EVERY day, no matter what the weather, hundreds of students take this exposed path to Denison College Kelso High Campus.
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The 80 metre long pathway runs from the school’s recently-completed bus bay to the main buildings.
And while the pathway has been a great benefit, teacher Hans Stroeve said it should be covered to protect students and staff from the elements.
“We need wet weather and shade protection,” he said.
Mr Stroeve said unfortunately funds to construct a cover over the pathway cannot be obtained through the NSW Department of Education, so for a number of years now staff at the campus have been raising funds for the project themselves.
So far, the school has raised $50,000, but more is needed to fund the $70,000 project.
“We’ve been having trivia nights for the last four years, wine raffles and selling books,” Mr Stroeve said of the school’s efforts to raise funds.
We’ve been having trivia nights for the last four years, wine raffles and selling books.
- Hans Stroeve, Kelso High School teacher
The school raised a further $200 at last Sunday’s Mount Panorama Community Garage Sale where stallholders from across the community set up shop to sell a range of pre-loved items.
Mr Stroeve and a number of students helped man a stall that sold books, with all funds raised to go to the pathway project.
And while Mr Stroeve retired from the school on Friday after a 39-year career of teaching, he said he would remain committed to helping to find the final $20,000 required.
“I’ll do at least another trivia night,” he said.
Usually these nights raise around $10,000 each time and he was hopeful that the next one will raise at least that, if not more.
Mr Stroeve has called on anyone in the community who would like to make a donation towards the pathway project’s construction to contact the school.
Contact Kelso High School on 6331 4544 or email kelso-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au.
The school’s $150,000 bus bay, which was officially opened in February, was four years in the making after staff first approached Bathurst Regional Council asking it to address safety concerns at the bus interchange.
The school’s primary concern was the narrow concrete footpath and lack of a handrail along the kerb to separate students from parked and moving buses.