Principal News

Hi everyone.

Our special event today was huge. The welcome to country ceremony, choir performances and parade were such fun for the children. Many past students, parents and teachers attended and joined together afterwards for a coffee and food.  Our school captains cut the 100th anniversary cake and school photographers took lots of photos while school journalists interviewed our special guests.  We have a display of the items from our 100th capsule in the art room commemorative display along with lots of historic photos and unique artifacts.

Past parents brought photos and generously shared stories about their experience at our school.  We have lots to share and might  load some of the stories about each of the seven schools for you to read.  Here is a beaut story written by an ex-parent who came to the school way back in 1948. 

‘I began my school life in 1948 in preps. My three oldest sisters attended in previous years and went on to Eltham High school.  We lived in St Helena and walked to school via bush tracks and farmland, crossing a creek sometimes via a wire fence suspended above the creek, hand over hand the distance was about two miles, quite a trek for us young ones. It was a two teacher school in one room and learning was sometimes challenging, although I love school especially spelling and reading.

We had free milk delivered and sometimes in winter the teachers would heat it in a billy over the open fire in the school room. The toilet was outside and the pan man came regularly to empty it

I enjoyed playing rounders and basketball and when we played against other schools our headmaster would load as many kids as possible in the back of his Hudson Ute and drive to the other school leaving the other children to start walking and then he would return and pick up the rest of us. We had a really lovely teacher named Mr. Barlow who was always very kind on one occasion I felt unwell he walked me home but unfortunately on his return back to the school he got lost and was later found after dark. 

I remember having an occasional lunch order of a pie and bag of broken biscuits from Mrs Dansey’s shop that was a real treat. Sometimes on a Friday we would go for a nature walk which taught me an appreciation of the natural bush especially the wild flowers and orchids which grew in abundance close by I was in grade 6 when the new school was built and we relocated to the new site. My memories of Eltham No state school are mostly positive ones and I'm glad that I attended this small school as it was then’. Sylvia Ewart ( nee Hall). 

Many visitors searched for past photos of class friends and it was great to see them share fond memories from their primary school years. It is wonderful to note that many past and present families have continued to maintain a strong link and connection to the school even when their children have moved on to secondary school. 

As a 100th year commemoration, a large Art Mural by local pottery artist Mary Lou Pittard is being constructed in the atrium at the moment.  We have arranged for an aerial drone photo to be taken of all our students and a 150th anniversary capsule be relocated beside the ‘The Bell’ in the atrium. 

I wish to thank our leadership, office team and PFA for the enormous amount of time and commitment they have made over to bring this special event together.  To celebrate this special day our PFA have arranged all commemorative sale items (see compass). School photos of this event will be prepared tomorrow and loaded on the school web site in photo gallery.