Mark Butler (Port Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In June this year I had the pleasure of opening the second stage of the Mawson Lakes School, in my electorate. In addition to significant government funding, the school community has raised nearly $100,000 through fundraising efforts in recent years to support the school’s development. The fundraising efforts of parents and community minded citizens provided enhanced playgrounds, sporting equipment, library books, classroom resources and advanced computer equipment for school students to enjoy. I was made aware of the tireless efforts of a few of these volunteers, and today I would specifically like to mention the efforts of Jane Boettger, Linda Platt, Liz Murgia, Anne Elliot and Sam Merritt.

The school also has a strong international student visit and exchange program, with more than 150 students from Japan, Korea and China visiting the school as part of a short-stay study program. The international students are billeted with families from the school and the broader community. This program has raised more than $115,000, which has also supported the ongoing development of the school.

Mawson Lakes School is now complete and fully operational—with 565 reception to year 7 students, 84 children in the preschool and 45 children in the new childcare centre. There are more than 50 staff working across three co-located services. The Mawson Centre, which is close by, has a lifelong learning focus and provides high-quality learning opportunities for this young community. It includes a state-of-the-art community library, lecture and meeting rooms, a computer barn and a 255-seat auditorium, all of which are accessible by the strategic partners, the school and the broader community. Mawson Lakes School has been a forerunner in the development of a birth to eight years of age integrated services program, which will include education, health and care programs for young children in this age group and their families. The opening of new facilities, particularly the childcare centre and the preschool, is a step towards building a learning community in Mawson Lakes. This approach is a significant focus of the South Australian government and now of the federal government.

In its short life span, this school has been the recipient of many awards—far too many for me to acknowledge in the limited time I have today. But there are two particular awards that I would like to mention. The first is an award for building sustainable links with older people in the community. This award was sponsored by the South Australian Office for the Ageing and the Department of Health. This successful ongoing program saw a group of five-year-old students working closely on a weekly basis with older people at the Mawson Lakes Helping Hand centre. The second award I would like to mention is the war veterans award, which was given in recognition of developing an understanding of the role that Vietnam veterans have played in Australia’s history. This was an outstanding program spanning nearly five years and involving the year 6 and 7 students from Mawson Lakes School and the Pooraka branch of the Vietnam Veterans Association. I would like to thank Alan Peucker, principal of the school, for allowing me the honour of opening the second stage, and I particularly want to thank three young students—Tayla, Shannen and Chelsea—for their guided tour of the school and for pointing out its many wonderful features.