Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Recently, I attended the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of St Hurmizd Assyrian Primary School. The school first accepted students in 2002, and the first cohort was approximately 76 students. The school's enrolment has grown steadily and now has almost 800 students from preschool to year 6. The school has state-of-the-art classrooms and opportunities to study the latest technology and science subjects. The emcees for the night were David Daniel and Reema Khamme, who were from the original student cohort and, like many other graduates, are accomplished in their chosen fields. I acknowledge Aaron Boyd of Assyrian Christian Schools, spiritual leaders His Grace Mar Benyamin Elya, Bishop of Victoria New Zealand and Chairperson of the Assyrian Christian Schools, and His Beatitude Mar Meelis Zaia AM, Archbishop of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon. It was the Archbishop Zaia's vision that made the school a reality. In his words, it is 'a school, in which our people from all denominations will have pride in knowing that they have accomplished their national obligations upon which rely all coming generations'. It was a really lovely evening to celebrate with parents, friends, teachers and the clergy. The highlight was the performance by the K-6 choir and the traditional dancing by the children. It was just a lovely night.