13 Aug 2017
Dear Marsden Community,
I want to take this opportunity to thank the Marsden High School and wider community for their support regarding the fire which affected our school on the early hours of 3, August. During the week since the fire we have had many offers of assistance for which we are grateful.
The cause of the fire has not been finalised by the investigating officers and they are considering all possibilities, including electrical fault. The extent of the fire damage has had a considerable effect on our school. The school was closed for three days as there was no power and a significant amount of clean-up was needed for areas around the school before we could become operational again.
One Science lab and the adjoining preparation room were completely gutted. The above two classrooms were severely damaged and are currently unsafe to enter. Additionally there are another thirteen classrooms including four specialty rooms, two staff rooms, one meeting room and an office which are off line due to fire related damage. We hope that some of these will be back on line by the start of next term. The school is receiving ten demountable classrooms including a Science and Kitchen demountable. It is expected these will be operational by Monday August 21. The advantages of being part of a large system have been very apparent as we have received immediate and suitable response in terms of getting the school back to being able to deliver high quality educational programmes very quickly.
Our students have been outstanding in their understanding of the inconvenience caused, and their respect towards the many contractors working on site has been observed and reported back to the Deputy Principals and myself. I also want to acknowledge the extreme professionalism demonstrated by our teaching staff throughout this event. A lot of curve balls have come their way and they have been able to manage the difficulties with confidence and ease.
Last but not least, we are truly appreciative of the support we have received from our local partner primary and high schools, all of whom have offered and delivered support: Ermington PS, Ermington West PS, Melrose Park PS, Yates Ave PS, Rydalmere East PS, Ryde PS, Eastwood PS, Eastwood Heights PS, West Ryde PS and Meadowbank PS as well as Epping Boys HS, Cumberland HS and Ryde Secondary College.
Best wishes
Lance Berry
Principal