It is with mixed emotions that I bid farewell to John McGlashan College after 6.5 years.
My family and I are off to live in Singapore and I will be taking on a leadership role at Stamford American International School (SAIS) for the next two years at least. Whilst we are thrilled to be taking our two youngest children on this exciting adventure, we know we will miss JMC hugely. The heart and soul of this place is absolutely the dedicated staff, fantastic students and our engaged and supportive parent community.
It has been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to teach junior and senior NCEA English and IB English here in such a high functioning, dynamic department. The team of professionals we are lucky to have at the College give so much to the boys, all day every day, both pedagogically and pastorally. It is so important to value their skills, heart and passion for the students and their respective subjects. Our staff room is a happy and supportive place to be. I’ve loved my role as Specialist Classroom Teacher, helping mentor and guide my peers to be the best version of themselves they can be as professionals for high quality outcomes for every boy.
A few highlights of my time here over the years that come to mind include; dancing in front of the whole school with the wellbeing committee to a compilation of disco and pop hits, co-producing the new wellness hub on the JMC website to better educate the students and parents about the issues teens are grappling with today, early morning runs before breakfast with the boys at Te Anau Year 13 leadership camps, running and supporting the Chess teams at tournaments, and hosting a successful New Zealand Association of English Teachers National Conference on our beautiful campus. But it is really the day to day enjoyment of the classroom and interacting with the boys that gave me so much joy. We are a small, but perfectly formed, school and getting to know the boys and providing challenges for them to figure out their interests and strengths, or, conversely, to dig through the tough lessons to realise their potential, is a joy.
On behalf of Kyle (ex-BOT Chair), myself and our son Charlie (Year 11) - we bid you all a fond farewell, best wishes and a huge thank you. We will carry the College with us forever.
Ella Murdoch
English Teacher
Specialist Classroom Teacher
TIC Chess
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