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The Catholic Leader, November 10, 2019
www.catholicleader.com.auEducation
BRISBANE Catholic Education
have honoured 12 dedicated teachers
who have served 40 years in Catho-
lic education.
BCE executive director Pam Betts congratu-
lated the 12 inspirational teachers on reaching
the significant milestone and for their dedication
to teach, challenge and transform the lives of
thousands of students, some who had gone on to
be teachers themselves, and even principals, in
our community of schools.
Fr Anthony Mellor gave the 12 – Andrew
Esposito, Joseph Iwanina, Stephen Montgom-
ery, Elizabeth Graham, Jane Lennon, Michael
O’Connor, Peter Shaw, Mark Osborne, Christo-
pher Lenan, Anne Louise Allen, Chris O’Rourke
and Bernie McKenna – a special blessing during
the lunch to celebrate their achievements.
Miss Betts and representatives of BCE’s
leadership team thanked the 12, and all other
teachers and support staff in BCE, who instilled
a love of life-long learning and a heart of hope
into future generations.
Miss Betts said the almost 500 years of service
by the 12 was remarkable.
She said the significant contribution they had
made to Catholic education did not go unnoticed.
The gathering also was a reunion of sorts for
nine of the 12 who were honoured for 40 years
of service to education on World Teachers’ Day.
They all were graduates of the 1978 class of
McAuley Teachers’ College, located on the site
which now houses BCE’s main office.
Peter Shaw said they were the first cohort of
an expanded group to move through the college
at the time.
He said with only about 70 primary school
teacher graduates, 30 were males, which was
significant in its day.
“Obviously, many of our female colleagues
may have left and returned after raising families;
and many others from the class have remained
both in education and in Catholic systems but
have moved out of the BCE system at some
stage, unlike us,” he said.
Between them, the 12 claimed an impressive
Faithful servants:
Pam Betts (front centre), Fr Anthony Mellor (front third from left), Peter Hill (back left) and Catherine Thompson (middle right) with
12 teachers who have dedicated 40 years to Catholic Education.
‘My first prac class had 41 Year 1 students’
Dedicated dozen top of the class
list of career achievements.
They shared some favourite memories of the
then fledgling tertiary institution at the ceremony.
Andrew Esposito recalled a now unheard-
of full college excursion to Stradbroke Island,
“where students went in different directions with
the aim of meeting at Point Lookout”.
“I was part of a team ‘led’ by PE lecturer Kerry
Christiansen and Science lecturer Dave Berry.
“We went through the middle of the island,
probably seeing more than we thought we
would, but still arriving safely.”
For Joe Iwanina it was “collecting clay to use
in Art lessons, with Mr Bartz, from the banks
of the Brisbane River (helping a female student
who fell into the water from the slippery slopes
while collecting samples)”.
For Steve Montgomery, simply the names of
the teaching staff brought back great memories:
“sitting in the classrooms for lectures from some
of the ‘legends’ – Michael Bartz, Kerry Chris-
tiansen, Olive Vaisnys, Sr Kath Bourke, Sr Patri-
cia Nolan, Toni-Anne Warrell, Bert Zagami”.
The “Haven’t-Times-Changed” awards went to
Chris O’Rourke: “My first prac class had 41 Year
1 students (one of whom was his little brother)”.
“On the Thursday morning of our one-week
Prac Block I ran into the teacher walking out,”
he said. “She told me she had a family issue and
that she had left notes for me on her desk.
“I ‘taught’ them for two days without any con-
tact from any other teacher or even the principal.”
Between the 12 they claimed an impressive
list of career achievements.
Collectively, they have helped educate about
13,500 students; worked across up to a fifth of
our BCE schools; contributed to decades of sen-
ior administration in schools; and amassed more
than 19,000 weeks in schools.
ALMOST a thousand years of educational ex-
perience amassed at Mt Carmel Centre, Wyn-
num, when former principals came together
for the annual Brisbane Catholic Education
Principal Alumni catch-up.
It was an opportunity for the past principals
to check out the newly refurbished convent,
connect with each other and hear from BCE’s
director for administrative services Michael
Kearney about innovative directions and initia-
tives for BCEO and schools.
Formed in 2015, the Principal Alumni
provides an opportunity for past principals to
maintaiin connections with BCE and former
colleagues.
The Alumni group also offers an avenue
for current and incoming principals to BCE
schools to access the years of wisdom and
knowledge of the group.
Alumni committee member Paul Allen said
the idea was to recognise the valuable contri-
bution these principals had made over the years
to Catholic education in Brisbane archdiocese.
Mr Allen, a former principal and School
Services South director, said it also gave the
past leaders an opportunity to keep them in
the loop in terms of communicating what was
happening in BCE.
He said they were also able to reconnect
with each other in retirement.
“They are able to hear about what’s happen-
ing in each other’s lives; who might be sick, or
births, deaths, marriages, all those things they
might be interested in hearing about,” he said.
“Michael also gave us a really good update
on what’s happening with the new Vision
statement and what’s happening in terms of
the Dutton Park office move and where new
schools are being located.”
Annual
meet:
Past
princi-
pals with
Brisbane
Catholic
Educa-
tion’s
director for
admin-
istrative
services
Michael
Kearney
(centre)
on the
steps of
the newly
refur-
bished Mt
Carmel
Centre.
HOLY Family School, Indoo-
roopilly, celebrated a double
win at the IEUA-QNT Excel-
lence Art Design evening held
at the Queensland Multicultural
Centre.
Specialist Visual Arts teacher
Jodie Sindle earned the highest
award in the Open category for
her artwork titled Swingsies,
and Year 6 student Sol Shim
received a Highly Commended
award for her entry in the Years
11-12 category.
This year’s theme was “Unity
– Alone we can do so little:
Together we can do so much”.
Judge Kylie Dell said of
Ms Sindle’s artwork: “Swing-
sies effectively suggests two
individuals playing together;
hoisted aloft they are separate
but united”.
“The similarity of their sil-
houettes bound within the large
red circle heightens this sense of
connectedness,” the judge said.
Ms Sindle said she found it
funny the judge commented of
the similarity of the silhouettes
as the image was actually of
her identical twin daughters
playing at the park; swinging
on the swings.
“I couldn’t think of a better
representation of ‘unity’ than
my twin girls playing together,
and so attempted to depict this
in my lino print.
“The artwork is part of a
Creative success:
Art teacher Jodie Sindle and Year 6 student
Sol Shim celebrate their art award wins.
Former principals catch up
Unity theme draws the best
out of two Holy Family artists
series which further repre-
sents my daughters sliding on
the slide and spinning on the
roundabout.”
Ms Sindle said winning
the Award of Excellence in
the Open (teachers) category
recognised her not only as a
teacher, but as an artist.
“It meant a great deal as I
have always strived to embody
the saying, ‘practise what you
teach’,” she said. “I want my
students to see that I too en-
gage in art-making and have a
great love of the Visual Arts.
“I was originally secondary
art trained, and have taught for
15 years in Queensland, Vic-
toria and overseas in London,
England.
“I’m thrilled to now work at
Holy Family Primary School as
a specialist Visual Arts teacher,
which has a strong tradition
of valuing and supporting the
Arts.”
Sol said she was quite sur-
prised to be awarded a Highly
Commended for her artwork as
she had more of an interest in
Mathematics and Science.
Considering her artwork
was of a printed mandala, Sol
showed a great understanding of
radial symmetry in her artwork.