Helen Browning was born Helen Coleman in Ben Lomond . She grew up in Ben Lomond and when she was older she moved to Armidale. She met and married Douglas Browning and they moved to the property ‘Wattle Grove' which is near Chandler School.
Soon they had three children Libby, Linda and Jude. All their children attended Chandler. Helen Browning had the job as the clerical at the school. The clerical assistant works in the office. She used to type the local newsletter which was called The Chandler Chatter, now we call it the Wollomombi Warbler.
Following are some of the recollections of the time I spent as the clerical assistant at Chandler School.
The school had two teachers in 1975 which rose to three in the late 70s and early 80s. The numbers game was prevalent in gaining the third teacher and great interest was shown in population movements in the district with this in mind.
Children were those of property owners and the large station staff who were employed by the local properties. The children travelled to school on three separate bus runs.
Equipment was archaic by today's standards with a manual typewriter. Television and calculators were considered quite high tech. Computers and V.C.R.s were not even contemplated.
Duplicating was achieved on ink and spirit duplicators. The former was messy and the latter could not be easily read, so the advent of the photocopier was a definite plus.
One of the biggest changes at the school during the time was that parent and community involvement. In the early days this was not encouraged except in the capacity of fund raising and I must admit that the mystery of Cuisenaire rods still eludes me. Gradually however parents and community members were encouraged to share their time and talents to the great benefit of the children. This took the form of such things as tennis coaching, athletics training, swimming, cooking, handicrafts, religious education and art lessons with our own very talented artist June Ross. I am sure that there are many Chandler ex-students who can appreciate the joys of art thanks to her devoted efforts over many years.
Sports days with other small schools were held twice each year and always at Chandler. Despite lots of effort Chandler never managed to win the March Past as there were too many legs to get out of step.
The first swimming lessons I remember were actually held in the Chandler River and later at the Armidale City Pool. The swimming programme always seemed to trigger a return to winter and I remember lots of ‚ blue bodies and chattering teeth. I think today's pupils should really appreciate the luxury of the TAS and UNE heated pools.
Canteen commenced while I was at the school and the initial menu was sandwiches, salad rolls and hot dogs. Later a pie warmer was purchased and pies and sausage rolls were available during the winter term.
The school uniform was also introduced during this period and although changes in design have evolved over the years, the material chosen by the mums of the time has been retained.
While I was at the school the first School/Community newsletter was initiated. This incorporated school news and community notices and was known as the 'Chandler Chatter'.
I worked with many teachers and support staff during my time at the school including Mrs Kay Mullen who is still with you.
Some of the highlights during my time at the school were:
- The delivery of the demountable classroom when the third teacher was appointed
- The construction of the Sports field which was a great community effort
- The school centenary in 1980 when there were lots of celebrations and when a time capsule was buried near the Lower Division classroom
- The writing of the school song
- The design of the School Logo by Mrs June Ross and
- The adoption of that wonderful school motto
Learning, caring and sharing
Helen Browning
25 October 1998