High School for Coburg on Stateline!

High School for Coburg has made it to the small screen. Tune in to ABC1 Stateline at 7.30pm on Friday 7th May to see co-founder Cate Hall telling the High School for Coburg story.

Afterwards, let the politicians know what you think. Phone or write to your local member, the Minister for Education and the Premier.

Thank you to everyone who was involved for making it happen!

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Children’s entertainer Mike Jackson will be putting on a show in support of a high school for the community at 10.30am on Saturday 8th May in the meeting room at the Coburg Library. Come along and enjoy songs, stories, lots of laughs, juggling and string! Please be early as places are limited.

HSC media wrap up

With the recent announcement of the long awaited taskforce to examine the education needs of Coburg and surrounding communities, our campaign for a high school in Coburg has been in the media quite a bit lately. Just in case you've missed it - here's a quick list of links.

12/04/2010 - Coburg high school D-Day, in the Moreland Leader

13/04/2010 - Coburg 'needs high school' in The Age.

13/04/2010 - Pike announces demographic review into Coburg. This article was in the online Government News,  an Australia independent bi-monthly magazine circulated to all levels of government.

16/04/2010 - What do we want? A high school of our own... The Age, headlining the education section.

There have also been letters to the editor published in both The Age and Moreland Leader. 

Taskforce announced

The Minister for Education Bronwyn Pike has announced the formation of a taskforce to examine the need for a high school for Coburg and the surrounding community. This is the taskforce first announced by Member for Pascoe Vale, Christine Campbell on 30/11/2009. That's four and a half months ago.

High School for Coburg thank Minister Pike for her commitment to look at this long standing issue and look forward to participating in a truly independent taskforce to examine the over whelming need for secondary education options for the community.

The taskforce needs to call for community submissions to reflect the needs and wants of the whole community. Minister Pike has said she is concerned a Coburg High would not be used.  HSC remind her that 96% of the respondents in the HSC parental attitudes and intentions survey have said they would send their children to a Coburg High. Her statistics are incomplete and misleading and her obvious bias makes it imperative that this task force has an independent chairperson and a mandate to be truly impartial. We are looking forward to getting stuck in and finishing the report as soon as possible so local parents can have plenty of time to read the report before the elections in November.

According to the Minister for Education's press release, the taskforce will consult with the local Coburg community – including Member for Pascoe Vale Christine Campbell, local school principals and school councils, the High School for Coburg group and Moreland City Council. It will also assess local demographic information from Moreland City Council, primary school enrolments, parents’ intention for the secondary education of their children, maternal and child health records and future housing capacity in Coburg. The review is expected to be completed by the middle of the year.

Education is a major issue in our local community and is set to become an even bigger issue in light of the $1 billion Coburg re-development and the Kodak and Pentridge redevelopments which have so far failed to take into account the growing social infrastructure needs of the area.

State Planning Logic 101

by Cate Hall


1. A growth area is only a growth area if it is an Outer Growth Area

At a High School for Coburg sausage sizzle at Coburg Mall in early March, we were approached by an employee of the transport planning department who told us that Coburg is a drop in the ocean compared to the outer growth areas which are competing for infrastructure spending and that we didn't stand a chance. Even though Coburg is growing - with Pentridge and the pending Coburg Initiative and former Kodak site redevelopment and increased birthrates and influx of families, it does not to qualify as a growth area. This is ridiculous.

Justin Madden's new outer Growth Area planning guidelines say that if the population is 30,000, provision for a high school is needed. Coburg plus Coburg North hit that population mark years ago and we require secondary education provision to ensure equity of access.The Coburg Initiative alone should qualify Coburg as having needs comparable to an Outer Growth Area.

With the cessation of government plans to grow Melbourne outside it's current boundary due to the collapse of the proposed growth area tax, growing areas like Coburg may now have a chance of getting the infrastructure provision required.

2. If they are leaving because it is not there, you don't need to provide it

Justin Madden in a letter last year to MP Robin Scott acknowledged that there is a pattern of families leaving the Coburg and West Preston areas when their children reach secondary school age but with breathtaking logic goes on to say that is why a secondary school is not required.

Of course the community knows that many families make the difficult decision to leave Coburg and West Preston as their children approach high school age because there is no state high school.

Local real estate agents have gone on record in the Moreland Leader confirming this, as did HSC's Moreland Council assisted survey showing over 50 % leaving because no high school but 96% saying they would support local school if it existed.

3. It is not necessary to do community consultation across the road from a major development if that is the next municipality

The DPCD appear not to have felt the need to extend community consultation process for the redevelopment of the former Kodak site across the street into Darebin.

3 .1. Amendment : It is not necessary to inform residents across the road from a developement - even in same municipality. 

Playtime in the park

High School for Coburg would like to thank each of the 300 or so people who attended Playtime in the Park last Sunday. Thank you also to our sponsors and many generous locals who donated their time, musical talents, yummy baking and people power to make it a wonderful, fun day for everyone. 

It was a perfect gloriously sunny autumn day and families sat under shady trees watching the performers with the beautiful back drop of the lake behind the stage. We had Jane McCracken and her adorable children's choir, Ross McLennen, Short Order Schefs, comedienne Justine Sless and the nearly show stealing youth band - Boxty. To add to the all ages effort, the sound crew were Kath and Zach, two students from Essendon Keilor College who did an exceptional job.

1. jane and children's choir, 2. children's choir, 3. playtime in the park, 4. playtime in the park, 5. sausage sizzling, 6. queue for at the sausage sizzle, 7. darren, 8. playtime in the park, 9. banjo, 10. jane, 11. short order schefs, 12. playtime in the park, 13. playtime in the park, 14. justine sless, 15. playtime in the park, 16. the sound guy, 17. face painting, 18. cake stall, 19. robin and cate, 20. short order schefs, 21. beth and grace, 22. beth, 23. boxty, 24. playtime in the park, 25. playtime in the park

Given that HSC have been unable to identify any mechanism within the Northern Region of the Education Department for assessing or quantifying local education wants and needs, public support of events like Playtime in the Park is crucial. Each person who attended is helping HSC show that our community, which extends from West Preston to Coburg West, needs a state secondary school.

HSC's huge contact list of 1500 and fast growing number of Facebook fans also help to make that message loud and clear. Please join us on Facebook (and encourage your friends to become fans too), subscribe to this website (box on the top right hand side of the site) or sign up for the email list if you want your children to go to a high school in our community rather than having to travel to far flung suburbs. A local high school will benefit our whole community!

Playtime in the Park - Volunteers still needed!!

On Sunday March 14th, HSC is hosting Playtime in the Park and it promises to be a great event. However we still need volunteers to help run the event. Most spots require only a short committment on the day.

Set up and pack down
Contact Darren - darren@djscommunications.com.au or 0411089209
Help set up sound equipment, the marquee and banners. Help pack it up at the end of the day. Volunteers required for either the beginning or end of the day, or for both.


Cake stall
Contact Morena - morena3058@gmail.com or 0425880342
Bakers - bake cakes, biscuits, slices and muffins etc to fill our cake stall. Savoury items would be great too. Please bring baked items to the stall on the day, presented on a plastic or paper plate with a list of ingredients. We ask that items be baked within the last 24 hours and that they do not require refrigeration to be food safe - so no cream or raw eggs.
Cake stall volunteers - we need people to take shifts and run the cake stall, serving cakes and accepting donation.

Sausage Sizzle
Contact David - davidnunns@optusnet.com.au or 0430384483
Cooking on the barbeque, taking orders or serving sausages.


Facepainters
Dianne - diannemhartley@dodo.com.au
Turn kids into spidermen and fairies. Face paints provided and we will have some designs to work from or you can use your imagination.

This is a great opportunity to get involved in the HSC campaign, meet like minded people and take action. Remember our goal - a general entry all ages High School in Coburg.