An institution that has served its community for 150 years creates many ties within the community.
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These span generations. Cooerwull Public School will be celebrating its milestone this week with events to bring the community into the school, showcasing its modern operations, as well as hosting a display of artefacts from its earlier years.
Principal Mark Snow said it was a very special week for the school.
“It is a milestone for the school marking 150 years of service to the community and the connections it has made to local families – generations of families,” he said.
Mr Snow is a living example. Once the principal was a Cooerwull student himself, along with his siblings, following in the footsteps of generations of his family, starting with his great grandmother, who attended in 1905.
He said his experience shaped his career.
“The influence of my teachers led me in the direction of a career in education,” Mr Snow said.
One of the many treasures on display at the school this week is the original deed document (pictured above), which marked the purchase of the site of the current primary school buildings.
The infants school site was already in place.
A new two-room brick building was erected on the Main Street site at the end of 1906 and was occupied on the February 10, 1907.
Special guests, 150 of them, have been invited to a morning tea at which the talents of past students of Cooerwull will be on show.
Each of the guests, as well as the families of Cooerwull students, will be presented with a copy of the special 150th edition of the school magazine, Cooee, in which students have documented the school’s history.
As part of the celebrations on Thursday, October 26, Cooerwull students will participate in many of the traditional activities, including a May Pole dance and bush band music.
An official smoking ceremony will open proceedings. Special preparations have been underway to showcase the school’s ‘Yarning Room’, celebrating its links with traditional culture.
On Friday students, families and community members are invited to an anniversary concert at the school beginning at 10am. Each class in the primary and infants’ department will perform as part of the celebrations.