Farewell to Ross

Farewell

Hi Everyone,

Today marks a significant milestone for me. I'm retiring from the Victorian Education Department after forty-two years of service, including fourteen wonderful years as principal of Newlands Primary School. Today is my last newsletter; it is a time to reflect and thank the staff and community for their support.

We all know the story of Newlands, the local primary school that was almost down and out, on its knees, and heading toward oblivion. It was a school whose survival depended on the community wanting their neighbourhood school to survive. It is a school that would grow but also travels a different educational route from those other nearby schools. 

For me, it was an opportunity to work with the community to make Newlands a viable school, one of choice. It was, without question, a major challenge, but it was enjoyable to be a part of. The community's belief in the vision was a wonderful driver for me and gave me a great deal of satisfaction. 

Here we are, with a school population of 400 students, new buildings, and, more importantly, a school where learning another language is as authentic as art, mathematics, or sport. A school where children can learn and be stimulated in a safe environment. Regardless of the difficulties of providing a comprehensive curriculum, the students in those early days enjoyed a real sense of belonging. 

The challenges of achieving our goal of being a bilingual school, one of only 12 schools in Victoria, can only happen with a great team of teachers and support staff. Our journey really came into sharp focus when we expanded our leadership by adding Luke as the Assistant Principal; this was the beginning of creating our current leadership team. Working with such enthusiastic staff who believe in the vision has been very rewarding.

I know the school is now ready to move on from this wonderful base and prepared for the next stage. The school has a dedicated and creative leadership team to lead Newlands and fully embrace its educational position with its imposing façade opposite Woolies. I can see the school being a valuable leader in the bilingual educational environment in Victoria, Australia, and internationally.

Participating in this wonderful venture and seeing a real educational landmark grow has been a pleasure. Seeing the school brought back to life and its respectful nod to its past importance as a neighbourhood school has been very rewarding for me personally. 

While I will no longer be at Newlands, I will continue to follow the next stage of its journey with great interest. I will occasionally drive by and read future newsletters with interest, following the school's development, a bit like following your child's journey.

Thank you, and all the best for the future.

Ross Dudgeon

Retiring Principal

"The real role of leadership in education…is not and should not be command and control. The real role of leadership is climate control – creating a climate of possibility. If you do that, people will rise to it and achieve things that you completely did not anticipate and couldn't have expected." Sir Ken Robinson