By Renee Wood
Coldstream Primary School principal Phillippa Adgemis has been honoured for her dedication to the Victorian Education Program for the past 40 years, receiving an award from the State Government for her contribution and dedication to students and families.
Ms Adgemis said it’s nice to be acknowledged and provides a time to reflect on the impact you’ve had over the years.
“You do reflect on the kids for whom you’ve made a difference and you multiply that by the amount of years you’ve been teaching, and then multiply that by the amount of people there and it’s fairly overwhelming how much impact teachers can have on the livelihoods and the lives of children,” Ms Adgemis said.
Ms Adgemis has been with the primary school since 2016 and said she has had many highlights over the years including topping last year’s NAPLAN and starting the early years’ service.
“The last year has been pretty special winning the early years award for our work on the education precinct here and getting that top NAPLAN score,” she said.
“Having some really great people to work with, who have a similar vision and a similar drive to make success for children not dependent on their postcodes.”
The school leader hasn’t always been in junior education, after first starting teaching at a secondary tech school.
“The people that mentored me when I first came into education were amazing and it’s amazing how good leadership allows you to really grow.”
Many of Ms Adgemis’ students have gone on to do great things.
Ms Adgemis said she has had some students reach out to thank her for the support during secondary years.
One famed student who many will be familiar with is Chris Hemsworth and his brothers who learnt at Heathmont College.
“There’s those lovely successes and people that come back and say you made a difference to me and that’s great.”
During her time, Ms Adgemis has also provided consulting and launched a program called Innovation and Excellence which was based at Lilydale High School with seven primary schools.
“We were looking at middle years engagement, why is it that that students kind of go off the boil from about you five through the year nine,” she said.
This program is what led the principal to primary school.
Ms Adgemis said now working in primary, the support provided is both on the student but also on families as a whole.
“Working with primary you can work longitudinally with the families and make a difference in families.
“You know that you’ve changed the trajectory of their lives because you’ve worked with the family because you put supports in for kids.”
In 2013, Ms Adgemis was also awarded Wellbeing Teacher of The Year, believing looking at a child and education holistic as a strong approach.
“It’s about children and how good they feel about themselves and it’s when they come back and say to you, ‘you made a difference… it was hard, but you made a difference and now I can do things’.”
