Today marks World Teacher’s Day. I firmly believe the reason that people enter the teaching profession often goes well beyond a desire to ‘make a difference’. Regardless of where a teacher may be in their career, the connections made with young people and the pleasure of sharing the learning journey with them always holds a reminder for teachers to reflect on how privileged we are to be in the profession.

I think back to three teachers during my schooling that had a profound impact on my time as a learner and if I had the opportunity or the time again, I’d certainly say a quiet thank you. As a kindergarten student, I remember having a teacher Rosemary Hensley, who’s warm, caring nature, beautiful smile and kind words always made everyone feel special. To then have her for grade 1, I felt like I had won the lottery! During my high school years, Adrian Arnold seemed to know something special or unique about each student in our humanities class, and extended his interest when you’d bump in to him outside of school. His balance of high expectations, humour and humility always made social sciences more engaging. As a year 11/12 student, Chris Hayes presented science concepts in a way that made some really difficult topics easier for me to connect with, always following up with a 1:1 chat with students to make sure everyone was getting the support that they needed.

I challenge students, parents and staff to reflect on a teacher that has had a positive impact on them during their own journey. It may be that the teacher presented information or taught in a way that made learning easier for you, it may have been a quiet supportive word when times were tough, or perhaps they challenged you in a way that you hadn’t been before. As a rule, teachers are a fairly selfless group of professionals that don’t seek affirmations or gratitude for the work they do, but I’m sure that the very act of a current or past student reflecting on the impact that their teacher had on them would be enough to bring a smile to their face.

Recently Ben in year 10 was successful in his application for an apprenticeship with Vos Constructions. Ben has undertaken work placements in this industry during his year 10 year and had shown a real passion for this area during MDT classes. Securing an apprenticeship is a significant achievement and is a credit to Ben’s effort and positive attitude during his initial work placement.

Capital Works Update

Today our staff were able to have a sneak peek at the progress of our major school redevelopment. It is hard to believe that the contractors have been able to transform these areas in such a short period of time. The first area scheduled for handover to the school will be the new car park and administration area. Early progress has also been made on our school stadium which is located behind the current secondary campus. I encourage families to take a walk around the site (observing all signage and fencing!) and get a sense of the changes that have already occurred.