In our 40th year, we are celebrating Heathdale’s story as part of God’s story. I have been privileged to be part of the Heathdale community since 1998 (last century!), first as a primary teacher, then as a parent and now as part of our Secondary team at the Werribee campus.
If you could have seen me on my first day at Heathdale, I was a very young fresh-faced graduate, a mere 10 years older than the students I was now teaching. I remain very grateful to the supportive staff and leaders who helped me find my feet in those early days. My first few years of teaching were as a Grade Six teacher, within the Middle School structure, and those classes remain some of my happiest teaching memories.
Time went by and I found myself as a parent navigating the Heathdale journey as a young mum. I had a new appreciation for my colleagues as I saw how our children were treasured and guided every day by caring staff. I was glad that God had brought us to a school which provided so well for the nurture and instruction of our growing family.
I quickly learnt that primary teachers occupy a very special space in their student’s hearts and minds. According to the conversations we had at home during the primary years, our children’s teachers seemed to know everything and were close to perfect in every way. One of my children would reliably tell me, with a sigh, at the end of every year, that they were sure they would never have a teacher that they enjoyed so much as the teacher they had that year. Every teacher was the best and the greatest.
As my children all grew and started their school years, I was blessed with an opportunity to return to teaching, this time in the Secondary years, and gradually part-time turned into full-time and finally transitioned to leadership roles. Teaching is still my first love and I have been able to continue teaching various Humanities subjects at the VCE level over the last few years. My time with my Year 11 students is often the highlight of my week and keeps me grounded in my role as Principal of Secondary at Werribee.
This is the last year my whole family, inclusive of three children, my husband and Ziva the dog, will all travel into the Werribee campus every day as my children begin to graduate out of the school years. I’m no longer the fresh-face graduate, and I’ve reached the point that a number of my students from my teaching years are now colleagues and friends! I am deeply thankful to have been part of the Heathdale family in one way or another for nearly 25 years and I look forward to being part of that continuing story. Happy 40th, Heathdale!