General News
16 May, 2024
Education milestone
ST COLMAN’S Primary School principal Janet Cain has been recognised for her 30 years of dedication to catholic education; all of which have been spent in the south west.
As part of Catholic Education Week recently Mrs Cain was among more than two dozen Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education staff to receive recognition for their three decades of commitment to education in catholic schools.
The staff were formally recognised at a gala dinner event in Ballarat.
Mrs Cain said the time had gone by in the blink of an eye.
“It’s quite unbelievable to think it’s been 30 years, it only seems like yesterday,” she said.
“A lot of has happened in 30 years, but it’s certainly good to be acknowledged.”
Mrs Cain said she was proud to have spent the entirety of her 30 years in catholic education in the south west.
“I spent 25 years at St Patrick’s Primary School in Camperdown, and I also taught in Terang at St Thomas’ Primary School and then joined St Colman’s Primary School at the beginning of last year,” she said.
“I’ve stayed pretty local in this little community.”
Mrs Cain said she was proud to support students throughout their catholic education, helping to support students in their intellectual development but also in their moral and spiritual growth.
“It’s about delivering students with role models and standards to live by,” she said.
“When they grow up they’ve got a system of belief and faith they can fall back on if they need to.”
Over the years Mrs Cain said she believed changes to education has placed student wellbeing at the forefront.
Technology leads classroom innovation, but she also believes there has been a heightened emphasis on who the students are – not just what they will learn.
“I think the biggest change in education is the impact of mental health in primary schools,” she said.
“It’s something I’ve really noticed, and how much of our time is spent on the welfare of the students.”
Mrs Cain said she had spent the majority of her years as a teacher, but in recent years had made the switch to leadership and, subsequently, taking the opportunity to serve as principal at St Colman’s Primary School.
“I plan on being (at St Colman’s) and continuing to develop my principal skill set,” she said.
“It was important to me to develop that skillset in terms of leading schools in to the future.”
