Fitness and Wellbeing with Javeno

Staff Profile: Mrs Thomas

Our new School Business Manager, Mrs Thomas, started in January. After a very busy and successful first term at Our Lady’s, she tells us more about herself and her plans for the school…

What is your role at Our Ladys? I am the School Business Manager and part of the senior leadership team at Our Lady’s.

Where did you work before you started here? I was the School Business Manager in a primary school in Rochdale. Before this I worked at a secondary school in Oldham.

What were your first impressions of Our Lady’s? From the minute I arrived at Our Lady’s I was overwhelmed with how lovely both staff and students were and how everyone made me feel so welcome. I was very impressed by the school building and all the facilities here.

What is your favourite thing about being a School Business Manager? I enjoy being able to work with many different people and get involved in lots of different projects. Being part of students’ school journey is a very rewarding job! What are your goals for this year? I would say my main goal for this year has got to be completing the new building which is going to create such a beautiful new working environment for the students and staff of Our Lady’s.

What does a typical day for Mrs Thomas look like? A typical day would usually involve me going to a few meetings. These meetings can be with the senior leadership team to discuss developments for the school, operations meetings which are a good time for me to catch up with teams that I manage. In the middle of the day, I do break and lunch duty which gives me the chance to get out of the office and chat to the students. I answer my emails throughout the day to deal with anything that needs my attention.

What are your hobbies outside of school? I have two children who have very busy social lives so I spend a lot of time taking them places. We have a caravan and spend most of our weekends there going for walks and in the swimming pool. I enjoy going out with my husband and friends and try to squeeze in the gym if I can!

What is your greatest achievement to date? Getting this job! I was so overwhelmed and happy when I was told after my interview that they would like me to come and work for Our Lady’s. Favourite film or TV show? I love comedies! My favourite TV show would have to be Friends.

Favourite food? Italian.

Where in the world would you most like to visit? I have always wanted to visit Australia, I am hoping that one day we will be lucky enough to go.

Best bit of advice for students at Our Lady’s? Work as hard as possible at school to ensure that it opens lots of doors for your future. The most important thing to do is to try your best and believe in yourself.

If you weren’t a School Business Manager what would you be doing? Before I was a business manager I was a college lecturer in hair, beauty and functional skills, I think I would be still doing that.

Where are they now?

Two of our ex students are now pursuing careers at Our Lady’s. You may remember Mr Keogh as he loved Drama and starred in many of our great shows. He began his career as a TA and is now a cover supervisor teaching a variety of subjects. Mr Keogh also helps to run our community sports centre in the evening and at the weekends. Miss Worthington left Our Lady’s a few years ago but after obtaining her degree is back with us as a cover supervisor. During her time at Our Lady’s Miss Worthington was Head Girl. Let’s find out a bit more about them.

What were your favourite subjects at school and why? When I was in school my favourite lessons were English and History, although there weren’t many lessons that I didn’t enjoy. In English I loved reading and learning about books which reflected issues of that specific time - such as To Kill a Mockingbird which portrays issues relating to race and gender in 1930s Alabama. In History I loved learning all about Nazi Germany, in particular hearing about the groups that emerged to oppose the Nazis such as the White Rose group. It was learning about Germany which has inspired me to visit Berlin many times since leaving school.

Where are you now? In Summer 2021 I graduated from The University of Manchester with a BA in English Literature. I am now working at Our Lady’s as a Cover Supervisor.

Miss Worthington

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? In 5 years time I will be an English Teacher. I will be travelling a lot more and will have hopefully visited India. If you were on a deserted island what 3 things would you bring and why? If I was on a deserted island I would bring a copy of a really good book (preferably a long one) to keep myself entertained; I would bring my Chilly’s water bottle (that comes everywhere with me) to make sure that I stay hydrated; I would also bring a notebook & pen to write all about the island, so I could tell my friends about it in detail when somebody finally rescued me!

Mr Keogh

What were your favourite subjects at school and why? This is a difficult question, all of my subjects at school were enjoyable and I had some of the best teachers! One of my favourites was RE, I was taught by Mrs Buckley and the lessons were always fun and she made us laugh. Another favourite was psychology with Mrs Robson and Drama with Mr Banham. Where are you now? I have worked at Our Lady’s for three years, before this year I was a teaching assistant working with the amazing department upstairs, now I am part of the cover team. I have really enjoyed both roles at Our Lady’s and imagine I’m not going anywhere yet! If you were on a deserted island what 3 things would you bring and why? A pan to gather water, a fishing net and a flint and steel to start a fire, I’m not too sure I would last very long!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? In five years time, I would like to have completed my degree and qualified to teach. Every day is different at Our Lady’s which is why I enjoy working here.