General News
9 July, 2024
Principal announced for trinity of schools
The upcoming administrative amalgamation of Dimboola St Peter's Lutheran School with Horsham's Holy Trinity Lutheran College (HTLC) and Nhill Lutheran Primary School will go ahead, as the newly-named Wimmera Lutheran College announces the appointment of executive principal Jason Przibilla.
The upcoming administrative amalgamation of Dimboola St Peter's Lutheran School with Horsham's Holy Trinity Lutheran College (HTLC) and Nhill Lutheran Primary School will go ahead, as the newly-named Wimmera Lutheran College announces the appointment of executive principal Jason Przibilla.
Currently the principal at HTLC, Mr Przibilla assured the community all three schools would be retained under the new structure, and that the public’s reaction to the merger had been mostly positive
"We are intent on retaining and protecting what is unique to each school," Mr Przibilla said.
"We need to keep what is special to each of them."
The Wimmera Lutheran College Committee meets fortnightly and consists of the current principals - Dimboola’s Millie Dent and Nhill’s Damon Prenzler - and board members from all three schools.
Business manager Mr Chew, and a representative from Lutheran Education Victoria, NSW, Tasmania and ACT, have also joined the committee which has been created to oversee the transition.
Issues such as uniform choices, a joint logo, staff responsibilities between the three campuses, choice of school camps and outings, and the amalgamation and potential restaffing of the school board were yet to be determined, as well as the creation of a common website for the newly formed college.
"We'll be looking at what has to change now, and what can be changed over a period of time," Mr Przibilla said.
When the merger was announced in March, Dimboola had 20 students and six staff, Horsham College had approximately 586 students and 100 staff, and Nhill had 53 students and 10 staff.
"We see this as a way to strengthen our schools,” Mr Przibilla said.
“And it gives us the potential to share staff."
St Peter's Lutheran School opened in 1958 following the local congregation establishing a Christian day school on a Mallee block just east of the churchyard.
Initially classes were held in the hall until a portable two-classroom school was built and delivered by Stawell Timber Industries.
On Wednesday February 2 1977, the doors at Nhill Lutheran School opened for the first time to welcome 31 pupils - 10 boys and 21 girls - who were later joined by two more pupils, making a total of 33 students enrolled in the first year.
HTLC was established in 1978 by the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, with many fundraising events held in the community to help pay for the school.
Nhill and Dimboola both run classes from Foundation to Year 6, while HTLC runs classes from Foundation to Year 12.
Daily buses run between local towns to ferry senior students to and from HTLC.