SOME TRIVIA TO DO WITH OUR SPORT HOUSES.

Some trivia for everyone about the sport house teams at Mayfield West Public School.

Prior to the middle of 1961 there were  actually 8 sports houses; 4 girls teams and 4 boys teams. Yes it is true and some of you may remember, but for others your memories may not be so good!

The girls' houses were named after the Australian Wild Flowers: WARATAH (Red), WATTLE (Yellow), GUM BLOSSOM (Green) and BORONIA (Blue).

The boys' houses were named after Lord Mayors of Waratah and Newcastle: GRIFFITH (Red), WEBB (Yellow), MILLAR (Green) and PURDUE (Blue).

The logisitics of 8 sport houses marching around the quadrangle on a Monday at assembly, and the work involved in organising/maintaining 8 houses was proving to be a difficult job and it was proposed that the number of houses be reduced to 4.  It was decided that a democratic vote would take place to determine if reducing the number of houses was the best option to solve this logistical nightmare.

With the vote confirming the houses should be reduced in number, the next obstacle was to decide in which manner the pupils would be placed for the march.  It could not be decided whether the boys should march up front and the girls behind or vice versa.  Remember, this was prior to affirmative action and the recognition of the equality of genders, and it was still very much a male dominated society.  It was finally decided to have 2 columns of girls and 2 columns of boys marching side by side... the tallest up the front, the shortest to the back.  Perhaps this was a first step towards equality!

The most important thing however, was how the houses performed when it came to the sports carnivals.  It was always the team with the highest point score that was the winner and we all wanted it to be our team. Combined sports teams were more fun and it was more exciting to compete against everyone rather than with either just the boys or just the girls. At the end of the day we all wanted to be the ones cheering for how well we had done, for all of the hard work of practising and finally in competing.

To this day the same houses still exist at Mayfield West Demonstration School and this is a credit to the school that they have maintained this important piece of our school history.

Postscript:   Some quick history... Miller, Webb and Griffiths were named after the Mayors of Waratah and Purdue was named after the long serving Lord Mayor of Newcastle.  Griffiths was the the longest serving Mayor on record in Newcastle, serving 7 terms as mayor of Waratah, prior to becoming the 1st Lord Mayor of the Greater Newcastle Council in 1938.  Purdue was first elected to office in 1951 and served 3 terms in office as Lord Mayor of Newcastle.

School Reunion Announcements in the Media.

          

    

 I just wanted to let everyone know to keep your eyes and ears peeled to the media in the next month

Announcements of the Mayfield West Public School 2010 Reunion have been placed on the following:

• Community Notice Boards (CNB's) for the three local TV channels

• Community Switchboard Announcements for the radio stations 

 These announcements have also been listed on the TV & Radio station websites and an announcement has been sent to the paper media.

We hope that you will get a buzz out of this...  Lesley and I will keep you posted so please check the blog for regular updates.

News Broadcast #3

Can you believe that it is 5 weeks since the last broadcast email? It scares me to look at the speed at which time is reeling off on the digital clock on the Mayfield West School Reunion blog: http://www.maywestreunion.blogspot.com/  - 12 days to go and counting!

Talking about the blog; the other thing I would like you to note when you visit the improved face lifted blog, thanks to Lesley, is the link to missing students. The link to the missing students is located to the right of the digital clock.  When you click on the individual class link, the names of the students for that class are noted.  You will see that some of the names are in RED. These are the students we have been unable to locate.  Do you know where they are?  If so, please contact one the committee members using the email address maywestreunion@live.com  Thanks in advance for any help you are able to offer in our search for those in red.

Before I leave the subject of missing students, Margaret Wright has been hard at work writing on two S.M sites, Facebook and Twitter as another means of locating our friends and generating reunion interest; we have also located people via Genes Reunited!

You will also see a couple of recently added photos from the memorable 1st reunion in ’91 on the blog.  Can you recognize the students in each shot?  I hear that one person in the photos will be in full swing again come June 5th!

In my previous email I asked for your assistance in sending Margaret or Lesley a recent photo of yourself.  It doesn’t have to be a glamour shot for the cover of a glossy magazine or something suitable for the Mr. Universe magazine.  The photos are trickling in like cold honey, slow but steady.  Thanks in advance for sending your photo sooner rather than later.

This email seems to be full of requests.  If you have not filled out Survey #2 can you complete it please?  If you have not received Survey #2, please contact Lesley at maywestreunion@live.com  The return of this survey will assist the committee with a ‘non disclosed source’ of information for the night and in the handout memorabilia package.

The committee keeps me well versed on progress and I know that a number of tables have been targeted for preferred seating arrangements.  Vivienne will need a LARGE table to herself to accommodate all her admirers!

In trying to keep this email short (not at book length - Clay will appreciate that comment) but at the same time trying to keep you aware of the level of interest this reunion has generated, is the knowledge that John Peffer and Bill McAlpine spent time ‘bonding’ at a huge ‘motorcycle club’ function in WA.

No, it was not Hell’s Angels! Tony & Dave will appreciate that comment!  Bill I believe rode across the continent and as some of you know, John relocated to Perth.  More recently a few of the students visited Bob Lightfoot at home.  At this meeting, Bob’s wife unearthed the ‘milk boys’!  Check the photo on the blog.  Milk was less than 2 bob then; yes I know – SICK!

Well that’s almost it for the time being; see you at Charlestown Bowling Club June 5th @ 6:00pm, but in the meantime please RSVP your attendance with payment.  With regards payment, (payments are pouring in apparently) the account detail is noted at the end of this email.  Part of the payment is for a donation to cover the cost of a number items chosen by the Principal, Mrs Debbie Skillen.

If you have questions of any nature about the 2010 reunion, please contact one of the committee - Marg (02) 4928 3282 or Lesley (02) 4956 1356

Regards Phil

Banking details:                     Greater Building Society Limited
                                             BSB:                  637-000
                                             Account No.:     717 532 112
                                             A/c Name:         Margaret Gayler & Lesley Afflick

Add your surname as an identifier on the deposit please.

OUR BRAVE MILK BOYS.

Should we? Should we not?

This photo is our brave 'milk boys' leaning on the crates of milk when they first arrived at school.  The boys placed the crates in the ice chest to keep the milk cold for the rest of the school to drink at play time.  Well for some of the pupils it was cold milk!  Special friends and teachers received their milk cold.  For the rest of us, we lined up in the playground to drink warm milk!

 

Those were the days when as a milk boy, you had friends - by the dozen.  Could we as pupils/class mates bribe them with anything?   I think not!  These boys were loyal to the rules of the school although these rules were sometimes broken, weren't they boys?

Who are the brave 'milk boys' you ask?   Bob McAlpine is on the left and Bob Lightfoot is on the right

Photo courtsey of Bob Lightfoot 5B/6B.

Thank you Bob

Post Script.   If you have any interesting photos taken at school like this, we would really love to see them.

We would also like to hear from you if you have the following class photos as we don't have copies:

• Girls  - 3rd class 1960 (Mavis Shearman & Susan Giles' year)
• Boys -  6th class 1964 (Greg Andrews & John Morris' year)  

These photos are required to form a pictorial time line of our years in Primary school.

Please contact us at maywestreunion@live.com if you have access to these photos, and if you are happy for us to use them, simply scan and email to the above address.  Your assistance and involvement will be greatly appreciated if you can help us!

Memories of the 1991 - 6th class reunion