By Abbey Cannan
At the heart of the hinterland is a school which has educated generations of families in Noosa, and in 2023 it’s marking a diamond anniversary.
Noosa District State High School will celebrate its 60 year anniversary during the week of the 25 May, based on the official opening date in 1963.
“The school has a long and celebrated history for our community,“ staff member Cathy Smith said.
“In 1963, we began as the district school for the large community from Federal down to Coolum, including Kin Kin, Pomona, Cooran and Eumundi. However, our catchment area is now servicing a more localised community.
“We continue to hold student values of respect, responsibility and active learning, leading our students to become thoughtful citizens in our community.“
To celebrate the week, there’s a number of activities planned, including community reunion events on Tuesday 23 May.
There will be a principal’s tour of the Cooroy Campus for past and present staff, students and community members from 3-4pm.
Plus a Reunion Over the Decades at Your Mates – Hinterland Bowlspub from 4-6pm. Bring your friends and family reflect on your time at Noosa District SHS.
If anyone in the wider community would like to join the school to celebrate the 60th anniversary community reunion events on Tuesday afternoon 23 May, contact the school by emailing ndshs@noosadistrictshs.eq.edu.au or calling 5472 2222.
The school has an incredible 21 current staff members each with over 20 years’ service history at NDSHS.
To mark the diamond anniversary, Noosa Today asked some of the school’s longest-serving teachers, who are likely familiar faces to many in the community, to take a look back at their favourite times at the school.
Here’s what they had to say about the decades of dealing with the little rascals of Noosa:
Ron Greentree
“When I first started at Noosa High, the hall had a concrete floor. For a couple of years it was mentioned that the floor was going to be overlaid with timber parquetry. Each holidays we would return to the disappointment of it not being done. Finally, after one Christmas holiday, it was done. This flooring was, for some time, treated like royal flooring. Some of the rules included that for whole school parades, all students had to remove their shoes before entering the hall. This resulted in 980 pairs of shoes being left at, and around, the doors of the hall. Everyone always seemed to get the correct shoes at the end of the parade though. Before HPE lessons, we had to check that students were wearing shoes that had non-marking soles or they had to remove them for the lesson. There have been occasions when classes on the oval have been interrupted by the odd cow from the farm getting through the fence. One lesson, my class was attacked by a swam of flying ants. They were in students’ hair and even their mouths and eyes. We relocated to the basketball courts but the ants seemed to follow us. We then ran to the nearest empty classroom in the nearby A Block and shut the doors and windows to escape them. End of practical lesson that day.“
Leanne Tanner
“So many amusing incidents come to mind when I think about teaching at Noosa High for the last 33 years. When I had a Year 10 History class back in the ’90s, we thought it would be fun to create a time capsule to be dug up in years to come. Students brought in little mementos to add and we buried it beneath the demountable classroom stairs where we had our class. When we celebrated the school’s 50th anniversary 10 years ago, we thought that might be a good time to dig it up. It was only then that we realised that the new science block had been built over it. Maybe an archaeologist in the future will discover our little collection of Noosa High ’90s history.“
Tony Leigh-Sheriden
“Arriving at Noosa District State high school in the late ’80s, my first impression was that of a very conservative environment. Certainly, different to my experiences in inner city schools. However, I soon discovered a very passionate staff that worked tirelessly together to provide extracurricular activities that made school a fun place to be. Every year there was the year nine week’s camp at Borumba Dam, fashion shows supported by local boutiques, the debutante balls at Nambour, school fetes, carnivals, theatrical productions, talent quests and interschool sporting events. Naturally, each decade brings its own challenges and rewards. Today, the staff are just as passionate as before, and those extracurricular activities offered today reflect the changing times and values in our society.“
Karyn Bartholomai
“As a DP I had a small daffodil bear that sat on my desk until one day… it disappeared. After hunting high and low and sending out many SOS messages, a ransom note appeared. Yes, the bear had been kidnapped (some very sneaky maths teachers I believe). Not prepared to pay the ransom (liquorice, if I remember correctly)… the bear was not returned. However, for the next 12 months the bear had a great life as members of the staff secretly took it on outings. My office was covered in photos of the bear’s adventures – from a photo with a policeman at the Ashes in Brisbane, to skiing at Perisher, to outside Buckingham Palace – it was a great year.“
Alison Rexa
“I have been at Noosa District State High since January 1989 and I was promoted here as a subject mistress, commercial. In 1992, I was asked to relieve in the role of senior mistress who was going on leave (this role is now called a deputy principal). Our school was small enough back then to hold parades in between A and D block where the seating area is now. In 1995, a restructuring occurred and our titles changed to head of department. My department was then business and information technology. Since then, my job has evolved into being head of department, information technology and performing arts. Noosa High is a welcoming school and I enjoy working at this school very much.“
