HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Subject Index
House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-06-05 Daily Xml
Contents
Pdf Xml

Taylor Electorate

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (15:21): I would like to continue my remarks about my recent visits to the primary and secondary schools in the electorate of Taylor. I was speaking about the St Columba College at Andrews Farm the other day, and how I had visited principal Madeline Brennan. I was talking about the fantastic SACE completion rate of 99 per cent of year 12 students at the school, and the fantastic percentage of students who are going to get an ATAR. Principal Madeline Brennan was particularly chuffed to tell me of a past student who has recently been accepted into Harvard, which is a fantastic achievement for a northern suburbs school.

We were also talking about the African liaison officer who started through their connection to the Anglican and Catholic Diocese that supports St Columba, Reverend David Amol. It was lovely to meet David and begin talking to him about how we can work together to help the local African families who are in the Peachey Belt, Davoren Park and Andrews Farm section of the electorate of Napier and Taylor.

There is also another new principal in our area, Peter McKay, who has been around the state in various roles for a while, but has replaced the good Di Garwood at Paralowie R-12. It is in the member for Ramsay's electorate, but is across the road from the seat of Taylor. I do not have the good fortune at this point of having a public high school within the area of Taylor. I have been working towards that for the past four years and will continue to champion the establishment at the Riverlea or Buckland Park Virginia zone of my electorate to meet the growing needs of young families in the area.

Paralowie R-12, under Peter McKay's leadership, is certainly looking forward to a principal with a lot of energy and great vision, and improving the connection to SACE results and ATAR scores and VET, and getting those kids in the northern suburbs into the jobs and the futures that they look forward to and deserve. Again, I had the pleasure of visiting Salisbury High School and met with principal Ann Prime, who has been there I think for five years now. Ann has always had a high quality focus in the outcomes for all of her students. In fact, when she walks into a classroom, she asks them their future occupation and says, 'How is my marine biologist?' 'How is my defence technologist?' and 'How is my pure maths student today?'

There is no such thing as failure within that school. Failure is not an option for these students at Salisbury high, and I praise Ann and her whole team, who are constantly improving the outcomes and working with the Orion network of preschools and primary schools in the northern suburbs, and a leadership framework. They are doing a wonderful job, and I am deeply pleased and privileged to work alongside her in the north.

Mr Pisoni: They have been doing that for a long time, delivering good students, at Salisbury High School.

Mrs VLAHOS: They have; they have got a fantastic record. I am not going to mention the previous member who passes out awards there from time to time, the same as I do. Bethany Christian School and Temple Christian College (Bethany Campus) at Paralowie, with Rod Klimionok and Wendy Matear in the primary school and the secondary school, provide a fantastic option for many students. Many of their families are struggling, but indeed make the effort and pay the extra money for their children to go to that Christian school, and what a fantastic Christian school it is.

Last year, one of their students was a young lady who was not only particularly gifted with her sporting achievements but went on to go into the RAAF Academy after doing cadet work. It was a fantastic thing for an aviation geek and an enthusiast like myself to see a young woman doing that; I wish I was her age and embarking on that journey in life. It was fantastic to see that. Bethany Christian School does fantastic work with NAMIG and I look forward to seeing them contribute to the Concept2Creation program with NAMIG again this year.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT