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Tuesday 8 February, 2022
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Vol 16 No 5
New school faces
St Patricks PS Gordon have nine new preps with seven of those happy to smile for the camera. Photo - submitted By Lachlan Ellis Hundreds of Moorabool kids had their first day at school last week, beginning their exciting education journeys at primary schools across the Shire. In total, 533 Foundation students have enrolled across 17 primary schools in Moorabool – down from 584 last year, a decrease of almost 9 per cent. The decrease in enrolments is seen most sharply in schools in more rural parts of Moorabool: for example, Bungaree had no Preps enrol, compared to 5 last year, and St Mary’s Clarkes Hill had 1, compared to 5 in 2021. On the other hand, all but one Bacchus Marsh-based primary school had Foundation enrolments increase. Bacchus Marsh Primary School had the most enrolments with 112, compared to 96 last year. St Bernard’s has welcomed 57 Foundation students, up from 49. Bacchus Marsh Grammar had the second-most enrolments in Moorabool with 103 at its Maddingley Campus, while Darley had the third-most with 80. Pentland Primary saw its Foundation enrolments rise from 63 to 65. Moorabool Shire Mayor Cr Tom Sullivan said he wasn’t surprised by the disparity in enrolments between residential and rural Moorabool, given the “cyclic” ups and downs in enrolment figures
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for rural areas – but he hopes Council can foster more stable growth. “In the rural areas of Moorabool, the average age is somewhat older than in the residential areas, where there’s a number of young people coming in and having children. So I suppose it doesn’t surprise me that there is a downward trend in rural enrolments,” Cr Sullivan told the Moorabool News. “There’s residential growth in Bacchus Marsh and Ballan, so there’s more people coming in…but there’s an inability for people to move into some more regional areas, because there’s no opportunity to build new homes, so that affects enrolments. “That’s one of the things Council is hoping to address in advocating for sewerage in Wallace and Bungaree, which might arrest that trend.” Cr Sullivan hopes this year will be more stable for students than the past two years have been, with the first year at school particularly crucial in a child’s development. “The first year of school is very important … I do feel sorry for children who’ve had interrupted learning. I’m not in education, but one thing I’ve observed is socialisation and learning to get on with others has been disrupted,” he said. “It would be a great disadvantage for them if this stop-start process in education continues.” more pictures page 14
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Foundation Enrolment Numbers Bacchus Marsh PS .................................112 Bacchus Marsh Grammar .................... 103 Darley PS ................................................ 80 Pentland PS ............................................ 65 St Bernard's Parish PS ........................... 57 Ballan PS ................................................ 31 Myrniong PS ........................................... 24 Gordon PS .............................................. 15 Coimadai PS ........................................... 12 St Patrick’s PS Gordon ............................. 9 Lal Lal PS .................................................. 8 St Brigid's PS Ballan ................................. 7 Balliang East PS ....................................... 5 Mt Egerton PS .......................................... 3 St Brendan's Dunnstown .......................... 1 St Mary's Clarkes Hill ............................... 1 Bungaree PS ............................................ 0
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