By JESSE GRAHAM
A LOT can change in 140 years, but Dixons Creek Primary School principal, Sharon Walker, said some things might not change at all.
“As far as the core values of the school, which are trying to be a family oriented, rural school, where everyone feels included in the community, I think that’s been maintained really well and grown,” she said.
The school, which opened on 12 June, 1875, held its official 140th celebrations on Sunday 21 June, inviting current and past students to a Back to Dixons Creek Primary School event.
“We’re opening up the classrooms for people to have a look, and there’s an afternoon tea – there’s photo sessions, there’s a history board and a concert by current students,” Ms Walker said in an interview before the event.
“We’ve got several generational families, where grandma or grandpa, mum and dad and the children have attended the school.”
The day also doubled as a farewell to retiring teacher, Florence Bowen, who started with the school in 1971 after teaching at Yarra Glen Primary School before that.
“She taught up until March this year,” Ms Walker said.
“It’s a farewell to her as well – we held it over because we want lots of people she’s taught since 1971.”
Though Ms Walker started as school principal in 2002, she said even she had seen a dramatic change in the school, including the student population multiplying by almost five times.
“When I first came, there were 22 students here – in 2014, we had 104,” she said.
“The school’s grown amazingly, and it’s the highest growth in the valley of a primary school.”
She said the culture of including everyone in its community and remaining family oriented, had continued to run through the school over the last 140 years, and that parents had been more involved than ever in improving, building and assisting the school.
“I think that we’ve got a really passionate school community and an amazing school council, who are really supportive of the changes that we keep implementing and driving the curriculum forward in ever increasing ways and areas,” Ms Walker said.
“The school council has been paramount in the success of the school, which is parents and teachers working together.”
Looking to the future, Ms Walker said the school had just registered as a Kids Matters school, and will be running programs to educate children about mental health in primary school – along with programs about drugs, sexual education and cyber-safety.
