Thank you

It was a Saturday morning way back in late November/early December 1998 when my telephone rang. It was Br. Alf Zanotti, Principal of St James College, offering me a teaching position at St James for the 1999 school year. I immediately accepted; St James College would be my fourth school in a nine-year teaching career to this point.

After a short conversation with Br. Alf, I hung up the phone and turned to my wife; “Teaching has got one more year.” I said, “If I still feel the same way in a year as I do now, I will quit and find another job.” Twenty-two years later, and with very mixed emotions, I find myself leaving a place that has been far more than a job, far more than a school, but a major part of who I am today and both mine and my family’s lives.

Twenty-two years is a long time. My three now adult children do not know of their father working anywhere else. But it does not seem like a long time. I think that any job where you do not begrudge getting up for work every day must be a pretty good one.

I have been privileged to work with three amazing Principals, all of whom, I am honoured, to now call friends. These three leaders have provided me with opportunities to be the best educator I can, and to come to an understanding that it is not always what we teach, but often, how we teach it. During my time at St James, I have led classes in Mathematics, Physical Education, Religious Education and English but I have aimed to teach young men. I have held positions of Homeroom Teacher, Year Level Coordinator, Daily Organiser, College Coordinator and Deputy Principal, and while the curriculum and subject matter is important, the Principals I have worked with at St James have helped me form the belief that if a young person leaves my class at the end of a lesson, week, term or year a slightly better person than when they entered, I have done my job. Over twenty-one years there have been thousands of students, hundreds of who have “touched my heart,’ I hope I have touched a few of theirs.

Looking back, I think many of the opportunities and experiences outside the classrooms is what I will remember most about St James. As adults, when we look back at our own school days, we don’t remember the Maths lesson on Trigonometry in Term 2 of Year 10, or the Science lesson about insects in year 7, we remember the people who made these times special. For me, a School Camp, Excursion, Athletics and Swimming days, ten hours in a cramped four wheel drive on the way to Balgo, walking with students on Mission Action Days or sometimes just a game of down-ball or kick of the footy at lunchtime are all a part of this special place and the students within it. I will remember these times as the way we built relationships. To all the students of St James College, not just the 2020 cohort, but all of you over the past twenty-one years; yes, some of you have caused frustration and anger and some even tears, but all of you have provided me with opportunities to grow and develop as a teacher and as a person. I thank all of you for the part you have played in my time at St James.

St John Baptist De La Salle, founder of the De La Salle Brothers and Patron Saint of all teachers, took it upon himself to educate the poor and marginalised young men of the late 1600s in France, and while Bentleigh East in 2020 is a world away from this time, St James College, it’s leadership and staff have always sought to uphold and promote the values of the Founder, to ‘touch the Hearts’ of the young men and families we serve.

I have been privileged to work with and alongside an amazing staff, many of who I regard as close friends. We have celebrated, not only school related events, but personal events such as significant birthday’s, engagements, weddings, and births together as well as comforted each other in the tougher and more difficult times of life. In many instances, we have been like a family, and I cannot think of any other environment where such a special group of people work together. Whether they be the five members of staff who have been at St James longer than me, the two staff I commenced with in 1999, or those who have joined us in recent years, all of you have contributed to my time at St James and will continue to hold a special place in my life. Many of you have been a part of my life outside the walls of school, and I hope and trust our friendships will continue well into the future.

As St James College celebrates its 50th and final year, and me, my 22nd, the young men of my 7A Homeroom back in 1999 are now adults with their own children, the time seems right for me to move on. The decision to leave St James College has not been an easy one and I do so with a heavy heart. For every student, family, staff member and friend, I thank you all for being a part of the past 22 years, and in the words of the Australian singer and song writer Mick Thomas, “I’ll see you when I’m looking at you, I’ll see you on the other side.”

Live Jesus in our Hearts……

Patrick Janes

Deputy Principal