Wednesday, 28 August 2024

Northcote electorate

Kat THEOPHANOUS (Northcote) (10:05): I rise to update the house on the exciting happenings in the Northcote electorate. In the heart of our suburbs, Northcote High is on the cusp of opening the doors of its brand new STEM building. Principal Chris Jones gave me a sneak peek last week as we walked through three storeys of cutting-edge labs, classrooms, admin and student spaces and an expansive library. It is stunning, and it is critical infrastructure for a high school which caters to almost 2000 local students every year.

Nearby, the Axion Estin Northcote monastery on St George’s Road last weekend hosted a wonderful Greek community festival. There was lively music, dancing, food and even camel rides. I congratulate the church volunteers and businesses. Our family had a blast. This monastery has big plans, with funding from federal Labor, to create a visionary amphitheatre and an agora space in the future – very exciting times.

Further north, construction is about to start on a new kindergarten in Thornbury, with the builder now appointed. The new kinder onsite at Thornbury High will have three rooms, outdoor learning areas and provide 99 much-needed kinder places in the inner north. Down in Westgarth the slab has been poured and precast craned in for Westgarth Primary’s amazing $13 million project to construct a new competition-grade gym and classroom building. The whole community has been buzzing with excitement to see this hard-fought-for project take shape.

Finally, a big shout-out to the Fitzroy Stars men’s seniors, who booked their place in the Northern Football Netball League division 3 grand final by defeating Old Paradians by six points last Saturday. Patrick Farrant kicked eight thumping goals, and we are so excited. Go Stars!