Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are many schools in the electorate of Cowan, and they do great work. On Friday night I attended a dance performance at Girrawheen Senior High School. The Special Dance program is a key curriculum initiative for the school. On the night, there were many routines involving groups of up to 25 dancers and two solo dance performances from year 12 students. A strong crowd of several hundred friends and family members joined with staff to enjoy an excellent show, Girra-Mix. I congratulate all the students but also make mention of award winners: in year 12, Catherine Barnes for dance practical and Jessika Leadbitter for dance theory; in year 8, Emily Edwards, dancer of the year, and Paige Sims, dancer to watch; in year 9, Deanne Straw and Dbada Salih; in year l0, Shae Hazzard and Wendy Ha; and, in year 11, Azlina Asmad and Angela Williams. The Special Dance program, under the leadership of Miss Pamela Konijn, demonstrated that such programs are vital not only in connecting young people to education itself but in helping them to develop a strong work and study ethic as well as the responsibility of working as a member of a team.

In speaking with the Director Schools of the Department of Education and Training’s West Coast Education District, David Lee, I got a better appreciation of not only his confidence in the staff at Girrawheen but also the sense of dedication the staff have to their students. Certainly I appreciate that the socioeconomic circumstances and the diversity of the area create challenges, but those challenges are being met via a staff profile and the resources to meet the needs. An important statistic is that close to 40 per cent of parents of students at the school were born overseas, so it is little wonder the school holds up diversity as a strength and is at the centre of many multicultural activities in the district.

Students come to Girrawheen Senior High School from Girrawheen, Koondoola, Marangaroo and Alexander Heights. Whilst at the dance performance I also saw Tina Darling, whom I know as the President of the Marangaroo Primary School P&C but who is also the head of the Girrawheen Senior High School Council. Tina is one of the many local people committed to the success of Girrawheen Senior High School.

The school provides opportunities for university entrance, trade and training qualifications, and other forms of training and pathways to employment. I have had significant contact with Noel Woodley, the principal, regarding a number of local issues, and it is clear that the leadership is taking the school in the right direction. I have met the deputies, Ann Southwell and, on Friday night, Barbara Newton. I have also met a number of staff members and have been impressed by their commitment and drive.

Whenever I am in Girrawheen, which is every day that I am in Cowan, I see the great potential of the area. That potential is clearest when you see the children and young people who live there and in the surrounding suburbs. The state schools in Girrawheen—Hudson Park and Roseworth Primary Schools and Girrawheen Senior High School—offer educational pathways to a good future, and that future is without limitations. What I would say to the people, and particularly the young people, in Girrawheen is that you should have a dream, a dream that you can and will achieve a solid future for yourself. This has nothing to do with luck, and it should not involve waiting for someone to deliver any special benefits to individuals. Through the schools in Girrawheen our young people have access to opportunities, and they should embrace them. No young person should absent themselves from school and no parent or care provider should have anything but a full commitment to ensuring an education for young people. Indeed, by example, those parents and carers should lead the young towards the strongest commitment to education and the opportunity for gainful employment that is directly linked to that very education.

Literacy and numeracy are the core building blocks for education. As shown by the recent NAPLAN results, Girrawheen Senior High School has achieved outstanding success in literacy and numeracy. The school operates courses in English as a second language as well as the ITAS, or Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme—all building on literacy and numeracy and providing opportunities for long-term individual success. From these programs and the vocational opportunities provided at Girrawheen Senior High School, the students have achieved success, including tertiary entrance and access to training—Certificate II in Building and Construction—and employment, as well as improved literacy and numeracy outcomes. The programs are there, and the results are there. Beyond the mainstream support, as individually focused as it is, the school has an education support unit and a program for students at educational risk as well as initiatives for talented and gifted students.

I say again that Girrawheen Senior High School is a school that provides excellent opportunities for its students. The leaders and the teachers do a very good job, and I offer them my thanks and appreciation for the work they do. This is the first time that the school has ever been mentioned as the subject of a speech. Given the great work that Girrawheen Senior High School does, I think it is long overdue.