MCDONALD Park Primary School students have dusted off the history books as the North Terrace education institute gears up for its 50th anniversary celebrations tomorrow.
The history of the school’s formation, its various uniforms, as well as past principals have been researched as the school prepares to open its doors to the public for historical tours led by students.
“The teacher librarian has been working closely with six to eight classes who are then divided into different sections where they have been looking at past photographs from 1969 and comparing them to now,” McDonald Park principal Kirsty Trahar said.
“We are fortunate to have the teacher librarian still as many schools do not use that as a resource anymore, but we find it much better to have two adults working with the students in teaching them about their research skills.
“The librarians also get to learn about the students this way and their literacy needs, which then leads into a fantastic Book Week and other events.”
McDonald Park students Lucy, Phoebe and Josh are among those who have focused their study on the history of the school’s buildings, while Genevieve has studied uniform changes.
“The main building was the only building here when the school first started in 1969,” Lucy said.
Phoebe said the number of buildings on the school grounds grew over the 50 years as the school population increased.
“We also learnt a lot about the house that is near the school and we found out one of our school houses is named after someone who used to live there,” Phoebe said.
Josh discovered changes to the school’s library, with its location moving throughout classrooms over the years.
“In the 1980s the library was not where it is now, it was up in the main building, but before it came to where it is now it was in another building,” he said.
All students agreed their favourite section of research was finding out the history of the school and the different aspects which have changed, such as the uniform.
“When the school first opened the girls had to wear tartan skirts and dresses with strict rules like they had to wear black shoes,” Genevieve said.
“The girls could not wear tracksuit pants like we can now and they did not have the school logo on their uniforms either.”
Changes within the curriculum have also been spoken about with students, including advancements in how children learn and technological developments.
“The way we teach subjects such as English and math has changed significantly since we have found out more about how children learn,” Ms Trahar said.
“Now it is a much more collaborative based learning experience rather than them sitting in rows as they did back then.
“Technology has also changed the way we teach because of its development but one thing that has stayed the same is the sage learning environment and the want to learn from the students.”
McDonald Park will host tours of the school from 2pm with student leaders taking charge.
“I think a lot of people will find changes within the facility because it is one of those schools that has changed so much,” Ms Trahar said.
