Giralang kids face fat future

aidan, I think you could speak to Trish Wilks, in the Dept, or Michael Bateman, or even the CEO, Michelle Bruniges.

vg, there are heaps of arguments we can make about school closures, and we’re making them. But some of them are more news worthy than others. Childhood obesity is a major issue so it makes sense to highlight the fact that Giralang kids, the majority of whom currently walk to school, will not be able to do so if their school closes.

I take your point about parental responsibility, but clearly encouraging parents to do better isn’t working, or we wouldn’t have the problem. That’s why the Government has programs (e.g. school activity programs, healthy canteens) to help to address the problem. Lower the barriers to doing the right thing and the right thing will happen more. Walking to school is just one part of that.

When looking at obesity in general urban design is an important factor. If local shops are easily accessible by foot people are more likely to walk. This is a good outcome. Sure there are people who would drive their car next door for a pack of Winnie Blues, but overall there are positive effects.

Giralang shops have been closed down as well coz the owners want to make a quick buck. Bugger eh?

Nyssa, any idea who in the Department will make the final decisions about school closures?

The timing of the decision is awful. We know some people who have been offered places at Burgmann next year, but they have to say yes or no before the decision about the schools is announced. They can’t say yes and then pull out because Burgmann makes them pay a terms worth of fees up front which is non-refundable. And some of the teachers will end up applying for jobs in other schools because Giralang’s future is up in the air.

vg, it’s also poor strategic planning and liasing between DET and ACTION.

aidan, whilst the walking point is an issue, the fact that there was little to no planning before releasing the policy, or adequate discussion with stakeholders before the policy was pushed out through the Budget are a disgrace.

Then again, my old “boss” is now the Director of the newly created school closures unit. Getting $100K+ just to do that….what a waste of funds.

DET is suppose to be cutting back on jobs (admin) to save money….then again, anyone who wants to apply for the Telopea Principal position needs to speak to the Green and Green group – DET are outsourcing the selection process.

It use to be in house and cost nothing. Cost cutting? Bullshit. They’re wasting more money now.

And I don’t support school closures at all by the way, just think there are better arguments (like lack of bus services maybe?)

And ‘anecdotal evidence’ is exactly that, anecdotal. If lazy parents manage to drag their kids away from the PS2 of XBox, pull the Big Macs from their hands, and went outside with them for 30 mins a day and kicked a footy, threw a ball, or simply interacted that would be far better.

Surely there is a better argument against school closures than ‘my kid will get fat if he has to bus/be driven to school.

Anecdotally I can recall probably 2 fat kids at primary school, and we all caught buses.

On a Sunday my parents you to ask me what I was doing if found sitting around the house (generally Sunday was house cleaning day for Mum). If I had no good excuse I was sent on my way either on my bike, or with cricket bat/footy in hand to the local park to while away the hours. Mum got the house clean uninterrupted and I was healthy. Any more than 30 mins on the Atari and the same happened. Now there are 12yo kids that way more than me, and I’m in 3 figures!

Running away from paedophiles who are hiding in the underpasses could make these kids real athletes.

apparently there is plenty of good foot paths and underpasses in giralang leading to other suburbs. Means you could have really fit kids.

vg, without being rude, this is known as “anecdotal evidence”.

The studies I have read all stress the importance of lowering barriers to healthy physical activity. The easier it is for people to access parks, playgrounds and other locations for physical activity the more active they become.

Sounds like commonsense but it has been quantified.

Walking/biking to school is just part of the mix for addressing childhood obesity. Not only do kids benefit, but adults who walk with kids get more activity as well. Good eh!

This argument might not cut any mustard with you, but it bites with Government. They have any number of programs and initiatives to get kids to be more active, and walking to school is one of them. They know it is the right thing to do, and we’re just pointing out that closing our local school goes against alot of their stated objectives.

I’m not a big fan of the en masse school closures proposed. They have had 2 terms of government to sort this out. Being tough now shows a lack of spine previously.

Having said that I really think the whole ‘walking to school’ argument is grapsing at straws. I caught a bus to school virtually every day of my scholastic life (as I got older I rode occasionally) and I wasnt a fat kid, quite the contrary. Its what I did at school and after school that kept me svelte.

A parent who goes the whole 9 yards and suggests their child will become fat because they can’t walk to school is, I’m sorry, a lazy parent. Spend 30 mins a day with your kids at the playground or in the backyard and don’t feed them shit. It ain’t rocket surgery

S4anta,

I live in Giralang. My kids will not have a school they can walk to next year if Giralang Primary and Preschool close. I don’t think I have made any secret about that.

Why not Dunlop? I don’t know how difficult it is to walk to Fraser, Charnwood or Macgregor from Dunlop, but notionally these schools are all closer to Dunlop than Evatt and Kaleen are to Giralang.

Those who have bought houses in Dunlop knew where the schools were located when they did so. I guess with house prices as they are they might not have had much of a choice.

I think Spence is more deserving of attention. That said, the latest round of proposed closures don’t make much difference, Spence was screwed when it’s half of Mt Rogers Community School was closed in 1998.

Regarding Crace, are they proposing pedestrian access across the Barton Highway? Crace will be pretty well catered for by Palmerston Primary I should think. But anyone in Crace who wanted to come to Giralang would be more than welcome!