has produced a fun way of enabling a low income community to not only develop the children's craft skills but their feeling of community, their feeling of being supported by their parents and the community around them, and enabling them to have a great, fun day, which includes a show bag, when some families cannot afford to go to the Royal Show.

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