Its goodbye from me

I started teaching at Northcote High School, somewhat against my will, in the early 1980s. I had been at Princes Hill Secondary College and met the love of my life ( she taught Drama and English and sat next to me) and naturally I didn't want to move. The Department of Education's central placement unit gave me a choice of the state's most remote secondary school, or Northcote High School, to start the following Monday, so of course I chose NHS. As it turned out, it was a terrific choice to make.

I am so proud to have got to know the students of Northcote, and to have shared so much of their story since I became Assistant Principal 18.5 years ago. By my rough count, 6,500 students have come through the front door since I started in the role. I wish I could remember all their names. But in the meantime, Northcote HS has fulfilled the dream of its pioneers and advocates in the 1920s. It now consistently rates in the top 10 open-entry government Coed schools in the state by almost every measure. Established 90 years ago in the very dark years after World War One when the wounds of our small Australian society ran so deep,  John Cain Senior's dream of a quality school for kids in the inner north has been achieved. It has been a privilege to have been a part of this.