100 Years of Ripponlea- A History

1920s 

Ripponlea State School No. 4087 was opened on 3 July 1922, with ten teachers and approximately 400 pupils in grades prep to eight.

The playground was separated by gender, with boys on the oval and girls on the basketball court. Boys and girls also sat on separate sides of the classroom.

Fundraising and social events were organised by the School Committee, and from 1925, also by the Mothers’ Club. 

1930s

The school installed cutting-edge educational technology including a ‘wireless’ intercom system for broadcasting lessons (1935) and a film projector and screen (1939).

In 1939, Grades 3 to 6 students began competing as ‘Blue’ and ‘White’ houses for a sports shield.

1940s 

With the threat of war, Caulfield City Council requisitioned the school staff room as a First Aid Post and the school office as headquarters for the local Air Raid Precaution Wardens. 

By May 1942, parents had dug slit trenches on the boys’ playground (the oval) that could accommodate 600 children in the event of an air raid.

1950s

After WWII improvements to the school buildings and grounds continued with the opening of a library (1950), canteen (1952) and First Aid room (1956).

1960s

The Mothers’ Club and School Committee had been saving toward building a memorial hall, however the Department considered halls non-essential. Instead, the Memorial Craft Centre was built.

Student excursions and camps were introduced.

1970s

In 1972, Ripponlea Primary School celebrated its 50th anniversary.

1980s

Ripponlea Kindergarten was established on the school site. Before and After School care (known as 'ROSH') began operating in 1988.

1990s

Families increasingly chose to wear school uniform.  T-shirts and windcheaters monogrammed with the school logo were introduced in the 1980s, and school bags, bomber jackets and hooded windcheaters rolled out in the 1990s.

2000s

In 2008 the school used the Commonwealth ‘Building Better Schools’ grant to create an Early Learning Centre and relocate and remodel the Administration area, Staffroom, Principal’s office and Assistant Principal’s office. 

The Victorian Government’s ‘National Schools’ Pride’ grant was used to fund rebuilding the oval into a multi-sport space with a synthetic surface.

2010 and beyond

In 2010, the Commonwealth Government’s ‘Building for the 21st Century’ project, saw the construction of a new multipurpose hall (the Barrbunin), Art room and Canteen. These spaces were officially opened by Aunty Fay Stewart-Muir, Boon Wurrung elder, and named Barrbunin meaning ‘happy place’. In 2014 School Council outsourced ROSH to Camp Australia after 25 years of self-management (TheirCare took over in 2020).

Following a comprehensive brand development project, a new school logo and school motto (care, create, connect) were launched - a distillation of Ripponlea Primary School’s values and personality.

In 2019 a new senior playground was built and major classroom updates were completed. 

Some extracts taken from 'Ripponlea Primary School 1922 - 2012: a brief history of the first 90 years'.