Ongerup Primary School celebrates 75 years of education in the Great Southern with ceremony and fete

Ongerup Primary School celebrated its 75th anniversary on March 15, with current and former students and staff coming together with the community to mark the major milestone. More than 150 people attended the ceremony and fete on Saturday morning to reminisce about their school days or learn more about the school’s history. School principal Donna Jarvinen said the celebration was an “amazing day”, with the school “bursting at the seams”. “We are so very thankful for our school community in supporting the day in so many ways,” she said. “Bonny Vaux wrote a song just for our school, and the students sung it with pride on Saturday. “Judy Kearse baked a beautiful cake and Tim O’Neil conducted the cake cutting, and the Vaux family donated a memorial tree, with Kingsley Vaux and his grandchildren Jasper and Obelia planting it in our garden on the day. “Jenny Ireland kept so many photo albums and information about our school and put together an amazing time line of each year our school has been open.” The closure of East and West Ongerup schools in 1947 made way for a new central school in the Ongerup township, with Ongerup Primary School opening in 1950. The school was housed in the Ongerup Town Hall until the new building officially opened, and at its highest enrolment, boasted close to 150 students. Ms Jarvinen said multiple families from the region had attended the school for generations, with past students coming back to celebrate the day with their children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. She said current students conducted their own research and fundraising initiatives to contribute to the special day. “As part of their learning in history, the Year 3-6 students interviewed past students and staff, and these memoirs were shared during the official ceremony with much laughter and agreement from the audience,” she said. “These students also set up and ran their own market stalls at the old school fete which followed after the official ceremony. “They worked so hard in making their products, and they conducted themselves as business owners with pride.” The fete stalls set up on the day raised more than $1000, which Ms Jarvinen said would go towards repainting some of the school’s older classrooms.

Ongerup Primary School celebrates 75 years of education in the Great Southern with ceremony and fete

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