Welcome one and all to 2022. Unfortunately, our hopes for a a better start to the new year were not realized. 2021 proved to be yet another dreadful year with the ever- present COVID 19 Pandemic impacting on our lives like no other disaster experienced for many, many years We live in hope that 2022 will become a safer and healthier year enabling us to offer the various lunches, events, and visits with our colleagues planned for 2022.
Our hearts and thoughts go out to those dedicated health workers & volunteers and to the many victims of this horrible virus.
BRIAN POWYER OAM
It is with great honour that we acknowledge the Australia Day 2022 Posthumous OAM Award to Brian for his services to the community through history preservation organizations. What a wonderful recognition of Brian’s contributions to the community and his amazing involvement with schools, the profession, and our Association.
NSWPPA
We extend our best wishes to the PPA and all principals & teachers who are struggling to ensure our schools can manage the ongoing challenges facing the education system during these horrific times.
To those who have retired we say thank you for their contributions to public education and the principalship that have been so highly regarded and appreciated by schools and the teaching fraternity.
PPA AWARDS FOR 2021
Congratulations again to the Principals who received NSWPPA Awards during the Annual Conference for their outstanding contributions to Public Education and to the NSW Primary Principals Association.
Fellowship David Munday & Ian Reeson; Aboriginal Education Award Tammy Anderson
Special congratulations to the new Life Members: Wendy Buckley, Graeme Mcleod, Diane
Robertson, Graham Ross & Sue Ruffles.
DoE NEWS
It is of great concern that during this time of anxiety and tension in public schools at the beginning of the year that they did not receive the information that they needed to assist in a smooth transition. Of course, the smooth transition will happen because public schools always deliver. Unfortunately, even though we offered our support, we, as a Retired Professional Group could have helped! Some ideas were floated but there is little “thinking outside the box” these days. Suggestions raised were:
- Assisting in packing the RATS
- Assisting in distributing the RATS
- Mentoring
- Retired Principals visiting a selected school and doing a one-day admin assistance, teaching or relieving a Principal for a day!
- Putting on hold Prof Learning for one term allowing teachers to stabilise the classroom…give them 25 hours PL for their accreditation just to say THANKS……
In response we were told Insurance was an issue…. Why is it that other States manage such issues and use the expertise of retirees to support the operation of schools.
Not all of us are interested in “getting back into schools” but many of us do and some have grandchildren whom we want to succeed in a strong public education system that we helped build. Very few of us want to join an “army of retired teachers” but we can help in so many different ways.
| ARPP ACTIVITIES REPORT FOR 2021
Despite to the COVID 19 restrictions we managed to hold several events during 2021:
– Our first Luncheon was held at the Sydney Rowing Club at Abbotsford attended by a limited number of members due to the COVID Restrictions.
– This was followed by the Annual Golf Day 23 April at the Royal Massey Park Course reported on in the September Newsletter.
– The next event was our lunch at the Kirribilli Club on 3 June with 34 members in attendance again limited by the COVID requirements.
– The final event was our Annual Christmas Lunch held at the Epping Club on 3 December. It was quite exciting to be able to catch up with the 52 members & guests who attended. We were pleased to have as our guests: Phil Campbell from Campbell Financial and our Sponsor and Brian Ralph, Coordinator of the Retired Secondary Principals Network. Brian has provided great support and guidance to our Association in the redevelopment of our Website.
A special observation was made as a tribute to the passing away of Cindy Berwick AM, the Immediate Past President of NSW AB Ed Consultative Group. Cindy was also honoured in the Australia Day Awards.
The Xmas Raffle was well supported, and we raised $ 250 for Stewart House. A big thank you to members who donated great prizes and to Heather Causley & Kerryanne Knox for organizing the Raffle. Special thanks to Maurie Bird our Events Organiser & Noel West, Treasurer for assistance with planning the lunch and to all the Executive for their support with the Lunch Event.
Our Focus during 2021 has been on: 1. ARPP Website The ongoing development of our upgraded Website, as we endeavour to make the site more responsive to the various needs of our members and focus on aspects such as Managing Retirement, Keeping in Touch, Retirement Options, Working in Retirement and Staying Up to date. We are developing information for the various Topics, and we look forward to member contributions especially in the form of stories and reflections.
A reminder that the site domain name is rppa.com.au and the membership password is rppamember2021#.
2. Reviewing and promoting our Membership which is now at its highest level in recent years.
3. The establishment of Area Contacts across the state to support the broadening of our membership base, assisting with regional events and supporting the provision of Networks for our Rural members. A Seeding Grant will be provided to support the Initiative. 4. The provision of news & articles of interest by way of keeping in touch with current trends.
2022 CITY LUNCH EVENTS
The dates and venues planned for our City based Luncheons are set out below but will be subject to COVID 19 restrictions and NSW Health requirements.
· Thursday 3 March at Kirribilli Club at 11.45am · Wednesday 1st June at Sydney Rowing Club, Abbotsford at 12.30pm · Wednesday 7th September at Emperors Gardens at 1.00pm · Thursday 1st December at the Epping Club at 12.30pm
The Notice for the first Luncheon at Kirribilli Club was distributed last Thursday. Any changes due to the COVID requirements will be advised accordingly.
Non-Metropolitan Lunch Outings We are working towards being able to offer & support lunches planned for Newcastle, Central Coast (Woy Woy) and South Coast (Dapto or Kiama). Dates will be advised as they come to hand. Visits to regional areas are still under consideration for Bathurst/Orange or Mudgee subject to the COVID 19 Heath restrictions and requirements. We look forward to such events being able to take place and the opportunity to meet with colleagues in those regional locations.
ANNUAL ARPP GOLF DAY This has been set down to again be played at Massey Park. The preferred date is 1 April to be confirmed. The day as always is open to ARPP members and friends, to club and social golfers and to men and women golfers. A Notice to members with full details will be sent out closer to the event. Our special thanks to Ray Gentles who has offered to be the Organiser of the event.
NEW MEMBERS A very special welcome to our most recent new ARPP Members: Jeanette Grinham, Trish Hagan, Margaret Foott, Sue Estens, Warren Fairfax & Sharon Ihlein. Three of the new members have kindly provided some background to their teaching careers. Margaret Foott – Began her teaching at Berowra PS and during her time at the school became the Executive Teacher and Assistant Principal. Held several relieving principal positions at Berrilee & Cowan PS’s and then became Teaching principal at Arcadia PS. Margaret ended her career after 11years as Principal of Turramurra PS. She was a member of the NSWPPA Wellbeing Committee and also assisted with planning PPA Conferences. Sue Estens – Worked at Binnaway Central in the Library, completed a Graduate Diploma in Teacher Librarianship and then was made a Permanent appointment. Sue was Appointed as Assistant P to Gilgandra PS in 1994 followed by principalships at Tooraweehah PS, Gilgandra PS, Tea gardens PS and then Hamilton South Ps from 2012=2020. Officially retired in November 2021 after LSL. Warren Fairfax –Graduate of Bathurst Teachers College (1959) and the University of New England (1972). TIC, Wattle Flat PS 1960-61Taught at Turvey Park Dem, Valence Special School, Kent.UK, Minerva St Special School.P3 at Woniora Road SSP Hurstville, 1970-72 and then P2 at Coreen SSP Blacktown.,President of the Australian Association of Special Education (AASE) 1979-80, SEO2 School Building Research, PEO Special Education Directorate, HO 1984-88 & CEO Disabilities Directorate, HO 1989-99Acting Director Special Education,1999-2000 (Retired), Member of IRSEA (Institute of Senior Educational Administrators) 2001- After retirement, Principal Policy Officer, DET 2021-2016 (Part time work until fully retired). Hobbies, Lawn Bowls, Reading, Piano, Choral singing, some Golf, gardening, Rotary, Probus, Walking, Yoga, Swimming, Travelling (Pre-Covid) *****2022 MEMBERSHIP***** As we advised in our last Newsletter, due to the limited ARPP involvements during the past 2 years, all members who renewed their Membership during 2021 will not be required to renew during 2022. However, for new Members in 2022 the Fees will remain as follows: METROPOLITAN – The Annual Sub is $50 which provides a discount for each function, puts wine on the table and keeps everyone in touch. Payment can be made at any function or by Direct Deposit to the ARPP Account BSB 062668 Ac No 10152151 or by cheque to ARPP, C/- Noel West, 62 Wagstaffe Ave, Wagstaffe 2257 NON- METROPOLITAN – Outside of Newcastle, Greater Sydney, and Illawarra Regions The Annual Fee is $30.00, and payments can be made by Bank Transfer or Cheque as detailed above.
MEMBERSHIP DRIVE We seek your support in promoting our organisation as a strong advocate for our schools, Leaders & NSWPPA and a continuing voice for public education. ARPP was established to provide an avenue for retirees to keep in touch and to be able to meet and share their life in retirement. While many of our members take on roles in a variety of organizations there are many who find the transition more difficult. Our events, newsletters and website provide news and a communication around the state. All retirees whether they are metropolitan, or country can be involved through the various groups as they meet during the year. If there is anyone whom you would like to contact, please inform Kerryanne Knox on kknox@bigpond.com or President Tom on mtcroker@bigpond.net.au. We continue working on ways to send our information to retired and recently retired principals. The best way of course is always word of mouth & promoting our membership to other retirees & friends. Please take advantage of those get-togethers, reunions, special birthday celebrations and spread the word…. join us! SPONSOR’S MESSAGE: Great News At our Christmas Lunch Phil Campbell was pleased to announce that the long- term Sponsor, Campbell Financial will continue for 2022 and have again generously provided the amount of $1,500.00. We are very appreciative of their support which will now be dedicated to financing our Website.
Where In The World…. One of the difficulties we face after retirement is keeping in touch with our colleagues which of course is one of the key purposes of our Association. One of our new members, David Graham, would like to be able to get in touch with many of his colleagues that he worked with during hid principalship and has asked if we could pass on his request. David’s email is:
WELFARE Executive Committee Member Chris Worthington, as our Welfare Officer, urges you all to advise him (or other Executive Members) of any members who are doing it tough or are suffering ill health.
In such critical pandemic times, it is more important than ever to have in place networks to help us look after each other.
VALE Sadly, we remember several of our good friends and colleagues who passed away during 2021. Bob Hince (March), John Dawson (April), Paul Greer (May), Barry Hubbard (May), Peter Rogers (June), Bert Candy (July), Phil Nash (August), Peter Stretton (Sept), Richard Booth (Sept) and just recently Brian Debus.on 13 January 2022 (A special Memorial Service will be held for Brian during 2022)
TERRY BURKE TRIBUTE Many of us would have known and worked with Terry, former DDG, during his time in the Department. We were all saddened by his passing on 28 December due to acute leukemia & kidney failure. Terry as a former teacher and Principal made significant contributions to schools and the principalship guided by his own experiences. He was a nice guy admired for his integrity and good humour. He provided a no-nonsense approach combined with sound advice always with a twinkle in his eyes. He was authentic, imaginative, and regarded as an outstanding leader, educator, and friend to public education. He was often regarded as a ‘Principals Principal’. Many were the beneficiary of his gentle but unflinching wisdom & guidance. It has been said that Terry did not always so ‘no’ directly but allowed you to recognise ‘no’ as the better path. NSW Education have lost a true champion, but we have all been hugely enriched by Terry’s legacy. Terry is survived by his wife Dianne, their 4 children & grandchildren. A Celebration Service of Terry’s life was held together with a livestream on 12 January 2022. RIP Terry.
STEWART HOUSE We continue to support Stewart House especially as it emerges from the COVID 19 Lockdown. Unfortunately, the Health requirements and the continuing presence of the virus forced the closure of Stewart House from July 2021. They are awaiting advice from the DoE as to what conditions will apply to a re-opening. Plans are in hand to allow a limited number of students in from Week 4 with a modified 5-day Program with restricted staffing which will be gradually expanded through Terms 3 & 4.
The promotion of support for school fund raising activities and the teacher salary contribution scheme now more than ever needs a major focus. In the past over 50% of the funding for Stewart House came from schools and teachers but it is currently only 30%. We would encourage all teachers & principals, both current and retired, to maintain their support for this wonderful organisation.
FOSH Update Friends of Stewart House (FOSH) has been quietly active behind the scenes and managed to raise funds thanks to the generosity of its members, ARPP members, IRSEA members and other committed people. We ran two” One Hundred” Club events and raised $1,500.00. We held a very successful Xmas wine selection fundraiser and this raised $3,735.00. The wines were from Leogate in the Hunter Valley and from all reports were excellent! Our Annual General Meeting will be held in February and at this stage, the date to remember is Monday, 28th February. More details later. The committee will be looking for “new blood” and there is an opportunity to consider the roles of President, Vice-President, and Secretary. What did they say in the recruitment of young people in war time…. WE NEED YOU!!! Thanks to everyone who supported the fundraisers in 2021. We appreciate your ongoing support and commitment to Stewart House. ARPP EXECUTIVE On behalf of all members of the Association of Retired Primary Principals we wish to extend appreciation to the Executive Committee for their outstanding efforts in organizing and promoting ARPP during 2021. President: Tom Croker Vice Presidents: Heather Causley & Rick Riddle Secretary: Kerryanne Knox Treasurer: Noel West Events Organiser: Maurie Bird Membership Coordinator: Kerryanne Knox Committee Members: Geoff Scott, Jackie Malecki, Chris Worthington and Ray Gentles
The Executive Committee wishes to thank you for your attendance and support of our various ARPP events during 2021. May we extend to you the very best wishes for the 2022 year.
Above all, keep well & enjoy the good life
Tom Croker President For The Executive Team
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