Slemish says farewell to Shirley

Throughout her 14 years at the College, the Learning Support teacher has been instrumental in developing the now flourishing Learning Support Department. Thanks to her expertise in Special Educational Needs many children have been accurately diagnosed and subsequently helped to fulfil their potential.

“When I first came, the school was tiny and the oldest children were just going into year 10. It’s amazing to see the expansion and sheer size of the school now.” said Shirley.

“I think we only had one or two computers and it’s just a different world now in terms of how IT is a part of every lesson. I was originally employed for 12 hours per week to support three students. This gradually increased to full time in order to assist with teaching Literacy and Numeracy across the school. In recent years I have also been the Link Officer working with the NRC to support our students as they undertook the Occupational Studies programme.”

Reflecting back over the years, Shirley recalls many happy memories, including special events such as the official opening of the school in 1999 and the 10 year anniversary. However, it is the time spent supporting students with Special Needs in her classroom that Shirley cherishes the most.

Whilst she will miss teaching, Shirley is looking forward to her retirement.

She said: “It will be lovely to spend more time with family and friends and I’ve always wanted to learn more about photography. My husband Ken and I love holidaying and it will be great to be able to take some beautiful pictures of the places we visit, especially now we have more time to travel”.

She added: “Slemish is a unique place to work because of the creativity of the staff and the innovative approaches taken to develop our young people. I have built up such close relationships with my colleagues. Our lunchtimes were never dull and we shared so many laughs together. Our Learning Support Meetings always had full attendance no doubt because they were preceded by cheese and biscuits and we were fortunate enough to have a few great bakers in our ranks.The girls were just lovely and it will take some time to adjust to a quieter coffee break.”

On behalf of the College, Principal Dr Paul McHugh thanked Shirley for her tremendous commitment and wished her and her husband Ken many happy years in retirement together.