Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As members of parliament, we all acknowledge the importance of education. In fact, it is possibly the one thing we all agree on. Education gives children the opportunity to build their skills and create the building blocks and talents and choices in ways that will enable them to flourish and prosper. Pacific Hills Christian School in my electorate recently celebrated 40 years of outstanding work. The school was established in 1979 with eight students and one teacher, Mrs Lyn McCrindle, who served her students with the same love and passion as teachers at the school continue to do today. Today the board is led by Lyn's son Mark, and Lyn continues to serve the school as a board member. The board is filled with passionate parents and supporters of the school: Max Maddock, Nathan Parkin, Helen McDougall, Tony Morgan, Daniel Wong and Julianne Duggan.

Six years after the school began, Dr Ted Boyce became the school principal. Dr Boyce is an educational institution not just in my community but across the country. His leadership, his commitment to Christian values, and his pastoral approach have made him a beacon for educators nationally. Under his excellent leadership, Pacific Hills Christian School has grown to over 1, 300 students. From its earliest beginnings, the school has been grounded in a commitment to education that includes a full range of students with a wide range of abilities and challenges.

Four years ago, New Hope School was started, alongside Pacific Hills Christian School, to educate and support children with intellectual disability and autism. New Hope School is an integral part of the school's mission and is a fantastic initiative. Students at both New Hope and Pacific Hills interact and learn together, but the children at New Hope are also able to get the specialist learning support that they require.

When schools educate children, they not only give them a whole range of skills: they point them in the direction of how to live a good life. Pacific Hills Christian School understands that education isn't simply about enabling people to take their place in the workforce or to compete and succeed in the marketplace. As a new parent, I often reflect on this. When we raise a child and offer them the best of what we know, we are teaching them how to wonder, how to live in a world full of beauty and mystery, how to worship and how to love. A maths lesson is not simply a way of learning how to measure and count in order to accomplish a task, but a way of encountering the incredible intricacy and wonder of creation. Education is about helping children to be well-rounded people who notice the people around them, care about the world, take leadership and have character and virtue to make the society flourish. Justice, integrity, courage, patience, compassion, commitment—those lessons are taught alongside geography, maths and history. The children are valued regardless of their abilities and encouraged to serve and excel with whatever capacity and skills they may have.

I commend everyone at Pacific Hills Christian School on 40 fantastic years. The school has enriched our community and I am proud it is part of the Berowra electorate. I look forward to seeing what the next 40 years will bring.