Darlington PSEverythingHumans ofSchool lifeSchool News
Humans of Darlo: Michelle the Principal
By Charlie, Esme and Evie
Michelle McCormack has been working at Darlington PS since 2006. Read more about her in this exclusive interview with Press Gang reporters, Charlie, Esmee and Evie.
Press Gang: What inspired you to join the teaching industry?
Michelle: When I was in year 4, I had a teacher called Ms Murphy, who was a fantastic teacher. One day I was sitting in the back of my mum’s car and I looked out the window and I thought, ‘I really want to be a teacher like Ms Murphy,’ and I never changed my mind. So I guess when I was about nine I knew I wanted to be a teacher.
Press Gang: how long have you been teaching and when did you start working at this school?
Michelle: I finished school when I was 17. I finished year 12, and the very next year when I turned 18, I went to university and I did my teaching degree. Then I went overseas for a couple of years and I taught in summer camp and I worked in a preschool in Scotland and a few other different jobs, teaching swimming, and things like that.
When I came back to Australia I started doing some work in a country school and I did a couple of years there, and I actually taught in the High School there for a little while. Then I moved to Sydney and I taught at a North Shore school for a while and then I moved to Darlington.
And I am still here, so if you can work out the maths that’s a bit over 25 years as a teacher.
Press Gang: Do you think this is the best school you’ve taught in?
Michelle: It is absolutely, without a doubt, the very best school I’ve ever worked at. Definitely the very best kids.
Press Gang: Can you tell us the craziest thing that’s happened to you at Darlo?
Michelle: There are a lot of crazy things that have happened! We once had a jumping castle in the school hall because it was raining outside!
Press Gang: Do you think Pemulwuy is the best house?
Michelle: Of course Pemulwuy is the best house, that’s why I’ve still got that here [points to trophy]. If that goes to another house I’m going to have to put it in the cupboard.
I’m just kidding it doesn’t, but Pemulwuy is definitely the best house. You know why I think that though? It’s because we went so many years where everyone tried so hard and we never won and now we’re having a little bit of success, a little bit of victory and it’s nice.
Press Gang: How many years have you been working at this school?
Michelle: I first came to Darlington in 2006 and I remember that because I was then pregnant with my first son, who’s now just turned 17.
It wasn’t a new school, in fact it was a school that leaked a lot that was cold and didn’t have air conditioning and the heaters were not great so when it was windy it was freezing and when it was hot, it was so hot inside the classrooms. And now we’ve got this beautiful brand new school, we’re so lucky.
Press Gang: Have you had any life-changing experiences?
Michelle: There have been lots of different life-changing things. Having my three sons, Tom, Gus and Finn, was absolutely, amazingly, life changing.
Another thing is travel. It happens every time I do it. I might be in Australia, I might be overseas but when you travel you’re meeting different people, you’re experiencing a whole different way of living and it always does change you. You appreciate where you come from.
Last year, when I went overseas, I loved it, but I certainly appreciated being able to come back to work in Darlington and come back to live in Sydney. I loved seeing people from different countries and learning about their experiences. So I think that travel is definitely one of those life-changing things for everybody.
Press Gang: Have you had any life-changing things that were bad/depressing/sad for you?
Michelle: I recently went to a conference and I heard a lady called Jill Hicks talk. She’s an Australian woman, who was living in London and got caught up in a terrorist bombing years ago. She lost both of her legs, but she has prosthetic legs now, so she can walk.
I think that if something like that happens to somebody, it would make you sad and upset and depressed. I’m sure she went through a lot of that, but in the end, she came out the other side and she’s looking at the positive side. She’s helping other people that have been through similar situations.
It really made me stop and think, ‘oh my goodness,’ she’s had all this horrible stuff happen to her, but for her to be able to so positive and then turn that experience into helping other people? I thought that was pretty inspirational, pretty life changing. Jill Hicks is a fantastic woman and absolutely inspirational.
