The Diwali celebration at Orchard Grove Primary School not only illuminated the significance of life choices but also served as a bridge to embrace cultural diversity.
In Australia, primary and secondary school are compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16, however there are varying cut-off dates between states and territories.
NAPLAN results show 16.2% of Year 3 students are at or below the national minimum standards in numeracy and 12.9% are at or below the minimum standards in reading.
Now students get multi-page reports, with a dazzling array of verbal and sometimes graphical data. Most require significant time to digest and interpret.
The report notes that if a child belongs to a poor family, or from the bush, or an Indigenous family then they are three times more likely to fall behind at school.
The crash killed 42-year-old mother Nancy Lefrançois and her 11-year-old son Loïc Chevalier, who were travelling in a passenger vehicle struck in the collision.
