By NATALIE GALLENTI-BREKALO
A MELTON teaching stalwart has bid a fond farewell to her role as principal and is looking forward to the next chapter in her life.
Kurunjang Primary School principal Heather Guillot hung up her boots last week after 40 years’ service to the teaching industry, and admitted she will miss her “school family”. However, she is pleased with what she has achieved in the past four decades.
And Ms Guillot has a long list of accolades to be proud of, but it is the relationships she has forged with families that are her greatest achievements.
“One of the biggest joys is seeing people down the street that you know or have taught and you hear what they are doing now,” Ms Guillot told Star.
“Teaching is a very satisfying and enriching experience … you are a tiny part of that child’s life.”
Ms Guillot began her teaching career at Melton West Primary School, where she worked from 1978 to 1982 and then moved to Melton South Primary School in 1988, where she became the first female government primary school principal in Melton.
In 2000, she took up the principal position at Kurunjang Primary School and never looked back.
“I have watched Melton grow from 15,000 people, unmade roads, no library, a ballot system for kinders, to the thriving city that it is now.
“The city of Melton has always been very supportive of education and families, and I have students at Kurunjang whose parents I have taught from three different Melton schools.
“I enjoy seeing previous students, hearing how they and their families are progressing with the great satisfaction in knowing I have been a part of their growth as young people and adults.”
Now Ms Guillot is looking forward to travelling with her husband and giving back to the community that she loves dearly through a number of volunteer roles.
“I’m looking forward to new adventures … I’m not going to miss going to work, but I will miss the people and the contacts.
“I’ve had lots of good things happen to me and now it’s time to give back.”
