Time Capsule – Letters to Self
As part of our 40-Year Anniversary Celebration, the time capsule was unearthed. Inside were student letters to their future selves.
Please see click this link to view the student names and if you would like to collect yours, please call us on 9237 6800 or collect it on our Community Open Day at 3pm on 20 November 2026.
Principal’s Address – 40th Anniversary Celebration
This year marks a very special milestone for our school as we celebrate 40 years of Leeming Senior High School.
On 5 February 1986, Leeming SHS officially opened its doors, catering for the growing number of families moving into the area. The school looked very different back then. The only buildings on site were the English block, Design and Technology, Home Economics, the Library, the Canteen, and most of the Science block. Since then, our school has grown significantly, with thousands of students passing through our gates and contributing to the rich history and culture that make Leeming SHS the school it is today.
Throughout these 40 years, our school motto, Harmony and Excellence, has remained at the heart of everything we do. It reflects the supportive and inclusive community we have built together, while encouraging every student to strive for their personal best. As we celebrate this milestone, we recognise the generations of students, staff and families who have embodied these values and helped shape the school we are proud of today.
As part of our 40th anniversary celebrations, we have several exciting events planned throughout the year.
On Thursday 25 June, we dug up our school’s time capsule, located in the grassed area outside Student Services.
This was a special opportunity to discover what students and staff from 40 years ago chose to preserve for future generations. The time capsule was previously unearthed during our 30th Anniversary celebrations and reburied with additional items, making it a great opportunity to explore not only our school’s beginnings but also the memories added a decade ago.
This event marked the beginning of a group of celebrations planned throughout the year, with a Community Celebration Day to be held on 20 November from 3:00 – 6:00pm. More information will be announced in the coming months.
Celebrating 40 years is not only about reflecting on our past, but also about recognising the students, staff, families, and community members who continue to shape the future of Leeming Senior High School.
Thank you, and I look forward to celebrating this significant milestone with all of you.
Mr M. Paton
Principal
History of the Canteen
Back at end of 1985 I attended a P&C meeting as my son was due to start at this brand-new school. They were looking for a Canteen Manager – I had never done anything like that but volunteered myself to start one off when the school opened. So, we started just before the first day to stock up and get ready. Carol Stagg, another mum, helped me for a few weeks before she had to start a paid job as we were not paid at first. We had plenty of volunteers then (up to 60) but not much equipment. Some people donated pots/trays/containers/boards, and one board is still being used for toasted sandwiches even today! At the time a local supermarket was giving stamps to collect for various knives, and we all saved them and gave the knives to the Canteen to use.
Luckily, we only had two school years attending as it was a learning curve for everyone. Jacki Gibbison came from the beginning and became my main paid helper from the next year followed by Sue Schurgott, Sue Weller when volunteer help declined and Muriel Haldenby when Sue S. left. We became like a family and often went out socially too. Mostly Mums volunteered but we did have a couple of Dads who came in on their rostered days off. We would go out for a Christmas meal as a thank you and Jacki used to give funny awards for various happenings through the year.
The school grew to over 1000 students and at that time there was no traffic light system, so we had jam doughnuts, snagger buns (always popular – a cheesy with half a crumbed sausage and red sauce on top) and many other ‘yum’ things like liquorice and chocolate bars after lunch. It took four of us to serve the ice creams then and the queues were long. Things change and a more healthy menu had to be introduced – we became more inventive as students were not happy – nor were some staff.
We had to add up in our heads as there was no time to use calculators as we had long queues and at that time we only used cash. Woe betides anyone who lost their meal discs or forgot to use them on the day!
As the staff retired Cathy Mason and Debbie Bowie came in and from 2010 when I retired after 25 years Debbie took over as Manager. I still used to come in as a volunteer as by then my grandchildren were attending. Again, big changes with little cash being used – phones, cards, rings, watches etc used and iPads adding everything up. After 10 years as a volunteer I “retired” again. Great days.
Sue Walker
First Canteen Manager, Leeming Senior High School