Catholic school defies fire

By Peter Rosengren
TEACHERS at Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School forced to evacuate in the face of a raging bushfire in Kelmscott and Roleystone still turned up to work on Monday morning wearing the same clothes in which they fled the conflagration.

A Good Shepherd Primary School Year Two student looks out over the Brookton Valley from Canning Mills Road near her school, one of the areas devastated by fire on 7 and 8 February. Senior Good Shepherd students, below left, enjoy classes in a new temporary setting. During the three days the school community evacuated from their campus, dedicated staff, below, encouraged students and kept their attention focused on lessons and class activities. photos: below: courtesy good shepherd primary school; above: peter rosengren

This was just part of the dedication displayed by staff out of commitment to their students and the families of the school, Principal Gabrielle Doyle told The Record.
From 7 February, the second day of the devastating fires, students from the school were temporarily relocated from their picturesque campus in Arbuthnot Street, Kelmscott to Lumen Christi College, a large Catholic secondary school nestled at the foot of Perth’s hills in Gosnells several kilometres to the north.
Remarkably, teachers who had been contacted by Mrs Doyle on the day of the fire to be informed of the assessment of the school’s situation, including those who had evacuated their own homes with nothing except what they were wearing, turned up the next day with lessons already planned, she said.
From Monday, 7 February to Wednesday, 9 February students sat at tables and chairs set up for them by Lumen Christi in the college’s large gymnasium as teachers carried on with business as usual.
Lumen Christi school captains had also visited Good Shepherd’s students to encourage them and demonstrate their support. Staff from Good Shepherd were given access to photocopiers and any other school equipment they needed for teaching in the new temporary premises.
Fortunately, none of the families with children enrolled at the school lost their homes in the conflagration, she said.
However, the fire did come to within approximately 100 metres of the school on one side but was held back by firefighters.
Early unconfirmed reports on ABC local radio on the first day of the fire indicated that Good Shepherd Primary had burnt down. One home at an intersection opposite the school had been lost in the fire, she said.
Students had handled their school’s situation very well and had been mainly concerned or distressed at the likely fate of animals including chickens and goats kept as pets on the school’s grounds. However, all had survived.
On Wednesday, after the fire had been put out by fire and emergency services, staff had checked Good Shepherd and found that while no buildings had been damaged, radiant heat from the close call had damaged gardens and trees within school grounds.
A large amount of ash and grit had also needed to be cleared away.