What happens when the school you loved as a kid becomes the school where your own children begin their journey? For our Publisher John Vickery, that journey has stretched across two Beaches schools, three daughters and more than four decades. As his youngest prepares to leave primary school, John looks back at the people, places and memories that helped shape his family.

Sometimes you walk through an old school gate and realise how much of your life began there. I stood in the playground of Brookvale Public School and found myself unexpectedly emotional.

Principal Luke Richmond invited me for the unveiling of Nganga Ngurra (Our Country), a beautiful new Aboriginal mural created with Gundungurra artist Sharon Robbie and the school community. There was a Smoking Ceremony and an official assembly, and then the whole school came together in song as the choir started "We Are Australian".

As those young voices filled the school, I looked around and thought about my own three girls, all of whom began their primary school journey at Brookie. And then I thought about something even bigger.

I was standing in the very school where I had started my own journey. My name is still up on the Honour Board, the Frank Davidson Award.

I'm not entirely sure what I did to earn it, which probably says something about how long ago it was, but seeing my name there again was pretty special.

I loved Brookie. Back then, there were 230 kids and, at one stage, about 26 nationalities represented. My mates came from everywhere, Italian families, Islander families and plenty of others. Nobody thought about who was different. We were just kids. It wasn't until high school that I realised how special that multicultural community had been.

It was one of the reasons my wife Amanda and I chose Brookie for our girls. When they started, that family feeling was still there. The teachers were amazing, parents connected and the Kindy families became our closest friends. Those friendships have lasted beyond the school gates.

Sometimes timing is everything, and as our circumstances changed, we eventually found ourselves considering a new direction at Manly Vale. Or, more accurately, Amanda took my stubborn self to have a look. I don't like change. But then we met Tina Lee, the Principal, and walked through this incredible new school sitting amongst the bushland on top of the hill.

It felt like a new beginning.

And it was.

Manly Vale gave our girls everything, and more, that we were looking for. Amazing teachers, sport, dance, music, PSSA, swimming carnivals, performances, leadership and countless opportunities to simply get involved.

And we did.

That became one of the biggest lessons we tried to teach our girls: do everything, have fun, try new stuff, get involved.

The community made it easy. Café Owl became a Friday ritual. Trivia nights brought parents together. Sports carnivals, dance and music created a rhythm to family life. And somewhere along the way, Manly Vale became our village too.

There were emotional milestones. Ruby's Year 6 clap-out. Scarlett's wonderful class community. And now it's Ivy's turn. Our youngest is in Year 6, so in a few months, Amanda and I will officially finish being primary-school parents.

That one hurts.

I will miss the drop-offs and pickups, the teachers, the friends, the sporting fields, assemblies, concerts, awards and those ordinary moments that quietly become memories.

On returning to Brookie, the most special part was seeing what is happening there now. Luke Richmond has taken the reins and helped strengthen the community spirit and pride that I remember. The music, arts, sport, new programs and facilities are giving kids more opportunities to get involved, while that sense of belonging is at the heart of the school.

Luke's family has strong ties to Manly Vale. And the music teacher behind the choir? Her husband runs the Manly Vale school band.

Perhaps these were never two separate chapters at all.

Brookvale gave me a childhood, my kids a beginning, a family of sorts, and a fantastic group of friends for life. Manly Vale gave our girls another home, another group of friends and a beautiful place to grow.

And through all of it, the same lesson kept coming back.

Family and community is everything.

So soak it up. Say yes. Have a go. Join in. Coach the team. Go to the carnival. Sing badly at the assembly. Wear the ridiculous costume. Make the friends.

Because one day, you will look around and realise your kids have grown up, and you'll understand that the schools weren't just places you dropped them off each morning.

They were the villages that raised them.

Brookvale Public School | brookvale-p.schools.nsw.gov.au // Manly Vale Public School | manlyvale-p.schools.nsw.gov.au