The little school that could
IT’S just after three o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon and students have started to filter from the classrooms at the small Burrabadine Christian Community School.
Rather than the usual noise and chaos that accompanies this occasion at most larger schools, the air is filled with friendly chatter as the children head towards parents awaiting their collection.
Some of the students actually live in the same complex as the school, which is located 10km west of Dubbo on the Bunglegumbie Rd. It’s a beautiful lifestyle with a swimming pool and vegetable garden in the grounds and horses grazing in the surrounding paddocks. There’s a covered playground and grassy play area for the students.
The property has been owned by the Cornerstone community since 1993 but there has been a transition in recent months with the school becoming an independent entity.
Peter Volkofsky, who is on the board of both organisations, explains that the land is still owned by Cornerstone but the school is now run separately.
“Cornerstone is leasing the property in order to focus on other aspects,” he explained, adding that the organisation is aiming to ‘simplify what it does’.
“It’s always been centred around the Christian community but it didn’t have the simplicity it did when it started out,” he explained.
Mr Volkofsky said the values and philosophy of the school haven’t changed with the transition. It is still a Christian environment and the way of life remains the same.
“A goal of Cornerstone was to become more flexible. Offloading the campus and properties and businesses will take the pressure off the leadership.”
While the Burrabadine School wasn’t Cornerstone’s core business, they didn’t want to close it down.
Fortunately, a Dubbo teaching couple came to the rescue.
“It was very fortunate that Kylie and Jonathan Bull appeared on the horizon,” Mr Volkofsky told
“It wasn’t going to work otherwise.”
Mrs Bull previously worked at Dubbo Christian School and took over the reins as principal at Burrabadine at the beginning of the year. Her husband Jonathan is the school’s new deputy principal.
“We heard the school was going to close and they needed someone that would take over,” she explained.
The school caters for Kindergarten to Year 6 and currently has an enrolment of 30 children.
“There are 10 families here and some from town,” Mrs Bull said.
There’s a multi-purpose room for art and technology, along with classrooms for K-2 and Years 3-6.
While it’s been full steam ahead with the transition, Mrs Bull has lots of plans for the year ahead.
“We are now offering Mandarin and Music,” she said. “Every student at the moment is playing an instrument.
“We are also including technology on the curriculum. Along with literacy and numeracy, that’s important to us.”
Weekly swimming lessons are also included in the students’ education.
“It’s important that students are offered a range of things,” she said.
“And that we can offer them an affordable private Christian education. We are willing to work with parents to offer the best opportunity for students to learn in all areas of their lives.”
As a mother of four children, Mrs Bull said teaching at Burrabadine feels like being part of an extended family.
“The school has a really nice feel about it. It does feel like a big family. All the students have included my children in everything.”
Describing it as an ‘unknown gem’, Mrs Bull believes that many people in Dubbo would be unaware of its appeal.
“It’s a lovely little school, I think a lot of people don’t know that. The strength of the school is in the community aspect of it. “It was worth fighting for.” For enrolments or more information, visit Burrabadine Christian Community School’s Facebook page.