General News
16 January, 2025
BEST OF 2024: New Sunshine Coach for GPS
Gilgandra Public School received a 25-seater Mitsubishi Rosa with wheelchair accommodations valued at $227,954 from Variety Children’s Charity.
First published May 29, 2024.
Gilgandra Public School (GPS) hosted a morning sausage sizzle and special assembly on Thursday, May 23 in celebration of their new 25-seater Variety ‘Sunshine Coach’.
Variety Children’s Charity donates Sunshine Coaches to schools and community organisations that support children living with a disability, chronic illness, financial hardship, or geographic isolation.
On Tuesday, May 28, Gilgandra Public School took delivery of their new 25-seater Mitsubishi Rosa with wheelchair accommodations valued at $227,954 from Variety Children’s Charity.
Principal Mick Darcy said the coach is a vital resource that will make an incredible difference, not only to their 200 students, but to the wider Gilgandra community. “We aim to provide opportunities for all our students to access education, experiences and support that enable them to live their best lives but it’s not always easy given our rural and remote location,” he said. “Gilgandra is 45 minutes (65km) from Dubbo, our nearest major centre, with virtually no public transport options for local families. Over the years, the cost of hiring transport has become prohibitive which has meant that our kids do often miss out.”
To participate in sporting events at higher levels or events designed for students with specific educational needs, or attending paediatrician appointments, travel is required. This is a challenge faced not just by students, but by the wider community. The new coach will allow students immediate access to opportunities when they arise, whether that’s visiting cultural events in the region, transporting to sporting lessons sporting competitions or supporting families to travel to vital appointments. Mr. Darcy hopes the new coach will prove beneficial for students with mobility issues, as it comes with wheelchair access, and will allow the school to foster greater connections with the community.
Since Variety Australia was founded in 1975, the Variety Sunshine Coach program has granted over 1300 coaches to schools and community organisations across the country. Variety NSW CEO Tony Warner said the program supports the delivery of Variety’s mission to ensure all children have the same opportunities in life. “The program is vital to our vision for all Australian children to reach their full potential, regardless of ability or background,” he said.
Variety was represented on the day by Liz Gearing, head of kids support for NSW/ACT. She addressed the assembly, congratulating the school and staff for their new coach.
“The Sunshine Coach program is very close to the hearts of everyone in Variety. These coaches provide so much for the students who use them allowing them to be part of their community and experience excursions, take them to work experience, or maybe just get above to go to and from school.
"In fact, they are called Sunshine Coaches, for that reason - they get kids out into the sunshine,” said Ms Gearing.
“It is through the support of our wonderful donors in corporate partners that this coach has been made possible. Their generosity over many years has touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of children.”
At the last minute, GPS principal Mr Darcy and the new Sunshine Coach itself were both absent at the special event held last Thursday, May 23.
That left deputy principal Rebecca Rogers to deliver the news at the conclusion of the assembly. She said they went ahead with the event to celebrate the coach anyway because they had already gone to a lot of effort with the staff, guests and community members including Gilgandra Shire Council’s mayor Doug Batten and Ms Gearing, and students. The walls of the school hall had also been decorated with student’s artwork thanking Variety and depicting the use of the bus in many colourful ways.
The GPS student dance group performed a Welcome to Country and the kindergarten class performed ‘The Wheels on the Bus’, before the attendees enjoyed the sausage sizzle. GPS staff members Catherine Dunn and Kylie Briggs were also acknowledged by Mrs Rogers for their submission to Variety in support of the school and community’s need for the donated coach.
