School reunion for birthday

– Shaun Inguanzo
IT WAS back to school for many of Southvale Primary School’s former staff and students as part of last week’s 40th birthday celebrations.
A multicultural lunch and a student-run assembly were highlights of a memorable day last week as the school reflected on its long-running history within the community.
Principal Sue Barford said the day was a success and the celebrations couldn’t have been better.
She said the day was topped off by a birthday cake with enough to go around to the many students, staff and parents, both former and current.
Ms Barford said computers and multimedia technology were the largest changes the school had seen over the 40 years.
She said there used to be about 45 students in each class whereas there are now no more than 21 students.
“We have had a decrease in enrolment. We had around 600 to 800 students in our heyday, but now we have 207,” she said.
“That is mostly because people who have chosen to stay in the area are now older so they don’t have children any more, and a lot of people rent which didn’t happen a lot in the early days.”
The school’s multicultural lunch was symbolic of its status as a lighthouse school, so-called for its dedication to teaching English to the children of migrant families.
“It was lovely to have such a wonderful community spirit on the day,” Ms Barford said.
“Our parents did the best job on the day, in terms of providing food for our visitors.”