Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to give a big shout-out to my friends, the students and teachers of the Joseph Varga School in Randwick. It's a small school established as a special education school, but I like to think of the many abilities of the great students that are at this school. It's known as JVS in the local community. Many students who have fallen through the cracks in mainstream schooling go to this school and excel in the environment of a unique, close-knit school.

I was delighted that that excellence was in action, with plenty of colour, at the Joseph Varga School's annual art show, this year held at Clovelly Surf Lifesaving Club on 21 September. As JVS's principal, Daniel Lynch, said, 'Art helps students represent their experiences and communicate their ideas and their feelings.' For the teachers, this expression through art provides valuable insight into the students' thoughts and helps to forge stronger connections. The exhibition's theme was 'movement', with the students expressing this through different mediums of paint, oils, pencils and computer programs.

I want to give a special thanks to my friend Timothy Yaw, who celebrated his 16th birthday last week, who drew a picture of me and my family. That picture proudly hangs on my office wall in Maroubra, right next to the painting that was given to me by the school some years ago called Sydney Opera Bridge. I congratulate and thank all of my friends at the Joseph Varga School.