By Peter Douglas
A PARENT of three Menzies Creek Primary School students has urged the community to support the storm-damaged school’s Family Festival on Saturday 22 October.
During Sunday’s violent wind storm – with winds of up to 120km/h lashing the state – a large tree fell and crushed one of the buildings and a playground, causing major damage.
Despite the mayhem, classes were able to commence on Tuesday 11 October, while also taking in students from the nearby kindergarten, which was also a victim of the storm.
Much of the debris has now been cleared, and the clean-up operation will begin in earnest.
Mother Donna Arancibia has three children at the school, Heath, 12, Jocelyn, 10 and Fraser, 8.
She said the festival represented the perfect opportunity for the community to help the school get back on its feet.
“We’re not asking for donations, but we’re just saying come down and support our festival,” she said.
“It’s always an amazing day, but it’s now more important than ever to show support.
“The hills is a strong community and will get around the school, it’s just important that we get the word out.”
Incredibly, Ms Arancibia said portable buildings had already arrived at the school and there had been much work behind the scenes to ensure classes could continue.
Although, she said there were many items that couldn’t be easily replaced.
“The sensory garden and the totem poles, which the children painted, are now gone,” she said.
“Many of the teachers’ resources were lost when the tree destroyed the main building.
“These are items that insurance will not likely cover.”
The Menzies Creek Primary School Family Festival will be held on Saturday 22 October, from 2pm, at the school grounds.
Festivities will include fireworks, rides, food, drinks, stalls, music, games, art and more.
