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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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