Jindabyne Public School students were encouraged to wear the colours green, white and grey from around 1918. For 105 years the students of this town, their parents and their grandparents have proudly worn green as part of their school colour code. Green is the colour of our rugby and soccer teams and it unites the people of Jindabyne by a common thread, giving our children a sense of identity and belonging. 

The Jindabyne school administration has recently made a decision to change the school colours, citing a “new school, new identity” vision. The consultation they have conducted appears to be largely internal, and has not yet canvassed broader parent and community views (those outside the P&C). Students and staff were asked to vote on new school colours. 

The NSW Department of Education Policy states that each school’s uniform must be the result of formal consultation with students, teachers and other staff, parents or carers and the school community, including the P&C. However, the first direct communication from the school on this matter to the parents and carers was on August 23, where a letter was sent with the subject ‘exciting announcement’ inviting us all to attend a ‘consultation’ on the uniform. This appears to be a presentation of a done deal rather than a true and honest community consultation. 

The single strongest feedback from the previous uniform consultation (conducted less than 4 years ago) from all 3 bodies surveyed (staff, students, parents) was ‘don’t change the colours’. 

Not only does a change in uniform erode the connection with our past it has other significant consequences:

• Financial - the purchase cost for brand new uniforms will have a considerable financial impact on families, particularly given households are experiencing severe cost of living pressures exacerbated by the housing crisis in the region. A new uniform also severs the hand-me-down chain that serves so many families so well in offsetting costs. 
• Environmental - old school uniforms will be redundant after the 3 year change window and thousands of garments could potentially end up in landfill. With the ‘War on Waste’ and our students being taught the importance of sustainability, this is not an environmentally responsible decision.

With this petition we are hoping to lobby the school to “Keep our Colours”, or at least ask that the school conducts a formal consultation as per the Policy.