Six teachers leave college

Six teachers will leave Brisbane Water Secondary College at the end of this year.

College principal Ms Pamela McAlister said the teachers had "made a difference to so many young people in our community in so many ways".

Leaving the Umina Campus will be Patricia Thomas, Wendy Nicholas and Neil Hinton.

Patricia Thomas has been a Teacher Librarian for 15 years.

Wendy Nicholas has taught in the HSIE Faculty for the past five years.

Neil Hinton has taught in the Industrial Arts Faculty for 10 years.

Leaving the Woy Woy Campus will be Lesley Minter, Marianne Baker and Graham Eagleton.

Lesley Minter has spent 36 years teaching English on the Peninsula.

Marianne Baker has been head teacher of home economics for the past 21 years.

Graham Eagleton has taught in the science faculty for six years.

"As the longest serving of our retirees, we asked Lesley Minter to reflect on her 36 years of teaching on the Peninsula," Ms McAlister said.

"Lesley began her teaching career at Woy Woy High School in 1970.

"She later transferred to Umina High School in 1983 and moved back to the Woy Woy Campus of the new Brisbane Water Secondary College in 2002.

"Lesley was also educated on the Peninsula.

"She was the second child to be enrolled at Umina Public School and later became captain of Umina Public School.

"She completed her high school education at Gosford High School where she was also elected school captain.

"Leslie and her husband Arthur have four daughters who were all educated at Woy Woy High School."

Ms Minter said that the introduction of the two-campus system with the formation of Brisbane Water Secondary College was the biggest change in education that had occurred during her career.

"This resulted in many changes in staffing and in the middle school." she said.

"It required a whole new way of delivering teaching and learning."

She said the biggest challenge in education was "to keep students fruitfully engaged in Years 11 and 12, to sustain students in the public system and to make education worthwhile and relevant for students, both academic and non-academic, in all years".

Press release, December 8 Pamela McAlister, Brisbane Water Secondary College