“MY mother always said you should leave a place better than you found it – I hope that is what I will do,” North Gambier Primary School principal Jane Turner said as she reflected on her time in education.
“It is bittersweet, I know I don’t have the energy I had when I came here 16 years ago – it is time for me to retire and for someone to come in with new visions.”
Stepping down from the position at the end of the year, the much loved principal and dedicated community member has made a lasting impression on the school, with clear determination and commitment to ensuring each child has the platform to a successful career and life.
“I was always going to be a teacher – I had the neighbourhood children all lined up in chairs with a little pretend blackboard teaching them when I was about five,” she said.
“Being a principal wasn’t in my plan, but I think if an opportunity comes your way you have to give it a go.”
Over the years, Ms Turner has facilitated a number of programs to give students the best possible experience at the school, some of which she had ideas for and others thrown her way to undertake.
“Taking on board the refugee community at the school in 2007 was probably one of the most memorable things in my career,” she said.
“I had no experience with refugees and my first response was ‘perhaps someone else who knows more about teaching second language learners should take them on’.
“It has been a scary, exciting journey that I am so glad I was told to do.
“To see people coming from a refugee camp, straight to Mount Gambier with no knowledge of our culture or environment and watching them blossom has been fantastic.”
This may have been the stand-out program the principal has been involved with, but Ms Turner also played an integral part in moving the kindergarten onto the school site, developing the land care area and growing the music program.
Always looking out for those less fortunate than herself, Ms Turner said her focus was on responding to community needs.
“Sadly Mount Gambier is facing increased poverty and children in trauma,” she said.
“There is a lack of services available to these people and no one notices just how bad the situation is unless they they are working with those families.
“Education has changed over the years and we know now about the impact of trauma.
“We used to call them naughty kids, but they are traumatised children that haven’t had enough food, sleep or perhaps too much sugar.
“It is very rarely a child is just behaving badly because they want to.”
Identifying this need, Ms Turner with the help of dedicated staff members developed the North School Community Hub.
Opening around four years ago, the hub provides a variety of programs for families through partnerships with organisations such as Baptist Care and ac.care.
“It is a necessity now in this day because the culture of Mount Gambier has changed,” she said.
“We have a wellbeing team that works with distressed or angry children to uncover why they are behaving that way and what the underlying problem is.
“In education, we look at what difference we can make, to raise up the children, give them hope, a sense of future, skills to achieve to reach their goals.”
Thankful for the support of staff over her years at North Gambier Primary, Ms Turner said they were always willing to give anything a go.
“There are a few journeys we are starting now and I have to let someone else take them on, I have to learn to let go,” she said.
“Up until this term I would find myself thinking ‘we will do that’, not ‘you will’.
“But I think it is time I left school – it has been my life.”
Planning to take some time out to relax once the school year is over, Ms Turner said there are lots of things she hopes to do.
“I’ve got hobbies I haven’t followed and things I haven’t done because this has been so demanding, but I will just see where the journey takes me,” she said.
“They say the next transition is the hardest one and I think it will take a while to adjust.”
