Narooma students finish a semester of chatting with IRT seniors

Previous story: Narooma Public School students start visiting IRT Dalmeny seniors 

The new initiative had Narooma Public School students visiting the seniors at IRT Dalmeny to share experiences and hopefully form meaningful relationships.

Over the past six months, the students visited their new friends for a chat every two weeks.

The visits have been made possible thanks to the Narooma Golf Club generously allowing the school to make use of its courtesy bus for the trip out to IRT Dalmeny.

Teacher Rob Russack the new initiative came about after a very successful trip out to the retirement village last December were the students travelled out to sing Christmas carols to the seniors.

The visits are now part of the school’s Community Program, where students choose an activity to help out different community groups and do a worthwhile activity.

Even though this visits from this group of students has wrapped up, Mr Russack said he hoped they would continue next semester with a new group of students.

As it was the final visit for these students, a number made farewell and thank-you cards for their new senior friends.

Aiyesha Fletcher, 11, with her farewell card to her new senior friend Mary Bergus, 95, whom she chatted with about a dozen times over the past semester, together with Mary’s husband Alfred.

The front of the card read, “Rock ‘n Roll… the later years” with a hand-drawn illustration, while inside Aiyesha had written: “Dear Mary, We had such a good time together and you had the most amazing stories to tell. You don’t know how hard it is to say good-bye Mary, but don’t worry, you are going to meet some new kids though. I hope to see you again somehow. From Aiyesha.”

Mary and Alfred lived on Noble Parade just down the street for 32 years but arrived in Australia in 1959 from England with two kids, aged 5 and 18 months, and 300 pounds in their pocket.

Alfred enjoyed telling the students about how he worked in the agriculture industry around Goulburn and later looked after 6000 turkeys.

“I enjoyed meeting them and it’s nice to have young people around,” the 94 year old said. “They are doing so well these lot are.”

Aiyesha and her fellow student Lachlan Burns said they really enjoyed their chats with the seniors and would recommend the visits to the next group of Year 6 students.

“We’ve had a great time and it’s been wonderful in fact,” she said.

Sitting at another table were three boys, Jared Duck, Samuel Matters and Darcy Sealey, chatting with senior resident Richard Kennewell, who had photos of himself serving in the Royal Australian Air Force in 1952.

He spent time at a munitions magazine facility at Albury, and he also told them about his hobby of fixing up Model T cars, including one model from 1915 that he built after buying the engine and then ordering parts from the United States.