St Patrick's Primary School has welcomed a very familiar face as its new acting principal.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Portland's Renae Dunleavy, who stepped into the role on Monday, July 22, began her teaching career at St Patrick's in 2000, serving as a classroom teacher, religious education coordinator and assistant principal, before taking up an assistant principal role at St Philomena's Primary School in Bathurst in 2018.
Mrs Dunleavy, a mother of two, is from a family of teachers, following in the steps of her mother, Sue Kearns, who has served as principal of St Joseph's in Portland and her sister Simone Taylor who is an infants teacher at St Joseph's.
Mrs Dunleavy said, on being offered the acting principal position at the end of last term, she was pleased to be able to come back.
"I'm excited to be back, it feels a little like I am coming home to a beautiful school and a beautiful community."
Former principal Helen Mulholland finished up at St Patrick's at the end of last term after almost four years. Mrs Dunleavy said the school wished Mrs Mulholland well on her new path.
Mrs Dunleavy said she was excited to be working within a young, vibrant leadership team, including assistant principal Lyndall Marshall and religious education coordinator Cassandra Toole.
"I have a real passion and interest in student engagement. A lot of my work has been around student engagement and ensuring that students are not only engaged but actually learning as a result of that engagement," she said.
She said her focus would also be on formative assessment, in which teachers constantly check that students understand what they are being taught, and differentiation, which makes sure all children "are being met at their point of understanding".
During her time as assistant principal at St Philomena's, Mrs Dunleavy was part of the team which was presented with the Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT Roger O'Sullivan Memorial Award, which recognised exemplary practice in family, school and community partnerships.
As well as being qualified as a teacher, Mrs Dunleavy holds a degree in social science psychology and a master of educational leadership.
She said the psychology degree came first, as she stubbornly resisted everyone's expectations that she would automatically become a teacher, based on her family history.
"When I decided to go into teaching, I thought this is really who I am and I really did love it. I thought 'this is who I'm meant to be'," she said.
"I want to thank the community for welcoming me back so warmly and for being so supportive. I've got so many lovely messages, that's been beautiful."
Love local news? Subscribe for as little as $2 a week. Find out how here.
Kirsty Horton
A journalist with 15 years of experience, Kirsty Horton has been the editor of the Lithgow Mercury newspaper and a journalist for mastheads including the Great Lakes Advocate, Nambucca Guardian News and Moree Champion. She is now a member of ACM's features and special publications team.
A journalist with 15 years of experience, Kirsty Horton has been the editor of the Lithgow Mercury newspaper and a journalist for mastheads including the Great Lakes Advocate, Nambucca Guardian News and Moree Champion. She is now a member of ACM's features and special publications team.
