Rochester’s three schools joined forces last week to bus students and teachers to Bendigo for a “fun Friday’’ excursion, designed to provide some respite from the disastrous results of the town’s latest flood event.
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Rochester Secondary College principal Melissa Gould said the decision to travel to Bendigo was on the back of about 120 families from the schools being at the Bendigo evacuation centre.
Ms Gould, along with Rochester Primary School principal Kate Whitford and Liz Trewick, principal of St Joseph’s Primary School, have combined to organise the event for their respective school communities.
“We travelled by bus to Bendigo on Friday for the event at the Bendigo stadium,” Ms Gould said.
“It enabled our kids to catch up with their friends who have been at the evacuation centre in Bendigo.
“There are also a number of kids, and their parents, staying in Bendigo with friends and family.”
Ms Gould said the buses operated with the support of Newton’s Bus Service.
“The Bendigo stadium is donating food and we pick-up some passengers from Elmore as we went through,” she said.
“It allowed the students to have some fun for a day.”
Contractors began work at Rochester secondary and primary schools on Wednesday, starting the process of gutting the schools, with every classroom impacted by the flood waters.
“I got here in a four wheel drive on Monday to do the first assessment,” Ms Gould said.
“Every classroom, and the office, suffered water damaged. There is not a single dry inch at either school.”
Ms Gould and the primary school principals are working with the Department of Education and Training to plot a return to regular educational activity.
“We are determined to keep the primary and secondary schools together, but we don’t have a time frame as yet,” she said.
Schools outside the flood zones of Echuca and Rochester have also been affected as staff have been unable to travel to complete teaching commitments.
Tongala Primary School was 10 teachers down last week, on its normal staffing levels, due to the floods.
Kyabram P-12 College also closed its doors, acting principal Tood Woodfine (a Rochester resident) only able to return to the school after floodwaters had receded and he had attended to his own home’s inital clean-up.
Ms Gould said it was a priority to have the students back into some sort of normality as soon as possible.
She is in regular contact with students and staff, with about 90 per cent of the kids having been impacted directly by the floods.
“Everyone else is indirectly impacted by the flood,” Ms Gould said.
“We have 21 staff members who have been directly impacted, which represents more than half of our teachers who have lost property.”
Ms Gould lives alongside the Campaspe River at Echuca and was temporarily locked in by water before the Campaspe River levels lowered at Echuca on Tuesday.
She has been staying in Bendigo and travelling to Rochester to oversee recovery works at the school.
Rochester’s almost 30-strong Year 12 student population has been granted special consideration for the approaching VCE exams, which are due to start on October 26.
“They will sit the exams at Bendigo Secondary Senior, where we have been allocated our own room,” she said.
“That was put in place only days after the initial flooding, with the assistance of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.”
Given the impact of the floods on students, Ms Gould explained that any exam results not at the expected level would receive a “derived study score”.
“If they don’t perform well VCAA will use the GAT and scores obtained by students during the year to arrive at a ‘fair’ score,” she said.
“It is a safety net to protect the kids and the formula used by VCAA is very accurate.”
Ms Gould said she was proud of students and teachers, who she had seen first hand being part of the Rochester recovery effort.
“It is important that our school community to stays together,” she said.
“That is our number one priority.”
SECONDARY COLLEGE PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
“We are working closely with the Department of Education to formulate a re-opening plan, but we cannot confirm any details yet. Students have been provided with work online for those that are able to access it.
“This week I will be working with the staff we have available to connect with all our families, checking on in on their wellbeing and offering additional support.
“We are also trying to coordinate some student meetings in Rochester, Elmore and Lockington this week, but are conscious that they will depend on the weather and road closures.
“We have teams of teachers meeting with Year 12 students in Elmore and Lockington to support those who are wanting to complete their exams. The VCE Unit 3 & 4 English exam is this tomorrow (Wednesday, October 26) and we will have a number of students who will travel to Bendigo Secondary Senior College to complete this exam.
“VCAA (Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority) has reinforced their commitment to support our students and all students completing a Unit 3 & 4 subject will be eligible to receive a derived study score.
“This takes pressure off our students and they do not have to sit exams if they are unable to, while also providing a safety net for all students. Students will still receive a study score for each unit based on the work completed through out the year, their GAT and other factors that are taken into account.
“The clean-up at the school is in full swing with a large team of contractors onsite daily. Most of the flooring has been removed, removalists arrived on Monday to remove the furniture, while fans and drying machines have been running 24/7.
“The local CFA organised a team to start cleaning up our fence line and washing down our outdoor courts and spaces. There is still a lot of work to be done, but it is great to see so many people working hard to get our school back to operational standards.
“On Friday, Rochester Primary, St Joseph’s Rochester and Rochester Secondary College combined for a Big Day Out in Bendigo. With the support of Newton’s Bus Service we bused 275 students and 25 staff to Bendigo’s Red Energy Arena.
“We had another 15 staff meet us there and all the students from the Evacuation Centre in Bendigo were bused to the stadium. Red Energy Arena provided equipment, morning tea and lunch for our staff and students.
“Fran Dellard from St Liborius Primary School delivered art supplies and fruit for our students. It was so good just to hear the sounds of laughing and joy again. The students and the staff had a wonderful day reconnecting and just having fun.
“It was the first time lots of our students had been able to catch up and have some fun since the flood event. We were overwhelmed by the generosity of Red Energy Arena, Newton’s Bus Services and St Liborius Primary School. It just reinforced the message that ‘It takes a village’ to raise a child.
“We are working very hard to formulate our re-opening plans and we are working in conjunction with the Department of Education and Emergency Services to ensure we are safe when we return.’’
Melissa Gould (Rochester Secondary School)
Kyabram Free Press and Campaspe Valley News editor