New schools welcomed to Sydney suburb with smoking ceremony

Local Elders officiated a smoking ceremony on Friday, to cleanse the area and commemorate site establishment works for Melonba High School, Melonba Public School and a temporary high school.

A temporary high school in Melonba will open on Day 1 of Term 1 in 2024, as an urgent stop-gap measure to meet north-west Sydney’s enrolment demand.

Contemporary facilities will be available in early 2025, including flexible learning spaces, specialist support class areas, multi-purpose halls and sporting amenities for both the high school and primary school.

The school is also set to host its first Parent and Community Meeting this Tuesday, August 15, with newly appointed Principal Leon Weatherstone.

Planned schools in Melonba will complement a series of other upcoming projects in planning and construction being overseen by the Minns Labor Government in north-west Sydney, including upgrades at John Palmer Public School, The Ponds High School, and the new Nirimba Fields Public School, Tallawong Public School and Tallawong High School.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:

“I am so grateful to the members of the local First Nations community, who officiated the smoking ceremony so we can begin works on these new schools.

“Building these two new schools will bring certainty to Melonba families, who badly needed investment in their educational future, but were neglected by the former Liberal National government.

“With room for 2000 students at the high school and a further 1000 at the primary school, we are committed to giving children in Sydney’s north-west world-class facilities, close to their homes, providing them with the best opportunities possible.”