By CASEY NEILL
EMERSON School has been giving kids a chance to shine since 1973.
The Dandenong school celebrated its 40th anniversary with a dinner dance and fun fair on 1 and 2 November.
Junior and senior campus principal Dianne Wright said the school for pupils with mild intellectual disabilities was education department bureaucrat Les Emerson’s vision.
“Every kid deserves an opportunity,” she said.
Ms Wright said the concept was to support kids languishing at the bottom of their class.
“It was an opportunity for those kids to shine,” she said.
“Our school is the difference between being a recluse from society and actually giving back to society.
“Our aim is for our students to be gainfully employed.”
The school started with 144 pupils and now has more than 410.
“I’ve been there since 1985,” Ms Wright said.
“I was only going to stay for a few years. I chose it because my mum lived nearby at the time.”
She planned to stay until her toddler son started primary school.
“Now Bradley’s 31 and I’m still here,” she said.
“I really believe that what we do here makes a difference to the lives of the kids we have.”
Ms Wright said the school had a fantastic weekend of celebration.
“The weather was perfect and there were some very special moments as staff and students from over the four decades reminisced about times gone by,” she said.
“We had over 200 people attend the gala dinner dance on Friday and another 300 people attending open day.”
Elida Brereton, principal on television series Summer Heights High, was the guest speaker at the dinner, which brought together former students, staff and parents.
