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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-07-02 Daily Xml
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Clovelly Park Primary School

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (15:22): I rise today to highlight a recent visit to Parliament House by students from a school within my electorate of Elder, namely, Clovelly Park Primary School. I was indeed very fortunate to host a large group of 40 years 6 and 7 students from two classes on a tour last week. I would like to commend those students, in particular, along with their teachers, support staff and parents, because I was simply overwhelmed by their level of dynamic engagement and by the quality of their questions. They really kept me on my toes, as it seemed almost every student had multiple questions about our parliament—both the physical building and the underpinning democratic system of legislation and government.

Prior to the tour, I was pleased to provide copies of my Parliament House tour book which contains, among other things, an account of how laws are made, the history of this place, its members and the role of the members. Clovelly Park year 6/7 teacher Vicki Faulkner said the Parliament House tour was a wonderful opportunity for students to see and experience what they had learned in class, to flesh out what had previously been an abstract concept for them.

What makes the efforts of these students even more noteworthy is that they are not from one of our most privileged schools or communities. In fact, Clovelly Park Primary School has a reasonably high level of disadvantage, both financial and physically. On average, there are also 70 per cent of students who are from an English as a second language background across the two classes who attended the tour.

There are also four students from that group with a diagnosed disability; yet I do not think I have ever met a group of young people so curious about the machinations of government or so well versed in certain aspects of the legislative process. It was heartwarming to see such enthusiasm at such a young age. I would not be surprised to learn in years to come that students on this visit ended up representing their local communities or state here in this place as MPs or as legislative councillors; or perhaps they will be grilling our successors as members of the media pack covering state politics or, as one boy in the group suggested, directing the day-to-day goings on from the Clerk's chair. But wherever the coming years take them, I am sure these inquisitive, bright, passionate youth will mature into young adults, well prepared and keen to offer unique and important contributions to our society, and the teachers, ancillary staff and school community of Clovelly Park Primary School will have played no small part in that journey.

Teaching, like nursing, can be a strange, multifaceted, all-consuming occupation, demanding a vocational heart, a professional mind, the skills of a tradesperson, the diplomacy of an ambassador, the mediating abilities of a counsellor and the patience of a saint. Along with supportive families, friends and community influences, teachers help to guide impressionable individuals, mentor developing characters and liberate young minds. As I have said previously in this place, high quality, accessible education should be a right not a privilege for all Australians, no matter what their culture, colour, creed or credit rating.

The year 6/7 student group which visited from Clovelly Park Primary School are just one example of the importance of a good primary school education in opening up the world and the future to our young people. Clearly, this includes new arrivals to Clovelly Park, who are paired with a mentor to assist them in the transition to this wonderful school. I recently heard the school principal, Ms Julie Bishop, say that, if students are safe and happy 'they're the best learners'. How true.

I would like to congratulate these students, their parents, the school staff and community and thank them for joining me at Parliament House. I look forward to meeting with them again and welcoming future students of Clovelly Park to this place, along with those from the many other great schools in my electorate.

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