It was a bittersweet day on Thursday, December 19, as Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School in Elmore not only celebrated the achievements of its 2024 Year 6 cohort, but it also bid farewell to one of its most beloved characters.
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Principal Craig Simpson has departed after three years at the helm of the school.
Mr Simpson has taken on a new role as learning leader at Catholic Education Sandhurst Limited, which will see him shaping the future of Catholic education across the Sandhurst diocese.
He is excited about it. But that doesn’t mean he is excited to be leaving OLSH.
He freely admits he will miss everything about the school, especially the students.
“The kids are amazing. The kids are superb,” Mr Simpson said.
“It’s the nicest little community I’ve ever been involved with. It’s the first small school I’ve been involved with, but the kids are just exactly how you’d want your kids to be.
“So I’ll really miss the kids, but the whole community has really been wonderful.
“The parents, the staff have just been great to work with. They’ve been really supportive, really been onboard with everything we’ve tried to do.”
Mr Simpson enjoyed getting to know all the families at the school, including younger siblings and even grandparents.
That sense of community extends past the school gate.
One of the things Mr Simpson is most proud of is OLSH’s collaborations with Elmore Primary School.
Rather than being rivals, the two schools unite for a number of activities throughout the year.
“We’ve built up a really nice relationship with Aaron (Elmore Primary School principal Aaron Taylor) down there,” Mr Simpson said.
“We do a few things together. They came for Mission Day (an OLSH fundraising day) and supported us and there was the colour run. It’s really nice and easy.”
He described leaving the school as “a real double-edged sword”.
“I am really excited about the role I am going into, I think that’s great, but I am just so much going to miss this,” he said.
“The thing I am really going to miss the most is kids like (Prep students) Liam and Jasper and Willow and Zara, who have just started their little school journey, and you don’t get to continue that with them.
“I think that’s the hardest thing, to think you’re going to be bigger, you’re going to keep growing bigger and I’m not going to be the one here witnessing that.
“Even the kids in Grade 5 now, I’m not going to be with them in Grade 6 when they graduate from the school.
“So it’s those things, the kids’ milestones and continuing to be with them as they grow and move through school. It is, I think, the thing I’m going to miss most.
“But for this Grade 6 group, I started with them in Grade 4 and they’ve gone Grade 4, 5 and 6 and now I get to see them off. They’re our biggest group in the school, they’re our largest class, so, in a way, that’s a nice thing to be finishing off with a big class.”
Mr Simpson is not the only one bidding a sad farewell to OLSH.
Junior class teacher and learner diversity leader Janette Colbert has accepted a position as assistant principal at Tarnagulla Primary School, near Dunolly.
“It’s a great opportunity for her to take on a leadership role,” Mr Simpson said.
“She’ll do a great job at Tarnagulla. They are very lucky.”
Lisa Hitchcock has been appointed principal of OLSH and will join the school in term two, 2025.
A familiar face will welcome students when the new school year starts.
Matt Mann, who has had a long association with OLSH and is the current music teacher, will be acting principal in term one.
But there is no doubt Mr Simpson’s influence has been mighty and he will be missed.
OLSH administration officer Nerida Murray is sorry to see Mr Simpson go.
“I’m really happy and excited for him, but he will be missed,” Mrs Murray said.
“We had a great time with him.
“We were very lucky.”
Parent Chloe Whitfield was appreciative of everything Mr Simpson had achieved during his time at OLSH.
“Craig’s energy, quick wit, upbeat personality and, most of all, his passion for teaching and learning will be missed by students, staff, parents and the wider OLSH community,” Mrs Whitfield said.
But Mr Simpson is certain he is leaving the school in good hands.
“Lisa, who’s coming in, she has a lovely ease with the kids,” he said.
“Even meeting the adults, it was a really lovely thing to see.”
As the sunset on his time at OLSH, Mr Simpson reflected on his achievements.
“I think one of the tricky things for me is, while I feel like we have done a lot and achieved a lot of things in three years, it’s been great, but it does feel like it has gone so quickly,” he said.
“It feels too quick. Three years just feels like it’s gone in three weeks. I can’t believe it.
“I’m quite sad to be leaving.”