74 Years of Schooling at Clontarf Beach State School!
'New School for Clontarf' was the headline in the Redcliffe Herald on 29 August 1947. Land owned by Frederick Whiting had been secured and building began. An article appeared 16 December 1949, describing the proposed new school as a 'pleasant weatherboard structure with plenty of windows to give it a light and airy atmosphere'.
Clontarf Beach State School opened its doors to 64 students on Tuesday 31 January 1950. By the following week the numbers had increased to 85 students. By the end of the first year numbers had increased to 150 students.
In 1951, Mr Bill McGladrigan became the Head Teacher with Mr Kev Dolan and Ms Dorothy Haly as classroom teachers. Mr Kev Dolan reflected, 'apart from the 3 classrooms, the rest of the area outside was just timber country. Across the road was bush with a house next to it. There was nothing along Elizabeth Avenue but gum trees'.
1957 was a year of change as the school's first library was established by Miss Haynes, a classroom teacher. The school community spent 200 pounds in reading materials, with books to suit all tastes. The tennis courts were built with the help of a working bee and the cricket pitch was laid.
The tuckshop was built shortly after in 1958 and was state of the art with hot and cold running water.
The first school uniform was introduced in 1961 and although it was not compulsory it was suggested to parents that students wear it.
Student numbers had increased to 865 by 1962. Buildings had been built to accommodate students and a new structure was described as 'beautifully airy and modern rooms with brick foundations'. Mr Kev Dolan was appointed as Senior Assistant as the school was now classified as a Class 1 School. This is also the year that the school purchased its first lawn mower and were now responsible for taking care of the grassed areas, a task previously undertaken by Redcliffe City Council.
During 1966 a new method for teaching mathematics called Cuisenaive Method or Numbers-in Colour was introduced to year 1 students. A Speech Correction Teacher was employed and enrolments had increased to 956 with 27 teachers. A wall was built proudly displaying the schools name, with shrubs planted in the same area; this became the backdrop for school photos for many years.
The first Cross Country race was run in 1967 with girls covering 1 mile and boys 1.5 miles. This is also the year that Clontarf introduced the Sports House system with five houses:
Amaroo meaning beautiful place; Bangalee meaning sandy place; Cabarita meaning by the water; Dunedoo meaning place of the swan and Eureka.
The school commenced and annual subscription to the ambulance service in 1968 at the cost of 5 cents per student per annum.
In the early 1970's the P & C moved a motion to build a swimming pool and set out to raise $50,000 to build a pool that was officially opened in 1975. The grandstand was built in 1979.
In 1983 on Saturday 8 October, classrooms situated above the library were ravaged by a fire. It is believed that the fire began as an electrical fault. Many local residents banded together to remove equipment and books from the library below saving 90% of the contents. The classrooms were destroyed and never replaced.
Over the years the school has had many changes as the needs of the community has changed. Recent changes have made for new outdoor learning and play areas such as the scooter track, undercover PMP area, a purpose built prep room with disabled access, laptops, iPads and robotics technology to be used by students.
We are proud of our history at Clontarf Beach State School. Further to this, we hope to continue re-writing the history books by being a 'world class' school. What has and will always remain the same is the friendly atmosphere of our school, something that we can all be proud of!