In focus: Bowenville State School 125th Anniversary Book
We’ve recently completed a special yearbook with Bowenville State School to mark its 125th anniversary. The school has seen many changes since it first opened its doors back in 1898 and continues to stand as the heartbeat of it’s community. We spoke with the Bowenville Anniversary book team about the journey of creating a commemorative book and their experience in working with Daniel at My Yearbook to bring it to life!
Tell us a little about Bowenville State School's history and what the 125th anniversary means to the school community?
Bowenville Provisional School opened on 21 June 1898 with one teacher, one classroom, and 31 students—the school was built by local families who understood the significance of education for their childrens’ future. It became a State School in 1909 and, at times, faced closure or was ‘bulging at the seams’ due to high student numbers.
In 1954, a new two-classroom school was built by the State Government on a flood-free site. Over the following decades, additional buildings were erected and enrolments peaked at 148 students with four teachers.
Since then, the farming, grazing, and feed lotting district's population has declined, rendering Bowenville State School a one-teacher school again. As Bowenville’s school is the community's heartbeat, reaching its 125th anniversary is a significant milestone given its humble beginnings and varying student enrolments.
Many third and fourth-generation families have attended Bowenville State School, and its long history and small size is considered its strength.
Why did you decide to create a 125th-anniversary book, and how did you envision it supporting your celebrations?
To mark Bowenville State School’s centenary in 1998, a well-researched book about the school and local community was published. However, printing photos or printing in color was a challenging and costly process at the time.
The Parent and Citizens Association and 125th anniversary committee felt it equally important to document and record the school’s history since the centenary, including a selection of the many photographs taken during this time. While the new publication's primary focus was the last 25 years, it was also intended to resonate with previous generations who lived in Bowenville or attended school here.
The book was meant to be a souvenir and keepsake of the 125th celebrations and a valuable record of Bowenville’s school and community.
What led you to choose My Yearbook for this project? Were there specific qualities or services that stood out to you?
We sought a Queensland-based printer capable of executing a small print run at a competitive price for our book. My Yearbook not only met these requirements, but we also found that Dan readily understood our needs and promptly provided a quote for a range of suitable options. He also supplied several examples of printed products to demonstrate the quality and style of publication we could expect.
What was your experience working with our team throughout the project? Were there any specific challenges that we helped you overcome?
Throughout the project, from inception, quoting, design discussions, proofing, printing, pick-up to invoicing, our communication with My Yearbook was excellent, and we found Dan and his team incredibly easy to collaborate with.
The communication with our graphic designer regarding print files, cover specifications, and proofs was superb. Despite our late file submissions and a need for correcting some of our own errors, everything ran smoothly, and printing was completed on time.
Dan was always prompt in following up phone calls and emails, providing clarity whenever needed, which helped put our minds at ease.
How has the feedback been from the school community and stakeholders on the final product? Can you share any specific compliments or comments you've received about the anniversary book?
We were extremely impressed by the print quality of our 125th anniversary book, especially the vibrancy of the numerous photographs and images.
Our graphic designer was thrilled with the print outcome and the clarity and quality of the print.
We've received numerous compliments on the book's superb quality and appearance. Several people have even inquired about the printing service.
Feedback from long-time Bowenville residents and former students includes remarks such as, “Congratulations on the wonderful book. Have read it from cover to cover.”
We think it’s pretty clear that the commemorative book has been a hit! It serves as a keepsake for current members of the school community, but also as an important record of the school’s journey. We are so proud of the feedback from the community – a testament to the book's success and the quality of work done by My Yearbook. Congrats to the Bowenville Bowenville Anniversary Book team on a great project and to the school for reaching this milestone. Here's to the next 125 years!