QUIET HELPERS
(October, 1994, for 'The
Chronicle' magazine)
At any time during the life of a
year in the Junior School, many people serve the students quietly and unobtrusively.
Whilst it is the teachers whose service
is clearly seen in the classroom and the playground and on the stage and
the fields, there are many who support and enhance this primary educational
task with their special and vital skills and interests.
It is pertinent, however, to acknowledge
firstly a small group of students of this ilk -- the Cato Hall
crew. How often the school relies on them! A treasure trove
for those fascinated by technical creativity, Cato Hall has been the domain
of Ben Lunn, Chris Campbell and Andrew Gemmell for a large part of 1994.
Their exhaustive work at all hours in arranging light, sound, staging and
seating for meetings, assemblies and productions for the Junior School
is often taken for granted but is recognised and appreciated here.
How valuable the work of the Teachers'
Aides!
Many students -- and
teachers -- will have watched quietly and with interest
how Mrs Schneiders and Mrs Vajtauer cleverly help wherever they are needed.
They always are able to find a way. These two ladies set a marvellous
example of how to support and assist the teachers with care and understanding.
And this is to say nothing of what they do to help the students directly!
It has been superb.
Mr Cotton, Teachers' Aide with the
Notebook Computers, Mrs Davenport, Cooking Aide and Mrs Dempsey, Science
Laboratory Assistant, also have made sure that all that is needed in advice
and equipment has been available. They have cleaned and mended, tidied
and found, discovered and explained and always been there. Their
work is crucial.
Similarly, the service of the counsellors,
Ms Barlow and Mr Jenkin, has been gently effective throughout the year.
In conjunction with teachers and parents, these two people have provided
support and guidance as it has been needed. The teamwork in this
area has been impressive with assistance being received on a wide range
of levels. Again, quietly and often unnoticed, young people, and
their family and friends, have been aided significantly through this facet
of the school's life.
And what happens when one feels ill,
or falls, perhaps, from the climbing frame? To Matron, in Sick
Bay. Or, she will come to you. It's automatic. She's
there. Sister Khanbashi is another of those who provide the supportive
care so necessary in a community like Wesley's. Her calm, precise
and smiling treatment is known widely.
Junior School students run and jump
freely and widely on ovals; bowl, pitch, bat and field in the nets; shoot
baskets and goals and hit balls on the courts; keenly slice the water in
the pool. Do they remember occasionally those who keep these facilities
readily amenable for them? Curator Mr Savedra and Maintenance Officer
Mr Pirie each keep a close eye on these much loved sports arenas where
much skill and fitness is achieved. They, of course, have teams of
helpers who work hard to ensure particularly that the gardens, the grass,
the trees and the buildings are pleasing to the eye.
The outdoors brings to mind Chum
Creek. Mrs Val Duff has prepared the meals at Chum Creek for twelve
years. Many Junior School students and teachers will attest to the
pleasure that her service brings!
Through the tummy to the heart?
The Tuckshop. Grateful thanks are extended to Mrs Charlesworth and
her helpers. Daily they marshal the lunches and the snacks.
Soon they come to know the 'customers', who are not always as polite and
appreciative as they might be -- hunger and sweet tooth overriding
courtesy. Nonetheless, no student goes hungry when, as happens, orders
or money are lost, or special arrangements need to be made.
Of constant and immediate support
for the parents, the teachers and the students is the work of the office
staff. Under Mrs Burgess' leadership, this team of people bears the
brunt of the Junior School's demands. A telephone line, a message,
some photocopying, an equipment order, a fax ..... Does it ever end?
All benefit from this thoughtful, perceptive, courteous and hard-working
team.
Such is the huge and invaluable support
the Junior School constantly receives.
Added to this is the commitment of
the teachers who work with the students' families to provide for the upbringing
and education of the young people. This must always be a co-operative,
engrossing and purposeful effort for all concerned.
When one reads the achievements chronicled
elsewhere in these pages by proud students and dedicated teachers it is
easy to feel the vibrancy and colour of the school's life. That life
is richer for all its participants who contribute as do those whose services
have been described above. |