Farewell and Thank You 

from John Roberts

Dear members of our College community,

Last week I informed our School Council, staff, students and parents that I had been offered and accepted an executive position with the North East Victorian Regional staff of the Education Department. As a result of this appointment, I tended my resigning from the position of Principal of East Doncaster Secondary College, effective from the middle of this week.

The College’s Assistant Principal, Karen Boyle, has been appointed the Acting Principal for the duration of Term 1 and our School Council will oversee a selection panel over the next weeks to select a new substantive Principal to the College for the commencement of Term 2.

I do apologise for the timing of this appointment, which is far from ideal at the busy start of the school year, but it was not within my control.

I have, however, every confidence that the College is in a very strong and stable position and that our experienced and highly capable Leadership Team will ensure that East Doncaster Secondary College continues to be a leader within the Victorian Government State School System.

I commenced teaching at the College in 2003 when I was appointed to the College Leadership Team as the Middle School Coordinator. Over the next 20 years, I had the opportunity to undertake the roles of Head of Senior School, Curriculum Coordinator and Assistant Principal before being appointed Principal in 2016.

On both a personal and professional level, I have a deep appreciation for being given the privilege of being Principal of East Doncaster Secondary College and having the wonderful opportunity to work with the students and parents of our community.

In my role as Principal, I have never for a moment taken for granted the responsibility that this position holds within our community and the opportunity our College has for educating, nurturing, supporting and guiding our students in a fashion that enhances life pathways and lifts horizons, hopes and dreams.

I am proud of our progress our College has made in the past eight years. I am proud of the myriad of opportunities we’ve created for our students and our teachers. But most of all, I am proud of how well teachers, students and parents alike have embraced our College as an integral part of our vibrant, multicultural, inclusive wider community. It is reasonable to assert, I believe, that East Doncaster Secondary College is a school that most within our local community respect and want to attend with pride.

Can I express my sincere gratitude to Malcolm Abbott, Stefan Kazakis and Cyrus Tengra, our School Council Presidents over my Principalship, to all School Council Members in this period, to our wonderful Parents and Friends Association, ably led at the moment by Aban Tengra and to Karen Boyle, Jas Kaur, Cameron Campbell and Brett Lamb who have supported myself and the College to an enormous degree as Assistant Principals over the past eight year period.

It has been an honour to be your Principal. I wish everybody in our College community the very best for the future. And to our students, can I leave you with my favourite George Bernard Shaw quote - “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself”.  I hope that you can find the inspiration, wisdom and knowledge to continue to grow and keep creating yourselves. 

John Roberts