Wahroonga Public School

Infobox Aust school
name = Wahroonga Public School


motto = "The Bush School"
established = 26 May, 1944
type = Public, comprehensive primary
principal = Mr Graham Hill
city = Sydney
state = New South Wales
country = Australia
campus = High Blue Gum Forest
enrolment = 630
colours = Green, Yellow, Purple
homepage = [http://www.wahroonga-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/ wahroonga-p.schools.nsw.edu.au]

Wahroonga Public School is a public, co-educational primary school, located in Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia and is known as the "Bush School" [http://www.smh.com.au/news/property/bloom-baby-boom/2006/07/21/1153166564053.html] . The school is one of the State's excellent schools. [http://www.realestate.com.au/review/feb07/article1.html?from=review]

The school opened in 1944 when parental groups brought the need for a school in the area to the attention of council members and other community groups. When the school first opened, it had 26 students, and one teacher/principal. The school celebrated its 60th birthday in 2004. [ "School steps back in time" Hornsby & Upper North Shore Advocate 12 June 2006] The school continues to grow. In 2007, the school was one of the few schools in the state to increase enrolments. [ Anna Patty "Enrolments rise in some public schools" Sydney Morning Herald 9 March 2007 ] .

Over the years, Wahroonga Public School gained many more pupils, increasing to over 700 students in the mid 1990's. The number has dropped to just above 700 students for the "naughties".Jenny Ryan was appointed as principal in 1997 and eventually left the school in 2003, continuing her career at another school. During her time as principal, she was awarded the "State Government Community Service Award". [http://www.northerndistricttimes.com.au/article/2008/07/02/2313_news.html] The current principal is Graham Hill. The vice-principal is Graham Smith, and the vice-vice-principal, in case of absence of both principals mentioned above, is Jennifer Flynn. Hill made the news in 2004 when he "auctioned" his parking space at the school to raise much needed money for blinds, vents and roof insulation for the kindergarten classrooms at the school. [Julie Huffer, "The cool principal - Parking space sold to help fund classroom ventilation" Daily Telegraph (Sydney) 4 November 2004]

The school is well known for its music program, run by Anne Seage (2000 - Present). It has five bands: Beginner Band, Intermediate Band 1, Intermediate Band 2, Concert Band, Stage Band, and the recently (in 2006) added Jazz Band. Each year the bands win prizes at various competitions, such as the Yamaha Music Festival held annually at Willoughby Town Hall, Chatswood. ["Wahroonga students showcase their music" North Shore Times 6 June 2006]

In 2002 the school was selected by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for an e-Learning Project. As part of the project, computer equipment was purchased for the installation of an intranet to facilitate learning. [http://about.commbank.com.au/group_display/0,1922,CH2700%255FTS9920,00.html]

In 2006, the school's new sports grounds was opened by the Australian Defence minister Brendan Nelson. ["Wahroonga synthetic turf grant" Hornsby & Upper North Shore Advocate (Australia) 2 November 2006 ] In the same year, the school community raised over $8000 towards a life saving operation for a kindergarten pupil who attends the school. The toddler also appeared on the "Today" television show to raise more money for the operation. ["From the Heart" Danielle Long. 23 August 2006 http://www.hornsbyadvocate.com.au/article/2006/08/23/650_news.html]

The school's Parent and Citizen's committee raised concerns with the New South Wales government over the state of the amenities block in 2007. Unfortunately, the school only has four toilet cubicles for about 250 students. President of the Association Saurin Worthington said that the state of the toilets was such that children would prefer to wet themselves rather than use the toilet block. Numerous promises had been made for the repair of the toilets, but work on the toilets has again been postponed [Clare Masters "Foul school toilets leave kids no option" Daily Telegraph (Sydney) 15 September 2007] . The saga prompted the local councillor Tony Hall to label the toilets as a ``disgrace" [ "School sweage (sic) stench" Katrina Adamski, North Shore Times, 25 October 2007 ] ["School repair report gets F" Bruce McDougall 7 April 2008 http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23494957-5001021,00.html]

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