North Canterbury News: June 16, 2022
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West Eyreton School 150th<br />
NEWS<br />
<strong>North</strong> <strong>Canterbury</strong> <strong>News</strong>, <strong>June</strong> <strong>16</strong>, <strong>2022</strong><br />
29<br />
By TIM FULTON<br />
West Eyreton School is<br />
celebrating its 150th anniversary<br />
year with atwoday event in late<br />
October.<br />
The programme starts with the<br />
West Eyreton School Agricultural<br />
Extravaganza ‘Spring Special’,<br />
on Friday, October 28, from 9am<br />
to 2pm.<br />
The day will bring the past and<br />
present West Eyreton community<br />
together and include visits from<br />
agricultural animals in the main<br />
arena and anumber of<br />
demonstrations.<br />
In the school hall there will be<br />
natural crafts, flower displays,<br />
scarecrows, decorated cakes and<br />
many more.<br />
In addition, the Friends of the<br />
School Committee is planning an<br />
array of displays, stalls, bouncy<br />
castles, crazy bikes, an AgriKids<br />
area and adelicious food alley on<br />
the West Eyreton Domain.<br />
The following day, October 29,<br />
the official School Jubilee<br />
Celebrations will run from 10am<br />
to 2pm.<br />
The day starts at 10am with<br />
opportunities throughout the day<br />
to visit school learning spaces,<br />
and find out what schooling in the<br />
21st century looks and feels like.<br />
At 11am the school will<br />
officially acknowledge 150 years<br />
of schooling at West Eyreton with<br />
speeches, atree planting and the<br />
cutting of the cake.<br />
This will be followed by photos<br />
and arelaxed picnic lunch in<br />
which guests reconnect with<br />
familiar faces.<br />
West Eyreton School opened in<br />
1872 with 32 pupils and the first<br />
master was Dominie Brown.<br />
The school on the corner of<br />
<strong>North</strong> Eyre and School Roads had<br />
acolourful opening, organised by<br />
pioneering Eyrewell farmer<br />
Marmaduke Dixon.<br />
‘‘All the children of the East<br />
Eyreton and Cust schools and<br />
their parents, and ahost of other<br />
visitors, were invited to take part<br />
in the ceremony and they were<br />
formed up into agreat procession<br />
amile from the school to which<br />
they marched carrying banners,<br />
flying flags and bunting, and<br />
singing hymns all the way.’’<br />
The West Eyreton School’s<br />
original school building was<br />
replaced in 1935.<br />
This was later remodelled and<br />
additional classrooms and<br />
buildings added.<br />
By the 1980s, when farming was<br />
going through tumultuous<br />
changes and the district<br />
population was dwindling, the<br />
school was close to becoming sole<br />
charge and as late as 2003, its<br />
future was still doubtful.<br />
In 2003, the new principal at the<br />
time, Jillian Gallagher, described<br />
ahuge step forward for West<br />
Eyreton School’s future, with a<br />
roll increase that led to the<br />
building of afifth classroom and<br />
permanent teacher.<br />
‘‘The school survived avery<br />
tenuous time as many rural<br />
schools in New Zealand were<br />
under threat from school mergers<br />
and West Eyreton wasn’t immune<br />
from closure or being merged<br />
with neighbouring schools by the<br />
Ministry of Education.<br />
‘‘The 2003 roll growth gave the<br />
school increased staffing and the<br />
subsequent building of afifth<br />
Old style ... West Eyreton School<br />
will make 150 years in October.<br />
PHOTO: FILE<br />
classroom. The March Roll<br />
Return confirmed that our fifth<br />
teacher was apermanent<br />
position.<br />
‘‘In May, afifth teacher was<br />
appointed to the permanent full<br />
time position. Building of the fifth<br />
classroom began in February with<br />
its completion in the third week of<br />
Term 2.’’<br />
The school roll continued to<br />
grow and in 2005 the Ministry of<br />
Education approved a10year<br />
Development plan (2005 –2015)<br />
for five more classrooms, an<br />
Information Learning Centre and<br />
aschool hall.<br />
Now, as the school celebrates<br />
its 150th anniversary, the roll is<br />
just under 200.<br />
Peace makers ... Some of the patches made by Rangiora quilters<br />
for an international, sunflowerthemed peace quilt being made by<br />
Australian artist Janno Mclaughlin to help lift the spirits of people in<br />
wartorn Ukraine.<br />
PHOTO: SUPPLIED<br />
Peace quilt support<br />
By SHELLEY TOPP<br />
Rangiora quilters are<br />
contributingtoaninternational,<br />
sunflowerthemed peacequilt<br />
beingcreatedfor Ukraine by<br />
Australianartist,Janno<br />
McLaughlin.<br />
The Rangiora quilters are<br />
beingled by Springbank quilt<br />
makerVerinaThirlwell, who<br />
holdsquiltmaking classes at<br />
Quilters Quarters on Tuesday<br />
afternoons.<br />
The idea behind Janno’s<br />
project is to show supportfor<br />
the Ukrainian people, by<br />
making aquilt with 1000<br />
patches to formalarge art<br />
installation for display on<br />
bombed buildingsormass<br />
graves in the wartorn country.<br />
The aim is to deliver the quilt,<br />
whichisbeingmadewith fabric<br />
in the Ukrainian national<br />
colours of blue and gold, in time<br />
for Ukrainian Independence<br />
Day on August 24.<br />
The sunflower themewas<br />
chosen because it is Ukraine’s<br />
nationalflower and asymbol of<br />
peace.<br />
Since the beginning of the<br />
Russian invasionofUkrainein<br />
February this year, sunflowers<br />
havealso becomeasymbolof<br />
resistance against the Russian<br />
invaders.<br />
Verina is hopingtohave a<br />
large selection of patches ready<br />
to post to Janno for her quilt by<br />
July15. The patcheshave to be<br />
30cmx30cm square, witha<br />
surrounding edge for<br />
attachment. Anybodyinterested<br />
in contributingpatches can<br />
drop them off at Quilters<br />
Quarters in the former<br />
Rangiora DistrictCourt<br />
building at 9High Street.<br />
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