Students walk through neighbourhood

Pretty Beach Public School’s years three and four have conducted two walks through the local community.

The purpose of these walks, on the theme "Places: Then, Now and Tomorrow", was to study some of the historic sites and places of interest in the community.

These included indigenous sites including Aboriginal middens, old homes dating back 70 to 80 years and old gravestones.

Many of these sites were photographed during the walks, using the school’s digital camera.

The photographs will become the basis for further discussion and report writing in the classroom.

In addition to these local excursions, visiting speakers spoke to the children who took part in these walks, relating their earliest recollections of living in the community.

Don Anderson, a retired school principal, spoke to the students about his holidays in the Killcare area about 60 years ago.

He then spoke of his settling in the area some years later.

Mr Anderson also spoke of the changes that had occurred in the local community over the last 50 to 60 years.

Greg McCall, the father of student Victoria McCall, spoke of his experiences as a student at Pretty Beach Public School in the late 60’s and early 70’s.

"Mr McCall related a number of humorous anecdotes which kept the students amused," said teacher Mr Chris Mclnerney.

Both talks were videotaped, so that the school had a permanent record of the recollections of the early days in the community.

Chris McInerney, April 12