THREE Wallendbeen Public School students can add their name to the prestigious list of children recognised at the Kangaroo March schools exhibition.
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Students from every school in the towns the 1915 Kangaroo March Re-enactment visited were invited to enter postcards, diary entries and posters based on their own research of World War I.
Hundreds gathered on September 13 when the re-enactment of the march - a 35-day, 524 kilometre journey to Campbelltown - passed through Wallendbeen.
And it turned out the poster section of the school exhibition was a clean sweep for Cootamundra and Wallendbeen.
Wallendbeen’s Kaitlynn Daly was awarded the best large poster.
That wasn’t all for the youngster, who also took first place for the most artistic presentation in the postcard section.
Incredibly, Wallendbeen Public School had an impressive eight finalists in the competition.
Of those eight, Jack Bassingthwaighte was awarded second place in the postcard most creative writing section, and Ethan Shepherd received a highly commended for the postcard most artistic presentation.
Wallendbeen Public School principal Toni Daly said she was “extremely proud” of the students.
“It’s nice for the students to receive recognition of their hard work and effort, and it’s confirmation that small schools are doing great things,” Mrs Daly said.
“It goes to show that regardless of your size, you can achieve. Small schools don’t miss out. Our students have got opportunities and they’re achieving really well.”
The opportunity to visit Parliament House in Sydney proved an exciting one for the bright young students.
“I had always wanted to visit to see how big it is,” Ethan said.
“It was very big,” Jack confirmed.
Of course the most exciting part of the evening was when they were announced as winners.
“It’s exciting knowing that people know us even though we’re in such a small town,” Ethan said.
“I was so surprised I could faint. I can’t explain it,” Kaitlynn said.
All the students agreed the experience encouraged them to keep studying history.
For Ethan it was an especially memorable evening as he got to see a picture of his ancestor Ernest Albert Buttenshaw.
Ernest was born in Young and was member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1917 until 1932.
He helped form the Progressive Party and was later the leader of its successor The Country Party, better known today as The Nationals.
The students also enjoyed the chance to perform Young and Free in an impromptu choir with their fellow finalists.
