It was only 20 years ago that prep teacher Georgia Gattuso was small enough to be sitting at these desks.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Just 20 years ago, Georgia Gattuso was the one sitting in the classroom.
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Now, she’s sitting at the teacher’s desk, teaching Preps for the second year at St Mary’s School in Mooroopna.
She said her old primary school always felt like home to her, making it natural for her to come back.
“It was hard to adjust at the start, working with teachers that I had that were here,” she said.
“Like, you know, you’re so used to calling them Mrs Griffin or Mr Butts, so getting on a first-name basis was tricky, but yeah, it brings back a lot of memories of where I was 20 years ago.”
Miss Gattuso always knew this was the place she wanted to work, making it easy to email her old principal to see what opportunities were available to her.
“I emailed Anthony (Butts) my resume and said I’d be interested in some work, so I started off just casually, and then I got put on to a full-time position as a learning support officer,” she said.
“He trusted me to come into the classroom alongside my mentor, Kym (Cox).
“It’s been so nice to feel valued to come back and teach these kids.”
Georgia Gattuso says she loves shaping young minds.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Miss Gattuso is still studying to become a teacher, but during her third year she was given the opportunity to apply for permission to teach, which allows university students to have a provisional teaching licence while still studying.
“When I was able to apply for the permission to teach, Anthony helped me get the access to it,” she said.
“So we talked about what it would entail and how his support and Kym’s support would help, and then (we went through) the same process with (the new principal) Elaine (Vertriest) this year, and she helped me get it again.”
Miss Gattuso is currently in her fourth and final year of studying teaching at La Trobe University in Shepparton, and said she loved inspiring the youngest members of the St Mary’s community.
“The massive growth they (her students) have from the start of the year to the end of the year, it’s just amazing,” she said.
“I don’t think I could see myself teaching another grade yet.”
While she’s tried to explain to her students that she was right where they were 20 years ago, she says they’re still a bit too young to grasp the concept.
“I told them I went to this school, and they think that’s pretty amazing,” Miss Gattuso said.
“Looking back on it and seeing myself here, obviously the uniform’s changed now, but yeah, to think that I was at school 20 years ago, it seems like such a long time ago, but it doesn’t in your mind.
“You still remember your first couple of years at school and how influential your teachers were.
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