House debates

Tuesday, 26 October 2021

Statements by Members

Bonner Electorate: Schools

1:53 pm

Photo of Ross VastaRoss Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I rise today to bring attention to Bonner's amazing school communities. Over the last few weeks I've been dropping off the graduation certificates for our year 6 and year 12 students and visiting classroom staff and P&Cs. I recently caught up with the Mount Gravatt East State School P&C, who are undertaking some terrific upgrades at the school, including a new mural for their community garden. This term, I conducted a mock parliament with the year 6 students at Belmont State School. The students debated whether junk food should be served in the school cafeteria. The two debating sides really came together to deliver some impactful arguments, and I'm sure you can guess what the outcome was. Our junior Bonner Youth Advisory Council jumped into a zoom meeting with the founder of Vuly Trampolines and Bonner local Joe Andon. Jesse, a year 6 student from Moreton Bay College, contacted me after the meeting and said that she was so inspired by Joe's story that she had started brainstorming business ideas with her two sisters. This month, alongside Minister for Education and Youth Alan Tudge, I hosted the Bonner schools forum. We were joined by parents, teachers, school staff and psychologists to discuss the future of our schools.

This week our year 12 started their external exams. I take this opportunity to wish them the best of luck as they prepare to finish up this chapter and embark upon their next journey. I'm very proud of their hard work.