Staff Farewell

Farewell

STAFF

ROB RUZBACKY

Technology and Communications Operations Leader

I have been at St Aloysius for 19 years and in reflecting on my time here, I have seen a lot of changes.

I started in 2003 and on St Aloysius Day, the principal of the time, Mr Davidson, put in a time capsule which is in the garden opposite the sliding doors of where the staffroom and B-block entrance is. Hopefully you will get to see what is in it when it is opened in 2023 on St Aloysius Day by Ms Farah.

In 2003, I taught IT from year 7 to 12. Rooms B-14, B-15 and C-15 were computer rooms filled with 30 heavy desktop computers and CRT monitors in each room. We had a mixture of whiteboards and blackboards in the classroom, had overhead projectors using clear plastic slides which we could write on and started to get data projectors in each classroom. Wi-Fi was a luxury back then, so everything was hardwired. Myspace was the social media of the times and the good old Nokia phone was considered progressive – you could call and text, but the Internet on it was very rudimentary. Amazing how much has changed since then.

I did a variety of jobs which I have enjoyed immensely at my time in St Aloysius from running Deb Balls for the year 11s, helping in the IT department and doing E-Learning, doing the daily organising and timetabling. I was lucky to be supported by all the staff, students and parents over the time I have spent at St Aloysius in doing these tasks – for this I am grateful.

St Aloysius will always be a special place in my heart. All the staff and students at St Aloysius are absolutely fantastic and the school has a community feel about it. It is why I have been at the school for so long. I wish to thank Ms Farah, the leadership team, all the staff and all the students for a wonderful work time at St Aloysius. I will miss everyone immensely. I wish everyone the very best. I can enjoy my retirement knowing that the future of St Aloysius is looking very bright.

OWEN STEPHENS

I started at St Aloysius College in 2018, and it’s hard to believe how quickly time has flown by. Teaching at the college has been a fantastic experience and working with the staff and students we have here has been an incredibly enjoyable experience. Being a part of the Science and Mathematics faculty has also provided me with an opportunity to see our girls excel in these fields and I have no doubt that the STEM & Science programme at the College will continue to engage students and develop their scientific and critical thinking skills. I have no doubt that St Aloysius College will continue to go from strength to strength in the years to come and wish the staff and students all the best in their future endeavours as they strive for higher things.

Farewell

STAFF

RACHEL STEPHENS

Literacy Strategies Leader

I started my journey as a secondary teacher at St Aloysius in 2018, and it is hard to believe it has been almost four years since then. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the lovely students here, who have enabled me to really develop my pedagogy through their hard work and willingness to learn. It has also been wonderful to see what the students are capable of not only academically, but artistically as well. I wish to say thank you to all the staff at St Aloysius, who have been very warm and collegial and have taught me a lot. I wish everyone a wonderful 2022. I knew immediately when walking into St Aloysius College that there was something very special about this school. The students at St Aloysius are always striving to achieve their personal best and also so willing to help others. As a new staff member here in 2017 I felt so welcomed by the amazing young women I had the privilege to teach.

My interactions with parents and families of the students here have consistently been positive, and I have always felt very lucky that the parents in our community seek to work with the school to best support their daughters.

As English Learning Leader from 2017-2019 and 2021 I have been fortunate enough to

AMY MASTERS

English Leader

“St Aloysius has been a lovely place to work with such beautiful colleagues and innovative leadership.”

lead an incredibly determined, professional and motivated team. It has been so incredible to see the progress and continued improvement in English over the past five years. I will sorely miss working with the teaching staff here as their creativity, generosity and dedication to their work is something that I admire and has been a source of inspiration to me.

As I walk out of the gates of St Aloysius for the last time, I wish to thank my current and past students and their families for making the last five years of my teaching career so enjoyable. St Aloysius has been a lovely place to work with such beautiful colleagues and innovative leadership. Thank you for welcoming me into your community!

Farewell

STAFF

DENISE HALL

College Nurse

Firstly I would like to say that I have loved working at St Aloysius College over these last five years. I started here in January, 2015 as the College’s first College Nurse, a role that I have really enjoyed and a great way to finish my professional journey. The staff, parents and of course, students have made coming to work so enjoyable. I will miss you all but now family, grandchildren, the garden, golf and hopefully travel beckon.

Keep well, safe and all the best for 2022 and beyond! I started working at St Aloysius College in January 2018 and finished in June 2021. Part of my role included maintaining the College’s Archives collection which was fascinating to say the least, organising alumni functions and liaising with staff, students and families. I will always remember interviewing Sr Hermenilda on her 100th birthday! I made some wonderful friendships with members of the St Aloysius College community, from current staff through to alumni and will always treasure the memories. It was an absolute pleasure working for such a warm hearted community and wish everyone all the very best with the transition to co-ed in 2023. Coming to St Aloysius at the beginning of 2017 I realised what a different and special place it was from my previous experiences of co-ed and girls’ schools. It is both progressive, finding its true identity in an extremely diverse community and steeped in the past, as a pillar of girl’s education in the inner city. But it wasn’t what it was that inspired me, it was where I could take my students. St Aloysius is a place where students are open to ideas and want to hear from others; their peers, leaders and their teachers. They listen well and support each other. Teaching and leading in the Visual Arts and STEM faculties was also a wonderful opportunity to develop my skills in pedagogy. I wish the staff and students all the best as the school enters a totally new phase, heading into coeducation shortly. I know they will rise to the challenge and meet difference as they always have.

ROSE PARENTE

Reception and Alumni Coordinator