Clare State School’s newest preppies, Indianna Nash and Mason Allen, are following in both of their father’s footsteps this week as they start at the same school their dads attended years ago.
Daniel Allen, Mason’s father, currently works as a mobile mechanic based in Clare and attended the school from 1987 to 1993.
“Mrs Joan Ford used to be the little kids’ teacher’s aide, she spent all her time in the low building down the far end, and I have lots of memories of preschool and year one,” Mr Allen said.
“From there, Mr Johnson was one of the first male teachers I ever had who sticks with me.
“I think at one point, there was 120-130 of us, most of us were in 20-30 student classes.”
Meanwhile, Indianna’s father, Tylah Nash, started at the school in 1993 and now owns a small farm in the Clare area.
“There was seven of us in grade seven and we were all boys,” he said.
“I think I’m the only one out of that whole grade who’s still in Clare.
“We just did what normal kids do, we played cricket or kicked the ball or hit nuts onto the roof of the teacher’s house with a tennis racquet.
“The biggest highlight was when a tractor was working that paddock behind the school, everyone would be hanging over the fence looking at that.”
Both fathers say their children are excited to start school this year.
“She seems to be finished with her kindy and she’s ready,” said Mr Nash.
“It’ll be nice to see how everything’s changed over the years,” added Mr Allen.
Clare State School Principal Troy Patti said it’s not too uncommon to see multigenerational families come through the small school.
“These guys are second generation, six of our kids are third generation and we’ve had that a number of times before,” he said.
“We love seeing generational families coming through; they’ve got a history here, and they’re part of the fabric of the school.”
Mr Patti said the connection between the school and the community encourages parents to send their children back to the school they attended.
“The school is an integral part of the community, and the community is very important to the school,” he said.
“I’ve been out here for nearly eight years so I’m well aware of a lot of the families in the community.
“We’ve got playgroup starting up again this year ... that also provided a good way for the community to be involved in the school and gives us that connection before they start school.”
Including Indianna and Mason, Clare State School welcomed 14 students for 2024 this week.
“We’ve got a one to four student to adult ratio so there’s no one who misses out,” Mr Patti said.
“We’ve got good numbers in our lower school which is always good for the future.”
L-R Tylah and Indianna Nash and Mason and Daniel Allen
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