BBQ in Victoria Mall

by Morena Milani

It was an absolutely wonderful few hours at Victoria Mall today. David must be commended for an amazing job with getting everything organised, he really went above and beyond it getting it up and running and running smoothly, so thank you very much David!!!!!



It was great to meet so many people, many of whom expressed the view that we are really getting places and are starting to believe that a high school in Coburg will be a reality!!!! This shows a tremendous attitudinal shift and I think is a direct reflection of the awareness and education campaigns we have been running continuously since late last year.





We managed to collect 128 signatures today, this was a phenomenal effort particularly given we needed to multi-skill and cook and serve sausages, take orders, collect money and distribute flyers etc in addition to collecting said signatures. This of course takes us well over the 1,000 families mark and I also gave out petitions to those who requested them to disseminate in their
communities.



It was good to see so many familiar faces, good work Coburg West crew in getting a notice into your newsletter to let your school community know that the event was happening. Dianne the t-shirts are superb and I for one was extremely proud to don mine. I think you are definitely onto a winner with these and I can't wait to get one for my kids. Peter you are a superstar, given how heavy your cold is it was a nothing short of miraculous that you put in whole day's worth of hard yakka, we really appreciate it. Catey as always you were wonderful and really got the word out so a heartfelt thanks for all your efforts. And Denis your BBQing was just great, so consistent and talk about productivity. Now I am sure I have canvassed everyone and their amazing output today, this was a great idea and thank you!

May update and upcoming sausage sizzle

by David Nunns

Just a short note to advise of a couple of big news items from High School for Coburg (HSC) as the campaign continues to establish an open entry year 7 to 12 public secondary school in the Coburg area :

• Moreland City Council backs HSC ... last week the Moreland City Council (MCC) endorsed a resolution supporting the establishment of a secondary college in Coburg

  -Cr Erdogan moved, Cr Yildiz seconded that Council
  
  1. Write to the Premier of Victoria, The Honourable John Brumby MP and the Minister for Education, The Honourable Bronwyn Pike MP calling for an open entry secondary college to be established in Coburg.
  
  2. Commit to working with the Coburg High School Group and the general residents of Coburg to advocate for the establishment of a 7-12 open entry secondary college in Coburg and that Council facilitate the advocacy. (Minutes of the MCC meeting of 13/05/09 can be viewed here)

  It is simply magnificent to have the support of our local council and a special thanks must go to Councillor Enver Erdogan for being the sponsor of the resolution and to the other councillors who backed HSC on the night.

• COBURG 2020 ... at the Coburg 2020 initiative info stalls that were held last Saturday in the Victoria St. Mall the absence of an open entry public secondary school in Coburg was the biggest concern identified by locals and out-ranked other issues two-to-one. Yes .. thats right ... this single issue out-ranked both the controversial Pentridge Piazza and Coburg High School apartment block developments !!! This sends another clear message to the Moreland City Council and to local politicians that this issue needs to be dealt with as residents call for change.

We see these two recent events as being a positive sign for our campaign and a big THANK-YOU to all of the HSC supporters that visited the stalls and put across their views in an eloquent and passionate manner.

HSC Sausage Sizzle & Stall ... on Saturday the 23rd of May 2009 (this Saturday) the High School for Coburg people will be holding a sausage sizzle and information stall in the Victoria Street Mall in Coburg (next to the pedestrian crossing) from 10:00 AM TO 2:00 PM. So come along and help us raise some much needed funds for HSC so we can expand our activities and move the campaign to another level. Sausages $2.50 Soft Drinks $2.50 Paua Shell Fridge Magnets $2.50 Thanks for you on-going support and we look forward to catching up this Saturday at the sausage sizzle in the Victoria Street Mall in downtown Coburg.

Email to Kelvin Thomson

by Catherine Hall

This is a copy of the email I sent to Kelvin Thomson on April 11, 2009.

Subject: schools for new suburb of 3000 homes while neglect in Coburg which will also gain 3000 homes

Dear Kelvin,
I was angered at the apparent inequity inherent in the announcement of the Federal and State initiative to build a new suburb in Maribyrnong.
This development will have 3000 new homes in 10 years,"equivalent to Castlemaine " which is exactly the home number and time frame for The Coburg Initiative.
It was announced that there will be new schools [note the plural] included in the planning.

While this is laudible it highlights what Coburg ISN'T getting.

Coburg has the greatest number of young children in Moreland and the greatest expected increase in those numbers and yet in this region there are 22 pimary schools and not one high school.
Coburg already has great need for a high school ,as evidenced by High School for Coburg [HSC] data and the 850 very concerned families who have joined us thus far.
The primary school community ,and thus the wider one,is being dismantled as children travel to many different high schools, all out of their area.
Add to this dire situation development the size of Castlemaine -not to mention Pentridge and Kodak and, unlike Maribyrnong, still we are not deemed worthy of consideration for a school.
Would you please ask Bronwyn Pike and Julia Gillard to give the region from West Preston across to Pacoe Vale [which includes the Coburg Initiative] the same consideration of education provision that has apparently occurred for the new Maribyrnong suburb?

Kind Regards

Catherine Hall
Coburg North 3058

March Update

by Morena Milani
Dear friends and supporters (over 800 families and individuals to date), March was campaign month for the HSC group. We sought to raise further awareness of the lack of secondary education in Coburg and its surrounds and grow our supporter base. To this end we ran two high profile campaigns at both the Sydney Road Street Party (SRSP), and at the Coburg West Primary School Fete (Coburg West being the largest school community in our proposed catchment area).

Our community stall at the SRSP on Sunday 1 March, 2009 was a resounding success. We doubled our supporter base to reach a grand total of just over 500 families/individuals. The Coburg West Primary School Fete on Sunday 22 March, 2009 saw over 300 new members join our ranks in less than four hours!!

These events put us in the privileged position of being able to interact with parents and learn about their concerns and opinions. This information was incredibly valuable and has been used to provide stakeholders with a vital anecdotal snapshot that statistical analysis/data alone does not provide. Parents on both days expressed a range of interesting views. The broad consensus was one of outrage and disbelief that Coburg does not have a high school. Another popularly articulated view was that people love this community and the wonderful networks they have built and are loathe to leave the area to educate their children. Moreover, there was a fervent belief and desire that a public school education would offer their children a genuine microcosm of the world and allow for diversity within an egalitarian environment.

On Wednesday 11 March, 2009, Highy School for Coburg (HSC) co-founders and working party members, Cate Hall and Morena Milani were invited to Victoria's Parliament House for a round table discussion on the educational crisis facing Coburg and its broader community. In attendance were the Education Minister for the Victorian Government, Bronwyn Pike and her advisor Caitlin, Member for Pascoe Vale Christine Campbell and her Electorate Officer Kerrie and Head of the Northern Metropolitan Region of the Education Department Wayne Craig. The meeting, which had initially been scheduled for half an hour, was incredibly positive with the Education Minister giving Cate and Morena well over an hour of her time. During the discussion Cate was able to offer a most convincing and in depth statistical analysis that indicated the overwhelming need to furnish Coburg with a high school to accommodate the ever growing number of young people in the area. Morena presented a colourful anecdotal snapshot, underscoring the desire of parents to have world-class educational opportunities for their children. She also spoke passionately about the issue of overcrowding within desirable schools that has been compounded significantly by the Global Financial Crisis. Cate and Morena emerged from the meeting with a firm commitment from the Education Minister to continue their dialogue within an expeditious time frame.

HSC's work with politicians is ongoing. On Tuesday 24 March 2009, members of the HSC Working Party and other concerned parents attended a meeting called by The Honourable Member for Wills, Kelvin Thomson, to establish his own working party to examine education in this region of Melbourne. The meeting resulted in a constructive exchange of views and a sharing of information and a promise to move ahead quickly with a number of strategies outlined on the evening. Recently, Kelvin Thomson gave a parliamentary address on the issue of educational disadvantage within this electorate. HSC is proud to report that Kelvin Thomson used some of our rich statistical work and that our group were named in his parliamentary speech. Like HSC, Kelvin Thomson believes that a quality educational experience is essential for a child to reach their full potential.

Another exciting development saw HSC featured in The Age education section on Monday 30 March, 2009. Here Cate, on behalf of HSC, was able to provide an insightful overview of the educational landscape in HSC's proposed catchment area. Cate outlined the group's objectives, history, statistical findings and achievements. The article was most supportive of HSC's cause.

In the coming weeks, primary school parents in this area will be surveyed on schooling options for their children. This survey is being co-ordinated by Christine Campbell's office. And this is where you can play a crucial role by making your voice heard!!! If you truly want this venture to succeed, then please show your support. If a quality secondary educational institution was provided within HSC's focus area, would you consider sending your children there? Do your children a favour and join the many amazing parents who believe in this area and want to educate their children here. Show that you believe in this new and exciting vision for Coburg and its larger community. With your help and your belief, we can achieve great things!!!!!!! HSC's aim is to get this message out to as many families in Coburg and its surrounds as we can. If you think you can help to distribute leaflets to primary schools, kindergartens, child care centres or children's recreational groups then please contact us now. If you are aware of any other organisations that may be able to assist this campaign through media, advertising opportunities or the provision of stationery and printing then HSC would appreciate this assistance enormously.

Australian Bureau of Statistics Information

There are some interesting points to consider based on Australian Bureau of Statistics figures relating to the area shown in the attached map (Moreland - Coburg).















Some key points to note are:

• There has been a 40.28% increase in children attending pre-school between 2006 & 2001 census. This percentage equates to 234 students which may not sound like much, but that is basically the number of students in total at a medium sized primary school. Which may explain why some primary schools in the area are turning children away.
• There has been a 13.6% increase in the number of children attending non-government primary schools (excluding Catholic schools).
• There has been a 10.82% increase in the number of children (0-4) age group between 2006 & 2001 Census (equates to 312 students).
• There has been a 4.61% increase in the number of children (10-14) age group between 2006 & 2001 Census (equates to 115 students) .
• ABS data shows approximately 539 students would be looking for entry into high school within this area (Aged 12) in 2006 (nb: This does not include those areas in Darebin, Brunswick etc). 529 students would be looking for placements in 2010
• 755 students would be looking for placements in 2018 (give or take all the families that decide to leave prior to this occurring).

In terms of dwellings, the number of "separate houses" remains fairly static, with increases in other types of properties eg. townhouses, flats/units etc. Interestingly, this equates to 962 properties from 1996 - 2006 (not including the Kodak or Pentridge developments which are set to increase the number of dwellings in the area). Which doesn't replace "family home numbers" as they seem to remain static. Oversimplified this means families move out of the Coburg area when they need to access secondary schooling for their children.

Click on the link below to view Excel spreadsheet data supporting these statements in more detail.

ABS - Time Series by Age, 1996 - 2006 HSC Version

Secondary Education Forum

The HSC (High School for Coburg) group was thrilled at the community response during the “Secondary Education Forum” held at the Moreland City Council concert hall on Wednesday 18th February 2009. The future of secondary education in the city of Coburg and the greater city of Moreland area was on the line. The community was united and our first milestone was a great success.

The meeting had to be delayed by 20 minutes to allow time for the long queues of residents to sign in. The dividing partition in the concert hall had to be opened to double the size of the venue in order to fit the 180 who attended! Even then, there were some who had to stand during the meeting.

Both Federal and State representatives in Kelvin Thompson and Christine Campbell respectively, showed their support for the views of the community and for the HSC group in our endeavour to address the lack of secondary education in our area. Moreland City Council, although without jurisdiction, offered what services it could. Families from right across our proposed catchment area plus a very significant number from further afield (eg. Oak Park, Hadfield and Fawkner) all said they would support a Coburg High School.

The private schools also featured, with many people saying we should add Catholic primaries to our map because they would also feed into a local high school. A statement reinforced with newspaper articles in the last few days predicting increases in public education in the coming years, due to the current economic climate. The parents of students at the Australian International Academy predicted many would leave that school due to financial constraints and attend a good quality local state high school.

There were many views expressed on the night, but the overwhelming message was the need and desire for a quality, all ages, all access secondary school for our COMMUNITY. It was really heartening to hear the word ''community '' being used by so many members of the public. The HSC respects the main feature of our natural neighbourhood: community mindedness. Many residents who attended showed a great enthusiasm for getting involved in this cause. There was also excitement for the prospect of taking this opportunity to lobby, for not only an adequate high school, but for an exemplary senior college that could lead our youth into the future and reflect the changes in our local community needs. The HSC is more determined than ever to lobby harder, to solidify our research and data and to involve the whole community in resolving this educational travesty.

There are a number of ways you can help.

Working Group
The Working Group is a group of approx 10-12 individuals who dedicate time to co-ordinating the campaign. We do need people in our working group as some of our current members are unable to give as much time. The requirements are:

• to be dedicated to this campaign
• to attend regular meetings (usually at night after 8pm, up to 2 hour duration)
• have some computer skills as quite a lot of campaign is done via email and
• be able to volunteer extra time to attend events when required

Ground Force

During the month of March we will be building our petition numbers and member base. "Numbers talk” and in order to get our message out to the politicians, we need the support of the community.

One effective way is through the distribution of leaflets and flyers. If you are able to assist with the distribution and collection of petitions, through your school, kindergarten, playgroup, sporting group, community group or local business, please contact HSC.

Stall in Sydney Road – Sydney Road Street Festival
If you are able to assist at our stall to communicate our campaign and increase our signature/member base, the details are as follows;
Date: Sunday March 1 from 12pm to 5pm
Location: Sydney Road cnr Phoenix Street, near Children's stage-outside the Beach Nightclub
Our Stall Co-ordinator is Morena Milani. She can be contacted on (03) 9025 0839.

Voice of Reason

One more aspect of our campaign is the communication of our plight. Talk to your local members of Parliament, your neighbours and your friends. Send your letters of concern to newspapers and local media.