Possums says thank you to ‘small army’ of volunteer cleaners

29 March 2018

Condong preschool opens doors of renovated Council-owned building

A community preschool devastated by last year’s flood will open the doors of their newly renovated home to the community this Friday to thank those who helped with the clean-up.

Possums Community Preschool in Condong, which has operated out of the Council owned Condong Hall building for 32 years, had been forced to move to Tumbulgum Primary School while major repairs to the building were carried out

The preschool, which provides services to 40 local families, was aided by what Teacher Michelle Acret said was a small army of volunteers during the clean-up from the flood.

“It was a very emotional experience to come back here where we belong, especially for the kids who are back in familiar surroundings,” Ms Acret said.

“We are so grateful to Tumbulgum Primary School for taking us in but there were some challenges around things like toilets and boundary fences which mean our staff are happy to be home as well.

“This is much more of a purpose built facility now, much more spacious and open, and we are definitely better prepared for another occurrence.

“Out of what was a horrible event we can definitely say something beautiful has emerged.”

The Mayor of Tweed, Councillor Katie Milne, toured the preschool last week and said it was great to see them up and running again.

“Possums is providing outstanding service to the local community and has been doing so for a long time now,” Cr Milne said.

“You only have to look at the huge number of volunteers who came out to help with the clean up to see how important this service is.

“Looking around today you can see this is such a great place for kids with great resources and learning programs, especially the environmental programs.”

Councillors voted unanimously at their meeting in August to fully restore the building for Possums’ use following a full assessment of damage by Council staff.

In addition to new flooring and walls asbestos was removed from the structure and a new kitchen, office space and storage loft were constructed.

The preschool at 20 McLeod Street will be open from 3pm to 5pm on Friday 6 April.

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Caption: Tweed Shire Council Manager Community and Cultural Services Robyn Grigg, Possums Preschool Teacher Michelle Acret and Mayor of Tweed Councillor Katie Milne