On Sunday, 22 May, I had the great pleasure of attending Anglesea Primary School’s farewell to the old school and welcome to the new school celebration. Beginning at what is now termed ‘the old school’, hundreds of students, parents, teachers and Anglesea residents relived memories of their days at the school, browsing through the classrooms filled with photographs and memorabilia. The school principal, Pamela Sandlant, read out contributions from past students telling stories about past teachers, sports days, singing the times tables with a teacher playing guitar and even getting the strap. Members of the school community then formed an arch by linking their hands above heads, and the oldest registered school attendee, 86-year-old Olga Tomkins, and the youngest student, 5-year-old Alannah Fitzgerald, led the principal and current students on a walk through the arch to the new school.
The new school’s excellent facilities, open spaces, ultra-modern IT equipment, modern learning facilities and first-class high-ball gymnasium, together with the wonderful staff and supporters of the school, will ensure that Anglesea students get the best possible start in life. I congratulate everyone involved in this great new school — the staff, students, parents, friends, architects and construction workers, the Surf Coast Shire Council and the previous state Labor government — for making this possible.
You only have to see the number of people who turned out on what was a very wet Sunday afternoon to know that the Anglesea community is thrilled with its new school and strongly values the old school’s past and the new school’s future.