I feel very fortunate to have spent 37 wonderful years teaching at SSPS, working under the leadership of Mr Nev Irwin, Rod Mason, Deb Cox, and Jo Pozzi. I also had the opportunity to work with and learn from many wonderful classroom teachers. I recall my first freezing cold sports day on the oval, pulling my thickest coat around myself and wondering how long I would last in cold Stanthorpe.
After much building and renovation, the school today is quite different to how it appeared when I first arrived. In those days, the school had 3 main blocks and a block of toilets. The doors on the toilets didn’t reach the floor and on cold, windy days, a visit to the loo was quite an experience. I recall hearing about when a young student had gone into the staff toilets and looked under the door while the teacher was there. The teacher, unable to immediately exit the loo, expressed his displeasure at the “ spying ”, with a loud roar. Now the school has new buildings, larger classrooms, and toilets with full length doors – what a bonus!
Some other memories are: –
– Icy steps in winter.
– Heating was via strip heaters. No aircon – On very hot days, I sometimes used spray bottles of water to cool the students. They loved it!
– Mrs King having some teeth knocked out when the recording board, blown down on sports day, hit her in the head.
– Mrs Brashaw planted new trees to replace trees removed from the ovals. Daily you would see a trail of students carrying milk bottles full of water, to tend the trees. I believe the success rate with those trees was 0 percent.
– The Infants Fancy Dress ball and all the practice that went into the Grand March, under the instruction of Merrilyn Whitton.
– Many wonderful years teaching with Susan Evans. Loads of learning but also lots of laughs.
– Making Marshmallow Easter Bunnies with the students at easter time and the looks of delight on their faces when it came time to take them home.
– Junior Sports Days – lots of organisation with the help of the wonderful Pat Thorn – lots of practice and a very busy day for all the students.
– The Art Room had cement floors and benches so high the little kids had difficulty reaching them. A student teacher attempted a lesson on vegetable prints. More prints appeared on the floors than on paper.
So many memories, but above all I remember the students and my colleagues, the friendships forged and the happy times and laughter.
