Jocelyn, Chelsea and Grace will celebrate their school’s 50th anniversary this month. 72997 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By Laura Wakely
HOW many schools have you been to where parents have mortgaged their houses to pay for a new building?
It’s an unusual and extremely generous thing to do, but Ardeer Primary School is a place where community is everything.
The school will celebrate its 50th anniversary this month and the library, which was paid for by two families in 1972 and is still standing today, is just one story the school will share.
Ruth O’Reilly began Prep at Ardeer Primary in 1970.
Her two brothers followed her, her parents were on school council and now her own children attend.
“That was in its heyday,” Ruth said of her time as a student.
“There was around 350 children there. They had to bring in portable classrooms for the overflow.
“There were just masses of them (students).”
There was no uniform, but most students wore miller shirts and threads.
It was a school where teachers played cricket in the hallways and were taught how to drive the minibus on the school oval.
Apart from a few extensions here and there and a “facelift”, the place hasn’t changed a lot.
“There’s been, always a very strong community involvement in the school with parents and volunteers,” Ruth said.
“That’s persevered all the way through its life. It’s always been a fabulous school.”
Current Assistant Principal Janette Cronin said the school officially opened on 17 March in 1961 and the school was hoping to see as many students as possible return for the anniversary on Friday 18 November.
The school will hold a fete, run by the students, from 2pm to 5pm, followed by a picnic dinner.
Entertainment and speeches will take place from 6pm to 7pm, then past students, parents and teachers can head to the Deer Park Hotel for the reunion.
For more information contact Ardeer Primary School on 9363 1194 or email ardeer.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au
