Old Schools and Country Kids

Dungay Public School

This weekend just passed I flew up from Melbourne to go back to my old primary school in the beautiful Tweed Valley for their 125th anniversary.
Oh my!
Most of my memories were happy ones but I look back now on being so small, shy and poor and struggle to fathom how I got here and got to be me - intimidated by no-one and all too willing to speak up, speak out and take on whatever life dishes out.

At the reunion I hugged old classmates and we laughed about our funny little barefoot selves back then and marvelled at the time in between that made us what we've become. One of my dearest friends, who started school with me at Dungay, has just returned from Moscow after a  trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Yet another Chianti climb

She was also instrumental in recently organising 8 of us old school friends to hike for 10 days through Tuscany. So yes, we've come a long way and friendships are held fast.



But the school! I remembered the grounds as huge and beautiful but far from declining into neglect  and dilapidation as some tell me their own schools have done, this one is breathtaking - lush, cared for, flourishing.



The massive camphor laurels and jacaranda trees that I remembered are even bigger and more beautiful. The gardens are obviously cherished with raised garden beds, green with abundant growth, peppered across the lawns.

The principal, Josh Stephens, who must surely have the best gig in the country, seemed to run the whole event effortlessly, though I'm sure it was a mammoth task to make this day happen.

The Principal's Speech

What struck me most was the demeanour of the kids. You may scoff at this but I didn't hear one person swear, saw no-one drop rubbish and not a sign of nastiness or conflict the whole day. The kids who greeted us were confident, articulate and friendly. I was mightily impressed.



Memories of having to master the maypole came back when we watched juniors and seniors, boys and girls, in impressive displays in costumes hand-made for the occasion.

Oh I know! I'm probably romanticising just a little. But I came back from this day smiling and wondering if small country schools nowadays offer something very special indeed, maybe by virtue of their smallness, their ability to know every pupil's name, family, strengths and needs.
When, at the end of the day, the principal and a sturdy volunteer executed the planting of a water gum tree by the oldest and the youngest pupil, I sincerely wished for its endless survival, and the endurance of this small country school and all who have made it the model of education that it appears to be today.

~*~