HIGHLY regarded Bass Coast College principal Darren Parker recently announced his retirement at the beginning of term two.
He was given a wonderful send-off – organised by Marg O’Donnell – which was attended by past and present staff.
“I was given a nice farewell, and it was really humbling,” Mr Parker said.
“I had the opportunity to work with some of the best, and it was wonderful to see people from years ago – the people who influenced me – as well as some of our new staff. I was blown away. I didn’t know what to expect and it was lovely.”
Mr Parker arrived in Wonthaggi to teach maths and science at the Tech School in 1988.
Although he didn’t know it at the time, this would be a life-changing decision, as he went on to settle down in Wonthaggi, raise a family and give more than 30 years of dedication to the school.
“It’s been an amazing place to work. I taught for around 15 years and was a principal for around 20 years,” he said.
“I was lucky enough to work with juniors and seniors. I got to do a range of jobs – I was a coordinator at different levels and a timetabler – and I was always pretty pleased I was someone who got to work with everyone.”
Originally from Melbourne and studying at Melbourne Uni, Mr Parker said his arrival in Wonthaggi was all by chance.
“Funnily enough, it was a little bit of luck. I was living in Melbourne, and Wonthaggi was in a group of schools with places like Berwick and Cranbourne,” he said.
“I adjusted easily to life in Wonthaggi, made good friends, got to raise a fantastic family and I’ve always been surrounded by good people.”
“I’m blessed that it has turned out so well after rolling the dice all those years ago. I got a phone call one morning saying, ‘We’ve got a job in Wonthaggi, do you want it?’ The timing was perfect for a change.”
“It was a life-changing job and I’m proud of it. I’m proud of what the school has done over all these years, and I feel lucky to have been part of it.”
“I came down here thinking I’d be here a year or two, and here I am nearly 38 years later saying: ‘Thanks everyone, I’ve had a wonderful time’.”
Mr Parker was inspired to enter the teaching profession by his own love of school.
“I liked the idea of the structure and a job with some purpose,” he said.
A highlight of his career was the introduction of the VCAL – now known as Vocational Major – program at the school.
“It was around the time they were working out that VCE wasn’t necessarily the be-all and end-all for everyone. It was actually good to have a more hands-on focus, so these kids got to go work and go to school, and it was so much better. I was pretty pleased we were onto that early,” he said.
Mr Parker said it was also pleasing to be in the principal role as the new campuses were built.
“You sort of just do these things at the time, but you look back and realise how much we’ve all done. It’s terrific,” he said.
“It was an era where we had all new buildings and all new staff. There were challenges, but the way people dug in over COVID was pretty special.
“I was lucky to be the one in charge when so much was going on.”
Mr Parker said he was blessed to be the college principal and a part of a fantastic community.
“It was challenging – the challenging part is the organisation is so big now. You’ve really got to make sure you have lots of people on the team in terms of connection,” he said.
“The kids are the best bit. During that busy period, I felt like I spent more time on the organisation rather than seeing all the kids as much as I would like, but I knew it was helping them.
“The good thing about being a bigger school is how much we are able to offer and how much we are able to do.”
Mr Parker said as the community continues to grow, so too does the school.
The school is heading towards 1600 students across its campuses, with the new senior campus at capacity within a year of its build.
Mr Parker said he was proud to see the move to the new senior campus in McKenzie Street take place.
“The McBride campus was out of date. I love the history of the school, but it wasn’t good for modern learning. It really needed so much more maintenance than could be reasonably accommodated and the piece of land itself was way too small for the number of kids we have,” he said.
Mr Parker has enjoyed seeing students thrive year after year and seeing a number of them come full circle by joining the staff.
Now he is preparing for the next chapter, which is set to include a bit of travelling, grandparenting and relearning how to play golf.
“I would just like to say thank you to everyone,” Mr Parker said.
“I feel we are in an amazing area, and we were able to do some awesome stuff. We are really well set up for a fantastic future.
“I think our community is pretty special.”