Students, staff and parents met to celebrate the life of Olivia Hibbert at a memorial ceremony in the

playground.

Principal Sue Swetnam described Olivia as “a special little girl”.

“She was a very creative, artistic, gentle-spirited child,” Ms Swetnam said.

“This is a day to pause and reflect, and remember all the special gifts Olivia gave us at Bolwarra.”

The 10-year-old was killed after the car in which she was a passenger collided with a petrol tanker near Muswellbrook on January 5.

She died in hospital as a result of her injuries a short time after the crash.

Student fundraising helped build a living memorial to Olivia in the form of a friendship garden.

“She had red hair and hated the sun or anything too hot, so the children thought a friendship garden with lots of shade was the right thing to do.”

At the ceremony, students from Olivia’s class from last year formed a guard of honour which her family passed through to cut the ribbon, officially opening the garden.

“It’s important to teach the children about sudden tragic death,” Ms Swetnam said.

“She spent five to six hours, five days a week here, so we shared her.

“Because (the accident) happened in the school holidays and it was very quick, we thought this would be an appropriate service to celebrate her life and say goodbye.”