CHARISHMA KALIYANDA (Liverpool) (20:53): Every member in this House will remember an educator who changed the course of their life. For many young people in the Liverpool electorate, particularly those from the valley, that person is Michael Bryce, who recently retired as principal of Bonnyrigg High School [BHS]. This day has been over 16 years coming since he first walked into the high school in 2007. The school is not the same school as it was then thanks in no small part to the leadership of Mr Bryce. He is the longest serving of the eight principals the school has had since it was established in 1961. He was with the Department of Education for almost 45 years but, in his own words, his time at Bonnyrigg has been the best.
When he started, BHS had only 670 students. Today the school has in excess of 1,625 students, with an overall staff approaching 170. Today, Bonnyrigg is recognised as a school that caters for all. Over his tenure at the school, Mr Bryce can list many achievements, especially those of the major projects kind. The huge growth in the student population meant that a corresponding expansion of space and facilities was needed. To that end, he met with every local New South Wales State Parliament member, every director-general or secretary of the department and all but one Minister to try to get the department to improve the buildings at BHS. Indeed, he was immediately in contact with me following my election to this place to offer a tour of the school to demonstrate an understanding of the needs of the students and of the community.
It is a testament to Mr Bryce's advocacy that both the Minister and the Treasurer visited BHS this year, and that our Government announced necessary funding for urgent maintenance upgrades at the school. I hope that, in due course, "demountables city" will be replaced by permanent buildings. Some of the other works that make up his legacy include establishing a trade training centre, including hospitality kitchens, with a Federal grant of $1.5 million; refurbishing the school basketball sports facility and the construction of a separate fitness centre; completely refurbishing the library area, which was funded by a donation organised by the principal; constructing a community first aid centre for St John Ambulance's cadet division; and upgrading the canteen, all of which were funded by the school.
But that is only a very small selection of the huge impact Michael Bryce has made to the many thousands of students who pass through the gates and go on and do great things in their lives. Indeed, I believe we have an alumni of Bonnyrigg High School in the House today. I believe they look back on their time at BHS with fond memories. In Mr Bryce's words, the only negative has come from every ex-student stating, "You took down the green wall. We used to smoke behind that." Progress sometimes has a disadvantage. Students and members of the P&C said:
Inevitably, with Mr Bryce being our longest standing principle, there is a deep attachment present amongst many people at Bonnyrigg High School, but his attentiveness and care play a large role in the connections he developed with Bonnyrigg students and teachers. Truthfully, his noteworthiness could be attributed not to one reason and "memorable" would be insufficient to describe him.
While his resemblance to Colonel Sanders may be one reason, his extensive tie collection was another. And his dad jokes were some of the student representative council's favourites. But, out of all the reasons that we could list, his outstanding work garnered gratitude from everyone. Although we were only at school to experience five of the 17 years Mr Bryce was Bonnyrigg's principal, his involvement with the SRC was enough to know that he was an extremely dedicated and devoted principal. He always strongly supported the SRC, meeting regularly with the senior executive to discuss upcoming school projects, and was always open to the SRC's suggestions on improvements and events that the school needed.
On behalf of both past and present SRC representatives, we are extremely appreciative of his ongoing commitment to the growth of our school's reputation and infrastructure, and the wellbeing of our students, overseeing 40 major projects and upgrades since 2007. I thank Mr Bryce for always working tirelessly for the greater good of the school.
That was a message from the SRC and the P&C of the school, but on behalf of our broader community and on behalf of the many people who have been impacted by his legacy, I thank Mr Bryce. We wish him well. We know that Bonnyrigg will thrive because of him.
