For some, the effect of this bushfire season will affect their lives forever. For the rest of us, as our lives go forward, we must not forget the impact this year has had.

But, just for a moment I would hope you might stop and consider how at a time of grief, how much 'good' we as a society show each other. It is heartwarming.

Around the world, unconditional donations have been made to help people they don't know or will never meet.

People have put aside time from their ordinary lives to support those that suffer without ever being asked.

Against a backdrop of negative media stories, politicisation of our everyday life, our community has shown it is made up of so very many kind-hearted people.

When for things get tough for us all, let's not forget the compassion that is being shown towards each other in these recent times, because people are naturally kind hearted.

The community of Griffith. Sold a pup and now being ripped off. After Adrian Piccoli's unilateral, unsolicited and consultation-free initial declaration that Griffith's two public high schools would be forcibly-merged, Mr Piccoli now asserts that the critics of his decision and the community of Griffith should "pause for thought", based on the absolute sketchiest of information about how the students of the two sites have performed in last year's HSC.

Not one student from either public high school site achieved an ATAR higher than 90. Is that the kind of result we can expect as your acceptable standard from the merged high schools, Mr Piccoli? It would be interesting to see a print out of how many of Griffith's public high school students achieved Band Sixes in each of the previous five years. That would give the parents of the public high school kids in Griffith some kind of comparison to see if their 2019 HSC students have been disadvantaged by Mr Piccoli's decision.

Mr Piccoli makes this bland statement: "Given all the criticism about the model and all the bad publicity, the figures were really quite good".

Really Mr Piccoli? Is that the best conclusion you could come to? Who was it that ignited the project that created all the bad publicity, and which of your four models are you talking about, option one, option two, one school/two sites, or the "Murrumbidgee College" model? Which one?

What were the results of all the students in the lower bands of the HSC results? How did they compare with past years? Did they improve? We don't know because, like your research-free and unsupported decision to the merge the schools, you haven't provided this information.

I challenge Mr Piccoli to call his own public meeting and have the Minister for Education attend to defend the whole sorry mess. Some things in life take guts. The NSWDET recently ran information booths at the two sites and at a presentation at the Exies. I attended two of these and counted a total of six parents in attendance (from a city of 30,000-plus). I ran an unfunded public meeting and 40 people turned up.

And to state that: "The vast majority of people at the school are getting on with the job - that's the underlying message here" displays absolute ignorance of the actual situation. When was the last time Mr Piccoli stood in front of a meeting of the staffs at the two sites and let them speak freely and without prejudice?

What a fiasco! Why should the public school kids of Griffith, their parents and the Griffith community have to cop this?

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