Jolanda & Peter Challita

3 Turnell Bay Road

LILLI PILLI NSW 2229

PHONE: 9525 3261

FAX: 9525 3019

30 December, 2002

MitJ.-.,....i1s, ... r,
NSW Minister for Education & Training FAXED
Level34
Governer Macquarie Tower
I Farrer Place
SYDNEY NSW 2002

Dear Minister,

RE: DANNY CHALLITA - 0660975

KATIE CHALLITA- 79726 or 3361766

We have two highly gifted children who will be entering year 7 in January, 2003, one
of whom was accelerated at the beginning of 2002.

Our relationship with the Sutherland District Board has been stormy - as you know,
the educational provisions for the gifted is very controversial. We have always tried
to be an advocate for our children's needs. We have had a protracted battle over the
•, years which has led us to request under the NSW Freedom oflnfonnation Act,
·· _, documents pertaining to the placement of our children in high school. These
documents were delivered to me by courier on Christmas Eve.

Despite very high scores on IQ tests, and consistently high scores in State English and
Mathematics competitions, our daughter has been placed in her second choice of
selective school (St George Girls High), while our son has not been offered a selective
high school place.

Of particular concern to us is that documents provided under the NSW Freedom of

Information Act show alarming discrepancies. These are of two kinds: a) the failure
to use the "readjusted" scores upon which selection is stated to be made, using instead
lower scores than the arithmetic would appear to warrant; b) the deletion of a number
of file comments prior to the documents being disclosed under the Freedom of
Information Act (as we have an earlier copy sent to us some months previously from
the Selective Schools Unit).