Why fence Copacabana Public School

If it is the case of keeping people out during the day. How are parents suppose to get into the school?

If we were to do a fund raiser, I would rather raise money for that than the fence at the school. Have you seen kids jump the fence that is already there? It's easy. Is the idea of the fence to keep the kids in or people out?

Ridiculous - why would you fence it? Perhaps we should fence the beach as well?

My daughter has just started kindergarten at Copa, her father now in his late thirties also went to Copa primary, the fence wasn't needed back when he went to the school and I don't believe it's needed now. The money could be spent elsewhere for better use for the children.

It will be locked during school hours when the children are there. After school any kids on school grounds are the responsibility of their parents. The money will not come from school funds. DET may fund part of it, we will have to fundraise the rest. Copa School did have a fence before, it was taken down at the request of some parents at the time so its not such a big change I hope. I agree about improving the parks but that wouldn't be DET but council money. If you felt strongly you could petition the council and fund raise for better parks. Think we'd all chip in for that!

If the fence/gate is not going to be locked, what is the point of spending money on building a fence (Joanne Boyd)? That money could be better spent in fixing what little parklands/park areas Copa has.

I would love to see the money been spent on something more positive for the kids

keep Copa School fence free

Hi all, I am for the fence and agree with most of the above. The fence is NOT to keep the community out. As a result those of us working towards a fence have been insistent that it will have a gate, at added expense, so that parents, children and the whole community can access and use the grounds OUT OF SCHOOL HOURS ie. evenings, weekends and holidays. The plan is for the existing back gate and the new gate to be locked during school hours ONLY. My family use the grounds after school too so we do not want to lose that amenity. We do not want a fortress either. Does anyone who has sent their kids to pre-school think that? Hillside, Kinburra, Kincumber Preschool, Goodstart are all fenced preschools who take kids up to the age of 6yrs. Copa kids start around 4 1/2. I am sure no one drives past these preschools thinking how terrible they look. The fence would be down the side from after school care to the road. It will be like the front fence, black bars so a line of sight is maintained. It will make Copa a school with a fence not a fortress, and we will all still be able to hang out there. Please think about this before signing this petition as the information at the top is misleading. I have lived in Copa 8 years, have bought here and plan to stay as I love it here and I love the people. I hope that having different opinions within the community encourages conversation between us all although perhaps 8 years and 3 kids is not long enough to be able to have and express an opinion?? I just want the kids to play safe at school. Thanks for reading this.

We need that open space for the community

Do not make Copa Public into a fortress.

Keep the already limited green spaces open and available to our community.

Keep Copa school fence free

Absolutely redicilous and not required. People heading up this have been here 5 minutes and have no idea of the peaceful and safe Copacabana is!

The school doesn't need a fence don't take this asset away from our community

Totally agree Todd, very sad when a small minority are trying so hard to change the culture of Copacabana. If they feel the school is not safe for their children then why are they sending them there. Kincumber primary is only a small bus ride and is fully fenced. I will not support the fence ever and will not be supporting a fundraiser for it either. As for the incident that happened just remember we are a small town and this is not the place to be discussing it.

I as a resident and father of 2 say no to compounding Copa Primary School

just a night vision camera would do

We live in copa because its not like the rest of the world and still has a strong sense of community, please don't start the downward spiral of mistrust.

What a shame we are forced to defend the character of our school like this. At the moment we have the most beautiful environment for our children to enjoy their childhood and fencing the school risks fundamentally changing their school experience for a number of reasons. Firstly, our children love going to school and tell us that they don't want a fence as it will make them feel "trapped". I can understand this, and I agree. The unfenced environment as it is at the moment is welcoming and friendly and reflects the community of Copacabana in general, the beach environment and the people. The next issue is that school has set boundaries rather than a physical wall. This is an incredibly important pillar in the character of the school, and the development of the students. The students are trusted not to overstep the boundary rather than being physically restrained. This is the most detrimental side effect to fencing off the school. It is important for the children to learn to respect the boundaries set by the school rather than having a security fence define the boundaries. Studies show that if you put up a fence, kids will hang at the fence and want to 'escape' it. Fencing the school risks damaging its most important characteristics. This is a school, not a jail - please don't punish our kids by ruining their school experience.