Spotlight on Staff

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Spotlight on Staff

BRIAN RIORDAN PROPERTY MANAGER

At the end of Term 2 we farewelled Brian Riordan, our Property Manager who has been with the College for 16 years.

In his role, Brian helped transform the grounds, learning spaces and facilities for staff and students. His generosity of spirit was truly appreciated by all at Brigidine. He exemplified our motto of ‘Strength and Gentleness’ in his everyday dealings with all who he met and worked with. We wish him all the very best in his retirement and thank him for all he has done.

Recently our Business Manager, Richard Luxford, reminisced with Brian on his time at the College.

When did you start working at Brigidine College?

July 2005. In those days I’d had my own business, a marine boat trimmings workshop down at Kirribilli, on the harbour foreshore. However, I had a nasty fall from a ladder when working on the roof of my brother in-law’s house and couldn’t work for six months, while my hand recovered. The Brigidine position was advertised in the local paper and my wife thought I should apply, not that she didn’t want me around the house, but because it was a job where I wouldn’t need to be “on the tools”. But I didn’t even get an interview.

However, by sheer coincidence, some weeks later I bumped into the then Principal’s wife, Pattie Bowie, when we were both called for jury service. I told Pattie I’d applied for a job at Brigidine but wasn’t successful. To my amazement, she told me the job was never filled. A week later, I was offered it.

What projects were happening then?

Construction of Bowie Hall was nearing completion and we needed to fit it out with lighting, carpet, electrics, etc. It opened in September 2005.

We would renovate classrooms when a teacher moved or left.

The Canteen quadrangle was the first full project, involving the installation of the shade structure in 2008, together with ground softfall and the centre garden.

In 2009, just before Jane Curran’s arrival as Principal, we did a major renovation of the Synan building.

The College also received funding from the Building Education Revolution (BER) to construct the entrance features at each of the five entry points.

We installed five 45,000 litre wastewater tanks enabling recycling of the roof runoff to be used for watering gardens and some WC flushing.

What are your most enduring memories of your time spent at Brigidine?

I very much enjoyed turning a problem into a solution. Having a background in hands-on application, I naturally felt at ease with utilising and adapting whatever resources we had.

I worked closely with many of the Heads of Department in those days, especially in helping the drama and music events, such as building props and operating the lights.

The construction of the Anita Murray Centre in 2013–2014 was a big project, which could only start once a Land & Environment court matter had completed.

I was at Brigidine for all of Jane Curran’s principalship, and I worked closely with her on many projects.

What are you most looking forward to now?

I hope to do some volunteer work now that I am retired, and spend time playing golf, kayaking and walking.

I have six grandchildren (five grandsons and one granddaughter) and attending their school and other activities will now be possible.

I am content to potter around, with time to read the paper, and have a cup of tea.

Thank you, Brian. You can now enjoy a thoroughly deserved rest… not that I think you will ever really slow down. JUDITH ALLAN MUSIC DEPARTMENT

Last year Judith completed her Master of Special and Inclusive Education. Here she gives insight as to why she chose that area of study and how it can be applied to her teaching role.

I love learning. On any given night there are at least three books on my bedside table and currently ten bookmarked on my desk. One memorable read 15 years ago was The Man who Mistook His Wife for a Hat – neurologist Oliver Sack’s fascinating accounts of patient stories and subsequent diagnoses. Following this was the popular Norman Doidge book, The Brain that Changes Itself, which sparked my curiosity around neuroplasticity and neurodiversity.

As a teacher I am constantly reminded that no two human brains function the same and therefore I am compelled to look for ways to engage students in ways that will work best for them. On a personal note, I have two incredible sons who are very intelligent young men. It was intriguing and surprising to see their capacity to engage (or in some cases disengage) in school subjects pursuant to the way teachers were presenting their material. If learning can so easily be switched on and off through the delivery of content, our role as educators becomes critical.

Both factors propelled me to undertake my Master of Special and Inclusive Education from which I graduated last year. My undergrad study was a Bachelor of Music Education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, days I look back on with incredible fondness and memories of joy, laughter, and some incredible music-making. In those days (I’m old enough to use that phrase now!) researching and garnering source material was time-consuming and somewhat limited. Years on, much has changed regarding the availability of and access to journal articles and reference material, so I was geekily excited to grab my trusty highlighter (stationery is my love language) and plough through the hundreds of papers from highly-regarded researchers unpacking the emerging, undeniable proof of the importance of teaching from a platform of recognising the diverse learner within every student.

The term neurodiversity is important. It acknowledges the individual without singling out one as less than another. Though we have more in common with one another than we have differences, it is those differences, those unique colours to our character and interests, which make us distinct. More often than not, those parts of us which are deeply ingrained propel us forward. We are creatures of our own passions and are innately geared to maximise those qualities, outworking them in our careers and life-settings. As a teacher, my role is not only to help students learn about the world around them, but to discover their own distinctive colour, leanings and capacity for growth. I have an (unresearched and unproven) theory that everyone eventually ends up ‘becoming’ what they are meant to be, and when I look at a student I often think of the adult-to-be in front of me. How can I best help them get to that place? That is what propels me forward.

Benjamin Franklin noted “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest”. I feel incredibly blessed to have had the occasion to expand my own education and deepen my personal learning. To have the opportunity to pay that forward in the rich and nurturing environment that optimises Brigidine makes it all the more worthwhile.