General News
10 June, 2021
Greg Button announces retirement
THE last seven years at Terang College will be among Greg Button’s most cherished experiences after the school principal calls time on his lengthy career later this month.
THE last seven years at Terang College will be among Greg Button’s most cherished experiences after the school principal calls time on his lengthy career later this month.
Mr Button said serving with a P-12 college had influenced his decision to join Terang College seven years ago.
“I had done a range of acting principal positions in P-12 and the concept of being able to look at the students grow from prep to the whole way through is a great thing,” he said.
“I’ve seen kids who have come through the junior campus to here and are finishing Year 12, which I think is a good thing for education.”
While that was enough to see the principal make the move to Terang, it was the qualities local students possess which kept him here.
“I would probably say this has been one of the highlights of my teaching career, and I’ve been teaching for a long time,” MrButton said.
“It’s great to be able to come to school every day and have kids say hello when they walk through the door, and genuinely say hello and ask how you’re doing.
“That’s been a real highlight here. The kids here are excellent and among the most respectful I have been around.
“They all really want to have a crack and are self-motivated. Our VCE kids have done exceptionally well over the years with scores in the 90s for probably six of the seven years I have been here.”
Mr Button said he felt he was leaving the college in a strong position to ensure the future success of students, notably when Hampden Specialist School and the P-4 College join the senior campus over the coming years thanks to more than $11.8 million in State Government funding.
“We’ve been in a good position for a while now and we’ve done exceptionally well with some upgrades in some of the buildings,”he said.
“It will be nice to see the whole school together on one campus. It puts Hampden Specialist School here too and opens a range of interaction between their students andour students.
“It also sets up a good education hub for Terang in the future.”
Mr Button thanked fellow Terang College staff members and Corangamite Shire councillors for their dedication in seeing the redevelopment come to fruition.
“It has been a drawn out process but it is one of those things which has set the school up to keep moving forward towards improvement,” he said.
“We’ve been in a fairly major process to improve student learning outcomes since before the COVID-19 pandemic which has slowed some of that down but we’ve got a very good team across the board who are working exceptionally well as a team to make sure our kids are getting the best possible outcomethey can.”
Mr Button said he was looking forward to some fishing and travelling in a campervan in retirement but acknowledged he may be on the hook for some babysitting duties with twin granddaughters recently arriving.
He said his family had remained in Gippsland during his stint with Terang College but the difficulty of being separate from them was alleviated due to the closeness of the community.
He has made connections through a social membership with the Terang and Mortlake Football Netball Club and volunteering with the Terang Country Fire Authority brigade.
But after seven years, Mr Button is looking forward to some quality time with his family.
“My time here has been exceptional; I’m certainly not leaving for any other reason than I have been away from my family for the past seven years,” he said.
“I have two brand new granddaughters, so I think it’s just time and I am ready to go.”
