This will be my last contribution to Vortex as I have decided that after 20 years at St Edmund’s it is time to explore new environments before it is too late! I have accepted a position at Merici College, starting at the beginning of Term 3.
In looking back, I also want to look forward as I imagine how things might be in the future in the area of Mathematics.
The Mathematics faculty always looks for ways to improve how we educate our students. I am very glad that the College has a Leadership Team that encourages innovation from the bottom-up. Accordingly, in Mathematics we have been able to tailor the curriculum in Years 7 to 10 to meet the needs of individual pupils through accelerated classes, programs for strugglers and offering support for the students in the middle through tutoring. To my knowledge, no other school in Canberra differentiates the curriculum quite the way we do. In developing these programs, it has been vital to have the support of Leadership as well as key players such as Emma Ramke, Lisa Millar and the whole Maths Faculty who have taken on these new programs professionally, enthusiastically and certainly without complaint. I hope that the College will continue with these programs, although I hope even more that it is able to find other innovative programs that meet the very diverse needs of our boys.
I will certainly miss St Edmund’s. The support and teaching staff are first rate: I wish you could all see how close we are as colleagues and united in our desire to do the best for your boys. The parents have also been wonderful. As Maree Ford, formerly of the Studies Office used to say. “there’s nothing we can’t sort out” and that has invariably been true due to the goodwill of parents. And of course the boys … simply thank you for everything.
Ed Mickleburgh
Head of Mathematics