Woodport Public School

Effort Brings Success

Telephone02 4367 7324

Emailwoodport-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Meet Ernie

How Ernie, our mascot was created

 
Before our PBL mascot was created the teachers recognised the importance in utilising student creativity. The name of the mascot was established by the PBL team as being "Ernie". This name was chosen because our school is on Ernest Street, in Erina and the students work towards earning "Ernies ".
 
Once students were informed of the mascot's name they were given the opportunity to create a design that they believed would suit Ernie and reflect the history of our area. Teachers presented all their classes' designs to the students who then voted for their favourite. The top three designs from each class were then taken to the Woodport PBL team who then created a shortlist which was presented to the teaching staff. Teachers were then given one vote for the design they thought would best suit the school.
 
It came down to two designs and the teachers couldn't decide between them, so all students were given another vote to decide on the eventual winner. 
 
The chosen design was Lucy D's Whaleboat. Lucy sat with a graphic designer who then adapted her design to enhance the usability across all media forums. The final product will now feature on all PBL material across the school.

Ernie

PBL mascot Ernie

Ernie the Whaleboat 

Designed by Lucy D 2015

Since the 1880's, Erina (formerly known as Woodport) was recognised for its shipbuilding yard that was situated near our school grounds, alongside the Erina Creek.The humpback whale is the totem of the Darkinjung people. The whale totem stands for having a deep awareness of the world around you, a connection to your community, being truthful and expressing creativity. The combination of the two depicts the cultural historical perspectives of this area.Woodport Public School was established in 1892. The name derives from both the use of the local shipyard and the areas main industry, timber transportation via Erina Creek. Due to this local history and our lovely coastal location, both the ship and the whale form an important part of the symbolism in the design of our school mascot.

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We would like to pay our respects and acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land, the Darkinjung people, and also pay respect to Elders both past and present.

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