For a village of about 600 people, the school is the beating heart. That is certainly the case at Telegraph Point and on Thursday, December 7, the small community gathered once again to celebrate a major milestone. One of the worst affected during the March 2021 floods, the public school can finally move on, signing off on a comprehensive rebuild almost three years in the making. After their school was ripped apart from four days of flooding, teachers and students made a new home at Hastings Secondary College's Westport campus before moving back to temporary classrooms on the school's playing fields. Gradually the school has been rebuilt around the teachers and students who made do with what they had. Acting principal Anna Hoelzl said everyone's resilience had shone through. "We are so immensely proud of our students who have been through quite an ordeal and we're just so impressed at the resilience that they're shown in the face of adversity," she said. "A small school really is the cornerstone of its community, we certainly feel that in Telegraph Point that the community is centred around our school and it's a wonderful atmosphere for us to occupy. "We certainly would not have made the recovery that we have made without that support from the families, from the community and from other schools in the area." The school of 128 students has undergone a major refurbishment with buildings stripped back following the widespread damage. Celebrating the school's 147 year anniversary on Thursday, Ms Hoelzl said the community is delighted with the new upgrades. "We were able to have a big voice in how we refurbish those classrooms so in terms of infrastructure, technology, furniture we were able to really shape the kinds of learning environments that we wanted," she said. Alongside new classroom fit-outs, students are also enjoying new playground equipment and an improved veggie garden, which has been architecturally designed. Apart from the upgrades, the works have also allowed for the introduction of new elements to the school including a sandstone yarning circle. "We've really had the opportunity to showcase and make visible Aboriginal histories and culture," Ms Hoelzl said. The school hosted a barbecue lunch and while the parts of the community are still reeling from the events of March 2021, Ms Hoelzl said the day was about celebration. "Here today there is definitely a very celebratory atmosphere, very upbeat. Everybody's very happy to be in the place that we are at - at long last," she said.
