St Mark’s Anglican Community School

ST MARK’S ANGLICAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL

PETA SINCLAIR | 36 YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE

When Peta Sinclair put her name down to volunteer at the new Anglican school opening in Hillarys, it was the start of a 36-year commitment to St Mark’s Anglican Community School.

After working as a volunteer during the School’s opening year in 1986, Mrs Sinclair’s initial role as Principal’s Secretary and Registrar transitioned into a permanent position. Watching the School grow from 240 students in 1986 to 1800 students today, Mrs Sinclair has worked with all four Principals of St Mark’s, first as a Personal Assistant and Registrar, and then as Executive Assistant.

As she prepares to go on long service leave in Term 4, followed by a well-deserved retirement, Mrs Sinclair reflects on her long association with St Mark’s.

“St Mark’s was built in, by and for the community, and over the years Mrs Sinclair has arguably contributed more than any other member of the School’s community. Her selfless service will always be remembered, and she leaves St Mark’s with the huge thanks of all who have ever been members of the St Mark’s community and with our very best wishes for her future and that of her family.” - Steven Davies | Principal Reflections of St Mark’s Early Days By Peta Sinclair

On 12 June 1985, the Interim St Mark’s School Council held a public meeting at Craigie Senior High School to explain the pioneering concept of a low-fee, lowresource, co-educational Anglican Church school to be built on 10 hectares of sandy bushland in Hillarys.

The meeting to determine community interest was attended by 400 people, with Mr Glynn Watkins, Chairman of the Interim School Council, and Mr Peter Moyes, Chairman of the Anglican Schools Commission addressing the crowd.

From the outset it was made clear to parents that volunteers would be essential to fulfil the vision for the new low-fee Anglican school. I put my name down as a volunteer. In July 1985 the Foundation Bursar, Ken Fairfield, phoned to ask me if I could type…That phone call started a 36-year commitment to St Mark’s.

St Mark’s opened in 1986 with 240 students from Pre-Primary to Year 3 and Year 8, 15 teaching staff, the Bursar, the bookkeeper, and a groundsman. My

position as Principal’s Secretary/Registrar was voluntary and unpaid until 1987.

In 1986, state-of-the-art technology was my own personal IBM electric golf-ball typewriter with the miracle of a correction tape! The Principal’s letters, School proforma, and the first of many staff handbooks came from this amazing machine – and I was the only one who could type.

Hale School donated an old photocopier and St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School donated a 1984 Apple Macintosh - the type with a huge floppy disc that required DOS programming skills to write even a simple letter. Bookkeeping and family accounts were all done manually by the bookkeeper, Margaret Jervis.

In those early days, funds were very tight. Every expenditure decision required careful consideration, and resources were often hand-me-downs. However, time and talents were freely given by staff and parents.

Regular working bees saw windows cleaned, grass and trees planted, a playground built for primary students and conversation centres built for secondary students. In our first year, the late Robyn Sheehan coordinated the P&F Art Show, which was a tremendous success, and which continues to this day.

Diocesan Council’s pioneering vision, presented to parents by Mr Glynn Watkins and Mr Peter Moyes in 1985, and which was strongly supported by Archbishop Peter Carnley, and Bishop Brian Challen (after whom the School’s Houses are named) was, to a very large extent, brought to fruition by the appointment of Mrs Barbara Godwin, as Foundation Principal.

A forever memory of those early years will be the staff and parent morale, the generosity of heart of everyone involved, and the camaraderie of a common goal for the young St Mark’s community. Those strong foundations helped to break down traditional barriers between Primary and Secondary, teaching and nonteaching, parents, and students. It was a joyful place to work and St Mark’s flourished. During the past thirty-five years, St Mark’s has been progressively built, demolished, and rebuilt. It is hard to find a trace of the original buildings. Growing from 240 students to around 1,800 students, and around 300 staff, is only one measure of success. Yet, in an everchanging world where building good young people to take their place in an every-changing world is a complex task, we look for the vital markers of success where: “St Mark’s students are typified by their compassion, acceptance and care of others, resilience, pursuit of being their best selves, and their sense of community and global responsibility.”

1986 is now more than half my lifetime ago and, as the School nears the end of its 36th year, staff and students all have laptops, Wi-Fi and internet access are everyday tools for teaching and learning, and young people have access to an awesome array of technology.

As a Foundation member of St Mark’s, I count it a privilege to have served all four St Mark’s Principals as PA/Registrar until July 2012, and then as Executive Assistant. As I begin my long overdue six months’ LSL in September, and transition to retirement, I have no doubt it will be another interesting step in my life-long learning journey.

It seems most fitting to end my reflection with words I have known well for 36 years in the School’s prayer:

Almighty God, we thank you for the gospel of your son Jesus Christ committed to us by the hand of your evangelist St Mark: grant that we may not be carried away with every changing wind of teaching but may be firmly established in the truth of your word; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Images 1. Peta Sinclair standing with the lone pine tree that she planted in her early years at St Mark’s. 2. Peta and Stephen Sinclair standing next to their lone pine. 3. Peta with fellow Foundation staff and students - 1995