Families prepare for school anniversary

Planning is continuing for Lardner Primary School's 150th year Reunion and Celebration to be held in October.

As organisers continue to search through the school's history books, they have looked at the many local families who have made up the school's 150 year history.
One of those families is the Rowse family from Lardner who has had three generations at the school.

Ken Rowse, founder of Rowse Motors, a general mechanical workshop went to Lardner Primary School between 1954 to 1960. His son Tim went to school from 1977 to 1983 and grandson Elijah from 2011 to 2017.
All three are now working at Rowse Motors. Ken did an apprenticeship with Gippsland Brakes before starting the business March 1972 when Tim was three months old.
Tim undertook an apprenticeship with his father in 1990 and Elijah with his grandfather in 2023.
Both Tim and Elijah like the varied, mix of work as well as working with their dad and grandpa.
They said Ken was a terrific boss who understood the minor errors that were made when learning.
Ken's wife Sue, has been the backbone of the family in supporting their children and grandchildren at school, not just with transporting them to school but actively assisting with the Lardner Picnic event, parent groups, school council and cake stalls to name a few.
"Although the school is small and basic, it played an important role in bringing local families together and provided an education for generations of children from the district" Ken said. "I also remember attending the Lardner Picnic, which was a major event for local families and the wider community."
Tim's sister Kristy attended Lardner Primary School from 1981 to 1987. "What made the school life different then was the amount of freedom children had. Camps and sleepovers were also major highlights of primary school. The annual school concert was one of the biggest events of the year and something may of us remember fondly," Kristy said.
Kristy and her siblings, Tim, Adam and Samantha attended Lardner Primary School from 1977 to 1994.
"Years later I also chose to send my own children there, which reflects the lasting impact the school and its community had on our family."
Even though the school changed to Lardner and District Primary School in 1994, Kristy and Brett's three children Elijah, Lachlan and Jai attended the school from 2011 to 2021.
By then the Lardner Picnic had been reinvented as an event at the school. Parents and grandparents were a key role in volunteering. Brett who is involved with earth moving attended to a number of projects at the school, one was emptying the sandpit and refilling it with new sand. Kristy as a parent was on school council.
The Reunion and Celebration will be held on Saturday, October 17 from 11am to 4pm. A full program of events will be released next month.
The event will begin at 11am at the school in Burnt Store Rd, Lardner and will continue at the Lardner Hall from 11:45am.
The Lions club will have food available for purchase from from noon to 2:30pm.
The hall will feature a display of old photographs as well as more recent photographs, as well as interactive boards, and display books that contain attendance rolls of students from 1916 to 1986.
Organisers are still collecting class photos from 1950 to 1957, as well as any earlier photographs.
A Facebook page "Lardner Primary School 150yrs" has been set up for past students, families and teachers, or email lardner.ps@education.vic.gov.au
Souvenirs must be pre ordered and paid for, then collected on the day. To order souvenirs, scan the QR code. There are two types of mugs 325ml, two types of prints in sub-lamination aluminium A4 size and two t-shirt designs.
You can also order and pay on the day with collection in mid-November. Ordering will close on October 31.