"In recently receiving the 30 year service award in Catholic education, I certainly feel honoured and appreciated. It is great to be recognised for anything and especially that I’ve been able to do the one job and one school for so long (I can’t believe 30 years has passed so quickly). Pretty much all my life has been in education and the Catholic connection. Primary school was St Patricks, St Arnaud, Secondary School was McAuley College St Arnaud and then Dooboobetic, teaching at St Pauls and Damascus College. It’s all I know, but I know I’m biased as a Catholic teacher in that we really value a holistic education of the whole child – socially, emotionally, spiritually, physically and culturally. They are all important as preparation for life, and a life of worth at that – not merely a life of work.
I got in to teaching in the Catholic sector, as I always liked to work with young people and am a passionate sports and fitness fanatic (although it is getting harder as I get older). At the end of Year 12 I thought why not teach, I thought primary would be suitable until I did a round at Donald Primary School in 1988, and after the attention and energy of kids around me I thought, maybe I’m more suited for secondary teaching so I changed to the B Ed post-primary PE degree at Ballarat University College. I completed teaching rounds at St Pats Ballarat and St Pauls Ballarat and was lucky at the end of 1992 that a job came up in 1993 at St Pauls College and I was fortunate to get this job.
Over the 30 years in Catholic education, I have had 2-3 goes at being a Sports Co-ordinator and a reasonable stint as the Head of Health and PE in the early 2000’s. Presently I am happy working with the students as a classroom teacher. A role that I have done for a long time which I am proud of is being the “starter” at our Damascus Sports carnivals, and was very happy to have been asked to do it at the BAS swimming this year.
In thinking back over the years, it is hard to remember too many specific moments in 30 years of teaching but the fact I haven’t wanted to change jobs accounts for many special moments. Besides the Ballarat moments I did take my family; wife, and a 3 and 1 year old to the other side of the world and completed a teaching exchange at Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary College in Stittsville, a community south of Ottawa, Canada. It was one of the most satisfying years of my life, both professionally and personally, in that it opened my eyes up to the world and travel, and I still have friendships from those years. We also had our third child not long after arriving back in Australia in January 2004, Montana.
In the early days I particularly thank Laurie and Mark McLean. Laurie was my supervisor on the teaching round at St Paul’s and Mark took me under “his wing” during this time and and when I started teaching full time in 1993. We have continued our friendship all through those years and time at Damascus. I like to think I modelled my style of teaching with a mix of their styles. Gavan Walsh is someone I’ve always had a great rapport with and I remember the early Damascus days when Gav would arrive on a Sunday night to my home at Doveton Crescent and talk all things sport. Denise Blood (who used to work in Administration) is someone I’ve always had a huge connection with. She was their day one at St Paul’s and we often joke that she became my second (work) mum and I became her second son. John Shannon, Matt Byrne and Sr. Marie Davey are always colleagues that I respected for their leadership. Other than that there are too many to mention- all HPE, Humanities and staff overall, I say thanks!
Catholic education is unique, as I think it encompasses a respect of all people, we see the good in all people, and we are part of a big inter-connected family. There is also justice and peace, and a respect for the environment. Overall a love and care for each other.
I always feel recognition is so vital in life. That’s why I am very grateful for this recognition. I cancelled my attendance at the Tigers V Swans game in Sydney to go to the event held at the DEC on Friday 27 May 2022. I remember a student at St Paul’s (in my early teaching days) getting up at an assembly recognising one of his teachers who taught him a life principle in a Commerce class and I said to myself “one day I hope someone will recognise me for making a difference.” It has happened at least twice in the last few years. I saw it in 2017 and at a Ballarat sports night I attended, with Western Bulldogs premiership player and current Collingwood player, 2008 school captain, Jordan Roughhead. He was hugely appreciative of Gavan Walsh and myself, allowing him and his mates to play in the 1st football competition at Damascus (1st and only time ever in the school’s history), and his theory was not necessarily about elitism in sport but to allow all ‘just to participate and have fun playing with your mates”.
Mr Wayne Forster