General News
1 February, 2023
St Colman’s welcomes new principal
JANET Cain felt it was time to take the next step as she signed on as St Colman’s Primary School principal after decades working in the region.
JANET Cain felt it was time to take the next step as she signed on as St Colman’s Primary School principal after decades working in the region.
Ms Cain was welcomed to the school this week, taking over from outgoing principal Stacey Atkins.
“I’ve been teaching in this area with the Hampden schools network, so I worked for 25 years at St Patrick’s Primary School in Camperdown and then spent three years at St Thomas’ Primary School in Terang,” she said.
“I’ve had leadership roles with each of those schools, so when this opportunity came up I thought it was time to put my hat in the ring and take the next step.”
Ms Cain said she felt “very lucky” to have the opportunity to get her start at a smaller, tight-knit school.
“Everyone at St Colman’s is switched on to what they’re doing, so I’ve been rolling with the punches and continuing on with what has already been built. The school certainly has some good practices in place.
”The staff are dedicated and prioritise the children, and because it’s a small school the kids all play together in the yard.
“It’s such a nice, connected feeling between all the students, from prep all the way through grade six.
“This is the smallest school I’ve worked at as St Patrick’s was as high as 350, St Thomas’ had around 120 and now I’m down to just under 50.”
Ms Cain said her focus for the year would be on improving literacy practices.
“We’ll be bringing in a structured literacy approach which is going to solidify what we do from prep through to grade six,” she said.
“It will be a big push throughout the school, lifting our literacy data.
“Our other focus at St Colman’s is community engagement.
“We want to get the parents back at the school and involved in terms of not only helping out at barbecues but really being involved in their children’s education, knowing what they’re learning and how to support it at home.”
Ms Cain said she had enjoyed meeting some of the parents in the school community and welcomed the opportunity to meet with anyone.
“I’m very open to meeting parents and finding out what makes the school community tick, and what they want from me as principal,” she said.