Nicola West - class of '77

Hi There, I wondered if you might like to hear from a "Carine Original" as we were known back then. I loved reading your web page. Construction of the first stage of Carine Senior High School was completed in 1973, the year I started high school, so this year marks our 30th anniversary! I used to live just over the hill, in Fairlane Drive, Carine. The completion of the first stage was actually late and we had to be housed for the first two terms (of what was then a three-term year) in temporary buildings at Doubleview Primary School. There was a line painted between our area and the primary school students' area and boy, were you in trouble if you crossed that line! Term 3 arrived, and we finally moved into our new school. The houses across the road on Everingham Street were there then, but on all other sides the school was surrounded by bush, right through to Star Swamp. After school and on weekends, we used to ride our horses or our bikes through that bushland. A lot of the other surrounding areas, such as Karrinyup, Duncraig, Hamersley, Greenwood and beyond, were also largely bush back then. There was no freeway in the area, no Reid Highway, and much less of Marmion Avenue and Beach Road. Because only one stage of the school was completed in 1973, we Year 8 students were the only ones there that year. All the older students living in the area continued going to the schools at which they had started off, such as Scarborough SHS, which no longer exists! So it was, right the way through my high school career, as the school was only to grow by one stage each year, only one year group was added each year, so we were always the oldest kids at high school - quite a unique experience! It was not necessarily ideal, though, because once we had left primary school we had no older kids as role models (good or bad!) and that, too, is unique. Therefore, the school did not have a full complement of year groups until 1977.

In 1974, the year of the second stage, due to resource problems our school timetable was staggered, so that some of us did the "early" shift, starting at around 8.00 and finishing at around 2.00 and the others went from 10.00 until 4.00 each day. My year was on the early shift - it was great!! Like having year-round daylight saving, it seemed as if you had forever to do what you liked in the afternoons! (I have never minded early starts). The swimming pool, which I hope you are all still enjoying, was a long time coming. We held all sorts of fundraising events to contribute to the building of that pool, and it finally got finished in 1977 - our last year (oh, well). I can remember some of the teachers' names: there was Mrs Ewen for Home Economics, Mr Davies and later Mr Joyce for Maths, Miss Rowbottam and later Miss Bennier for French, Mr Davis for Art. Our Deputy Principal, Mr Nixon, would read out notices over the PA system into the classrooms just before morning recess each day. He would always start by saying, "Notices will be given in one minute". Then we'd all have the clock on him because it was always a different length of time each day, which gave us a bit of a giggle (you know how kids are). I have great memories of my old friends, some of whom I am still in contact with, the closeness of our school community - having started off small - and of all the excellent camps we went on, the dances and the other fun we had.

A bit about myself: after leaving Carine, I went to Nedlands Teachers' College (now Edith Cowan Nedlands Campus) and became a high school teacher. I have since changed my career path and settled into administrative work. I have a grown up son and am happily married and living in Serpentine. I would love to hear from you if there are going to be any reunion events and I will certainly keep an eye on the web page. Yours truly, Nicola Barnes (nee Nicola West)