I began teaching in in February 2001. It is a rural school and had 3 teachers at that time and we gained
another teacher in 2004. I became principal in September 2009. The first few years were busy but not too stressful.
∙ Policies were created and ratified.
∙ I applied and got the free insulation for the school.
∙ We replaced all doors and windows under the summer works scheme.
∙ A new soft play area was created for the infants.
∙ More parking spaces were created outside the school.
∙ Refurbished computers were bought for use by the pupils.
∙ A full set of graded readers were fundraised for and bought to improve literacy standards.
∙ The school prefab was replaced with a permanent build and we also got additional funding to build a LS room and a staffroom.
∙ We had money left over from the building the extension so we plastered the school, replaced the facia and soffit put in a concrete yard to replace the yard that the extension was built on.
However the workload slowly increased and then there were issues with 3 different staff members and that made life very stressful.
I found a lump in my breast on 30th December 2016 and was diagnosed with breast cancer on 19th January 2017. I had my first surgery on 8th February and had to have another surgery on 8th March as the surgeon left precancerous cell behind. I had 20 sessions of radiotherapy and luckily had no fatigue or skin complaints. I finished my treatment on 14th June and was back in school on 16th June. Granted I was only in the office and had a sub in my classroom while I was admin leave to sort out report cards and all the usual end of year work.
I was sitting at the kitchen table one day in February or March when I said to my husband that I didn’t
realised how stressed I was until I went out on sick leave. I was more relaxed and less stressed dealing with my cancer than I was at work. He replied that I was a hell of a lot easier to live with since I got sick even though he didn’t like being around sick people.
I was dreading going back to work and even spoke to the INTO about stepping down on health grounds, I have a hormone driven cancer and I have no doubt that it was the stress of the job that caused my cancer. My prayers were answered when a teacher resigned her job to take a position nearer to her home and I officially stepped down on 18th October 2017. It was the best decision I ever made.
One of my biggest regrets is the effect the job had on my family. I was often moody, cranky and tired, but it was youngest daughter who suffered most.