Darryl Furze, inaugural principal of Laurimar Primary School.
WE opened this school in 2009 with 113 children and nine teachers. This year, just three years later, we have 770 children and 68 teachers. The growth is incredible.
We have assembly on Monday mornings, and what with all those kids, the teachers, and a couple of hundred parents, we have more than 1000 people in one place. It’s quite a logistical exercise.
When I began my job, the hills I can see from my office window now were bare, except for one house. The houses are creeping up there now and I recently heard that land has been released for development, so soon it will be covered in homes. They talk about opening another school here one day. It won’t impact on our growth; you just have to look at the predicted growth figures for primary-age children in this area to see that.
I keep talking to the education department and making sure that they have an awareness of what’s happening out here. Don’t just put a portable here, I tell them. We need more infrastructure.
I enjoy the variety of my job – you don’t know what it will bring from one day to the next. We’re trying to build the best opportunities for the kids, and to recognise their individuality. People think a large school means grade sizes are large, but they’re not. We work really hard at developing a great school.
I want my legacy at this school to be delivering a great school culture. You can do that in a new school, with new staff. And what we do know is that happy staff means happy kids. I certainly have had a lot of satisfaction from building a school from the ground up.
