Sandra Tuck, Margaret (Lil) South, Karen Plocki and Mark Mathiesen at the NSW Department of Education’s Service Recognition Dinner at Parliament House. Photo: Department of Education.
Not many people are lucky enough to find the career they love — let alone have that career span half a century.
Four Illawarra-South Coast teachers were honoured for their dedication to public education at the third NSW Department of Education Service Recognition Dinner.
Karen Plocki of Sunshine Bay Public School, Sandra Tuck of Dapto High School, Mark Mathiesen of Kiama High and Margaret (Lil) South of Bulli High were recognised among the most committed and hard-working education staff in the state at the NSW Parliament House function.
All those recognised had served a minimum of 50 years with the department.
Karen Plocki’s career began in south-west Sydney, and she never expected it to take her to the coast.
From Sydney she went to Nowra East, then Batemans Bay, Moruya and Sunshine Bay, where she taught for 30 years.
“Landing in this district was just a godsend,” she said.
“I’ve had the joy of being able to work side-by-side with some extraordinarily talented and dedicated people.
“That has always been a highlight for me.”
Both of Karen’s daughters attended the school, although she took care to avoid teaching their classes.
“I was very conscious of not putting that pressure on them — or on me,” she said.
“Sunshine Bay offered a wealth of opportunity, and I was delighted to have my children there.”
Karen said in the early years it was common to have parents in the classroom in a hands-on capacity every day, and nurturing the relationships between school and home was a particularly cherished part of her role.
Now she has taught up to three generations of some families and said she continues to feel rewarded by the connections she has built over the years.
“I love going down to Woolies or Coles and hearing, ‘Hello, Mrs Plocki,”’ she said.
“It’s delightful — I love to see the recognition on their faces, and they often share little anecdotes.
“It’s lovely they have fond memories and will share different highlights.”
She encouraged new teachers to take advantage of all the supports they can get.
In return, they just might score a career as varied and satisfying as hers has been.
“I’ve been incredibly lucky to have slipped into such a fabulous career,” she said.
“It was very humbling to be recognised. I thought they’d made a mistake — I had to pinch myself when they said it had been 50 years.”
Premier Chris Minns attended the recognition dinner, and said it was impossible not to feel humbled by the passion and dedication on display in the room.
Sandra Tuck has taught for a total of 51 years, 10 months and 29 days, with all but 10 of those days spent at Dapto High School.
“It’s a tremendous school,” Sandra said.
“The kids are fabulous, and the staff have been so supportive right from the top down, which is so important in a school, and it’s a real community.”
Her own great experiences at school in the Illawarra inspired her to become a primary teacher, but at the last second she switched to pursue a career in high school mathematics.
She started her teaching career in January 1969 at Wollongong High School, but after less than a fortnight was transferred to Dapto High, where she spent the next half-century.
“I just loved it,” Sandra said.
“I never wanted to be a head teacher, I just wanted to be in the classroom because that’s what I enjoyed most.”
Sandra retired from full-time work in 2009, but didn’t stay still for long, quickly returning to the school when another teacher went on leave, then continuing with casual work and job sharing for another 16 years.
While she doesn’t have just one moment that stands out most from her career, a highlight was watching the kids become incredible young adults.
“Just to see them grow from Year 7 to Year 12, grow into these pretty amazing people,” Sandra said.
“And some of which went on to create future generations of learners at Dapto High.
“I’ve actually taught the grandchildren of some of the kids that I taught.”
Original Article published by Zoe Cartwright on Region Illawarra.
