Eltham North Primary School

A Brief History

1994 - 2004

Celebrating 80 Years of

Growing - Discovering - Creating - Together

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Eltham North Primary School

A Brief History

1994 - 2004

Celebrating 80 Years of

Growing - Discovering - Creating - Together

The Second School, Banks Road Eltham North 1925

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Acknowledgements

This publication was produced through the efforts of many friends of Eltham North Primary School.Special thanks go to:Virginia Desira for the edited version of the original history ( . E. Stephensen, D. Baud, G. Wright andJ. Chan, 1994); and for drafting the text covering the school's 8 decade.Leonie Buchanan for researching the materials for the text covering the School's 8 decade.E. Graeme Cornell and Chris Tatnall for the transfer of photos onto electronic format.Jennifer Hemphill for the layout, design and general editing of the publication.David Foley and Donna Kostas for their support throughout the project.

Seven of Onet h

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Eltham North Primary School has a unique history ahistory of seven different settings for the one school.

The history of the Eltham North Primary School is aremarkable story and portrays an immense communityand parental involvement. It is a story of a battle to achievemuch.

This story is condensed from an oral history of the school,as told by 49 narrators and compiled by Eric Stephenson in1984.

Eltham North is not a town, but a residential area 3kmnorth to south and 3.5 km east to west. In 1839 the areawas surveyed and belonged to the parish of Nillumbik. Partwas named St Helena by the Beale family (born on theisland of St Helena in 1790), and the area around GlenPark Road was known as the Glen Park Estate.

Prior to 1900 the land around Eltham North was mainlyused for farming, and consisted of orchards, dairies andwoodcutting. There were some gold mines operating in thearea, and people came for picnics by horse drawn draysfrom Heidelberg (originally known as Warringal). Therailway was extended to Eltham from Heidelberg in 1902and to Hurstbridge in 1912.

In the early 1920's, more people were living in the area,and they formed the Glen Park Progress Association toaddress the issue of poor roads, as well as no water,electricity or amenities (at this time there were only tworoads: Glen Park and Wattletree Roads). They also voicedconcerns about the distance that their children had totravel to school. The children either attended the Elthamschool or the Diamond Creek school a walk of two to threemiles. An application was made by the ProgressAssociation, to the Education Department, to establish aschool at Glen Park.

Background

A Brief History

Eltham North Primary School

‘Rest-a-while’ - the first school opened in this private house on Lower Glen Park Road 1924

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Seven Schools

The First School

23 May 1924 to 30 October 1925

The Second School

2 November 1925 toAugust 1955

The Third SchoolSeptember 1952 to September 1953

The Fourth SchoolSeptember 1953 toAugust 1976

rd th

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The first school opened in a private house, 'Rest-a-While',rented by the Education Department from a lady called MrsBarnes. It was situated in Lower Glen Park Road (nowknown as Lower Road) and there were 37 childrenenrolled. It was originally known as the Glen Park StateSchool.As the Glen Park area was re-named Eltham North(as there was another Glen Park post office in Victoria), theschool was re-named Eltham North State School inSeptember 1924. The first head teacher was a woman,Miss Martha Merrifield. The first school had a history ofseventeen months.

The second school was sited in Banks Road on landbought by the Education Department from the Murrayfamily. The classroom, 20 feet by 30 feet, was transportedfrom Greensborough on a horse drawn vehicle. At theDiamond Creek (Wattletree Road) bridge, the roomneeded to be raised above the railings of the bridge tocross.

In 1925 there were 41 children, and by 1932 there were 58children in the one classroom. The school grounds hadvery few playing areas because of the steep terrain.

It was at his school that the school bell, which now standsin the atrium, was purchased in 1927. It originally hung inthe fork of a tree but fell down during a storm, so it was thensuspended between two posts. As well as being used forschool, the bell was rung to alert local residents of fire.

A past teacher remembers classifying 33 different speciesof orchids from the Eltham North area. The school had itsown garden tended by the children in grade 5 and up. Pastpupils talk of catching black fish, red fin and the occasionaleel in the Diamond Creek. Platypuses were seen regularly.

By May 1952 there were 62 children, and they were all stillin the one original classroom. A complaint was lodged withthe Education Department, as the lighting was poor andthe desks were only 12 inches apart.

This school was used concurrently with the second schoolbut was classed as a third because it was on separateland. The Progress Hall (the current Scout Hall) wasrented by the Education Department for one year. Prep,grades 1, 2 and 3 were situated in the hall with twoteachers. Mr Barlow, the headmaster at the time, was upthe hill at the second school on his own with grades 4 to 8.

This was the first new building the school had occupied.Parents had wanted it built where the Eltham North Park isnow, but the area was considered to be flood-prone. Theschool was built on Lower Road and consisted of two newclassrooms, an office/staffroom, corridor and porch. It hadelectricity, and the enrolment at this time was 98 children.The school was occupied in two stages, during which timeMr Barlow would ride his bike between the two sites. In1955 an additional classroom was erected.

With continuing growth of the area, by 1971 there were 170children at the school, housed in three classrooms and theheadmaster's office. The parents had been voicing theirconcern at the overcrowding for some time. On the first dayof the school year, in 1972, parents withdrew their childrenfrom the school in protest and had the media present torecord it. Eventually, the school was extended to sixclassrooms and a corridor. The Education Departmentwished to remove a portable but the parents parked theircars around it and padlocked the gates so the loader couldnot get in.

School Photo 1950

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Peter Blizzard designed the first school logo, with the 'e' forEltham, and the vertical arrow representing the compasspoint north and the growth of the Eltham North community.

In August 1976, vandals burned down the fourth school,but he school bell was not damaged. A school councilortook the bell to his house, and under his bed it stayed untilthe seventh school was finished.

The two end classrooms of the fourth school saved in theblaze were cleaned up, and four portables were added tothe site. The history of the fifth school begins on the samesite as the fourth school.

The Education Department would only cover so much ofthe loss of equipment; so fundraising began in earnest,with a big community response.Battles continued between the school council and theEducation Department in relation to the building of the newschool. The overcrowding became worse, and in 1978 theGospel Hall was hired to alleviate the problem. Thestudents prepared to move to another site temporarily,while a new school was built on the same site.

The Education Department bought 8.01 hectares of landon the north side of Progress Road (west of BrixtonAvenue) and put portables on this steep site for thistemporary school. There was no hall and no shelterbetween the portables. The number of children at theschool was 250.

The site had previously been a farm, and an old cellar fromthe original farmhouse was found. It was estimated to beapproximately 100 years old. The children wanted to standin front of the bulldozers to stop it from being demolished,but were unsuccessful in their campaign.

This site was vacated after 15 months. It was used as anannex to Montmorency High School until St HelenaSecondary College was built.

The seventh, and current, school was designed byarchitects, Clarke Hopkins and Clarke, who later designedthe Eltham College on the style of Eltham North PrimarySchool. It cost $1 million to build and incorporated facilitiesfor disabled children in its design.

The gates were commissioned by the architects to a well-known local artist, Matcham Skipper, and were finished byhis son, Marcus. 1979 was the year of the sputnik, and thedesign depicts the satellite coming back from space intothe vegetation of the earth.

Pauline Toner officially opened the school on 30November 1979. The school bell was retrieved from underthe school councilor's bed and was erected in the atrium.The bell has become the school logo, replacing the earlier'compass e' design.

By 1982 the building was far from big enough. Eightportables were added to the site, the last having to bedelivered in two halves, lifted over the fence by crane,loaded back onto the loader and transported across thegrounds.All on a school day!

The Fifth SchoolSeptember 1976 to May 1978

The Sixth SchoolMay 1978 to July 1979

The Seventh School

28 July 1979 to nowth

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Grade 3/4 1976

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centre spread

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centre spread

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It was at this time that the school chose its school colours:green and gold, to emulate the wattles of the area.

Wattletree Road plays a big part in the history of theschool. A school-crossing supervisor had been appointedin 1975, but lights were not installed until 1984, followingseveral accidents. For a second time, parents protested bywithdrawing their children from the school, and had theirprotest meeting televised. The long-term solution, anunderpass under Wattletree Road, has never eventuated.Over the years the road has been lowered, widened andstraightened to improve visibility.

Eltham North received four brand new portables, whichare used by the grade 5/6 students.Anew music room wasbuilt, the staffroom and library were extended and theoffice area was re-designed to include a meeting room.The computer lab received a technology upgrade, and allclassrooms now have phones, computers and Internetaccess.

The playgrounds also had a facelift, with the sandpitcovered and three sets of new playground equipmentpurchased, following great fundraising efforts of the schoolcommunity. Playground sails were erected over the prep tograde 2 play equipment. As the size of the school hasgrown, and so too the need for play space, the top car parkwas turned into a playing area and the students haveaccess to the oval at lunchtimes.

The Environmental Program has been strengthened withthe construction of the new green house and theinstallation of a water tank.

The Out of School Hours Care Program was expanded toinclude before school care and moved to the larger area inthe art room, with improved facilities.

The artists in residence, Mary Lou and Chris Pittard,continue to undertake yearly projects, such as the ceramictile murals and decorations around the school. The schoolsymbol of the bell with the arrow pointing north waschanged to a bell, drawn by Jan Wood, a former teacher atEltham North.

The school population increased from approximately 280students in the late 1990s to the current number of 431.The number of classes increased from 12 in 1994 to thecurrent 17 in 2004.

We said goodbye to the following staff:

Peter Furlong (Principal 1990-1996)Josee Weel (Principal 1996 to 1999)

David Lovegott Sonia DiSilva Alf FranklandKeith Linton Karen Sheedy Jan WoodMark Dixon Prue Jefferies Vanessa HarrisonMim Hodgson Cathy Dowlan Sue HughesChris Crowe Karen Dixon Lyn SudboroughAnn Jones Silvana Caruso Gail BarnardBetty Brooks Meredith Speed Wendy DunnLee Wright Glenda Winfield

Highlights from the last 10 years

Physical Changes

Changes to students and staff

Jenny EdgebrookeCarol West Sharon Polgar Joan SmithFiona Smit Peter Hagen Ben Bishop

The New School 1979

Grade Prep, One, Two playground with sails

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Introduction of new programs

Eltham North Primary School is fortunate to have a rangeof management programs, which assist the smoothrunning of the school. These include the introduction ofproject teams on school council (marketing, finance,community events and services, school charter, facilities,parent representatives, out of school hours care, policy,and uniform). Other programs are out of school hour'scare, a paid yard duty supervisor, a paid first aid officer, abuilding and library fund, class parent reps, andfundraising.

There have been many additions to the curriculum atEltham North. The 'You Can Do It' program has been anoutstanding project, which promotes amongst studentsthe skills and qualities of organisation, persistence,confidence and getting along. There are many supportprograms for students with additional needs, and students'progress is now tracked via a database. The schoolencourages students to participate in the Gatewaysextension program and to attend student leadershipcourses.

The teaching staff is involved in various programs,including: Early and Middle Years of Schooling and PLOT(Professional Learning on Line Tool). In addition, teachersare involved in regular professional development andattendance at school cluster meetings. They are alsoabreast of current innovative programs and educationalinitiatives with their involvement in Global Citizenship,Organistional Health and the Thinking Curriculum.

Eltham North Primary participates in inter-school sportingevents and has recently enjoyed performance evenings bystudents. The school band and choir have beenestablished, and instrumental programs are offered inkeyboard, guitar and woodwind. The Challenge program,involving parents sharing special skills and talents withstudents, has been very successful. As with manyprograms at Eltham North, it demonstrates the level ofactive participation of parents in the life of the school.

The school now has a Junior School Council, SchoolCaptains and a strong leadership program which includesEnvironmental, Sport, Library and Computer leaderswithin each classroom.

Regular events throughout the school year include theFamily Dance and School Picnics, which are well

attended. The Grade 6 students end their final year with aformal graduation ceremony. A successful fete was held in2002, which was enjoyed by many and raised much-needed funds. To commemorate our 80 Anniversary yearthe school community has again come together to raisethe funds for the construction of the Rest-a-While Shelter,a lovely meeting place for students, parents and friends ofthe school.

The staff and students enjoy a wide range of programsamidst excellent facilities. The school continues to be adynamic entity, constantly evolving and developing in all itsaspects, and will always have a special place in the heartsand minds of all those connected to Eltham North PrimarySchool.

Curriculum Changes

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David Foley (Principal) with School Captains

Ceramic tile mural created by studentsof ENPS with the assistance of Artists

In Residence Mary Lou and Chris Pittard

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David Foley -Frank Butters -Lesley Bush -

Sue JamesJulie WilliamsonJo HarwoodMaryann SevasChris TatnallJanine TuckerMichelle LucasAmy CliffordLinda DrewBriley StokesLeonie BuchananSue O'NeillJulie FrancisGail GunnRenee BaldwinJulie SamartinoNadia Bradbury

Stephen HayesRobyn GibsonWendy HayesJulie van Noorden - Reading RecoveryElizabeth Doig - Speech Therapist

Sue Page - Performing ArtsTeresa Sciola - ItalianKerry Kaskamanidis - ArtSharon Marmo - PE/Leading teacherCara Grant - PE /ArtHelen Skerry - Library Technician

John BarberAdam Roach

Robyn RayMaureen RobertsValerie ShieldsSusan Jupp

Donna MortonDonna McGregorPam Pritchard

Sam WildeJackie BattieLeanda Hudson

Judy GreenwayNeil Greenway

- Robert Scoberg- Phil Champion

- Christina Demers- Janet Sykes

David Foley (Principal)Leonie BuchananFrank ButtersSharon Marmo

Sarah AtwoodLisa KirtonGlenn Neyland

Johannes JanssensLuke van NoordenMeagan PriceRachel Vlastuin

PrincipalAssistant Principal

Business Manager

Class Teachers

Support Staff

Specilalists

Instrumental

Integration Aides

Administration

Before/After School Hours Care

Cleaners

PresidentVice PresidentSecretaryTreasurer

Department of Education & Training (DE&T)representatives.

Non-DE&T representatives

2004 School Council Members

2004 School Captains

Cecily Vlastuin

Anna WilliamsMegan MurfittMelissa CarnesSharon Lim

Teachers on Leave

Eltham North Primary School

2004 Staff

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collage

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collage

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Autographs

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