Our Old Uniform
Punishment
Australia began as a convict settlement ... the ball and chain a tangible reminder of their existance and means of punishment.Then came the Cheso Caning Register. Where all those students who were caned, as a form of punishment were recorded. Some of our current students can find the names of their parents! Now aren't you all glad that after school detention is the punishment of the 90's!!
Nine teachers have taught at Chester Hill High School for more
than 20 years. Year 7 students interviewed some of these
teachers as part of an excercise in oral history.
Tiamera: 7 Blue spoke to Mrs Fields
Date of Interview: Wednesday 27th May, 1998
Time of Interview: 1.00pm
Place of Interview: Mrs Field's office.
Tiamera: How has the school changed since you first arrived?
Mrs Fields: Well, the school has gotten bigger and there are
more nationalities now.
Tiamera: Do you remember a particular incident from
the past?
Mrs Fields: Incidents from the past? In the first year I
was here, there was a girl in my crazy year
7 class and she was crazier than all the
others. And every afternoon for about three
weeks, she used to climb on the top of E block
and threaten to jump off! That stopped the
bell from ringing. One week she went up with
knife! I didn't know whether she wanted to
jump off or stab herself. It was pretty scary.
Tiamera: What annual events did the school used to hold?
Mrs Fields: We used to have a musical every year, and a play.
The musical was a play with accompanying music.
Two performances that I remember are `Tommy'
and the `Dracula Spectacular'. We were a very
strong drama school during that time.
Tiamera: Has the amount of students in the school increased?
If so by how many?
Mrs Fields: Yes. When I first came here there were about 750
students. Now there's approximately 1,000.
Tiamera: What subjects do you teach?
Mrs Fields: I've mainly taught history and english.
Tiamera: Has the uniform changed during the past few years?
Mrs Fields: Yes it sure has. The uniforms were divided into
summer and winter. The girls had to wear a
maroon skirt with a white shirt in winter
whereas the boys wore blue shirts and shorts.
For summer, you had to wear a yellow tunic and
a skirt or shorts, but I thought it looked
daggy.
Tiamera: Do you know whether Chester Hill was named after
anyone?
Mrs Fields: No, I'm not sure. But before this high school was
built, this was actually a farming industry.
Apart from that, I only know that some of the
nearby streets are named after different people
who owned the farming business.
Binh 7 Blue spoke to Science teacher, Mr Chin Date of Interview: 26th May, 1998 Time of Interview: 12.10pm Place of Interview: Science Staff Room Binh: When did you start teaching at Chester Hill? Mr Chin: 1980 Binh: Have you ever taught at any other school? Mr Chin: No. Binh: Do you enjoy teaching at Chester Hill? Mr Chin: Yes, lovely school. Binh: Has the uniform changed since you came? How? Mr Chin: YES, much prettier. Binh: How has the environment (surroundings) changed? Mr Chin: Better basketball courts, lovely shelters for students. Binh: How has the school set-up changed? Mr Chin: More staff, better choice of subject, student increase. Binh: Are the students the same as when you first came? How? Mr Chin: No, because students today are more playful and naughty.I want to go to...
At this point in my Life. Tracey Chapman.