By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Husband and wife, principal and assistant principal.
For nearly four decades, Cranbourne couple Kevin and Jenny Mackay have acted for the better as leaders at Dandenong North Primary School.
One of them is the enduring tradition of Ms Mackay hand-making birthday cards for each of the 200 Year 1 and Year 2 students.
The assistant principal started giving out the cards when she noticed some children didn’t know or celebrate their birthdays.
Students now start telling her in advance it’s their birthday, and what they want on their card.
“It’s a big deal. They really love it,” she says.
“Everyone needs to be acknowledged at least one day a year.”
Her husband and principal Kevin says it goes to how much the school’s team cares.
Next term, the couple will face their own special day – their last day at the school that they have served for such an extraordinary time.
Mr and Ms Mackay have been there for 39 years and 36 years respectively.
All up, their teaching careers have spanned 60 years and 45 years.
On 4 October, they will mark their retirement with a massive ‘general assembly’ at Dandenong High School hall.
Mr Mackay OAM said it would be the first assembly since the Covid pandemic’s start.
“It’s been an enormous part, where I get to teach all the kids for half an hour. We’ve missed that, so it will be good to have a last one.
“It’s going to be hard to avoid tears.”
In their time, the school has built an enviable reputation to bringing out the best in kids from more than 50 diverse backgrounds.
Its cutting-edge programs have been documented in award-winning films.
What makes the school special is its “warmth”, Ms Mackay says. The school ensures the families get what they need – whether it’s food parcels or writing to government agencies on their behalf.
“And that kids know that you like them. You have staff here that care about them – they’ll ask the kids to ‘tell me more’. They go that extra mile.
“I think all the Dandenong schools do a terrific job at that.”
While deputy principal at Clayton Primary School in the 1980’s, Mr Mackay met a first-year teacher Jenny.
They of course later married, and were to follow each other to Dandenong North Primary School.
Alarm bells rang for the newly-appointed principal Mr Mackay when his wife was appointed to join the school.
Mr Mackay worried about how to handle the potential conflicts of interest and staff disharmony.
“We made it work,” he said. “And thank God she was appointed here.
“My job is to get the best teachers I possibly can to work with the children. Jenny is one of the best teachers I’ve met.
“As the school became more complex over many years, Jenny’s experience has helped address the complexities.
“From the synergies of effort you get more bang for your buck than just two people. We’re more like two-and-a-half.”
Meanwhile, Ms Mackay describes the principal as an “incredibly creative and lateral thinker” who will always look for a better way of doing things.
“I’ve never seen him get angry.
“He’s a very kind person. He’s always somebody who puts himself in someone else’s shoes.
“He takes being a public servant very seriously. It’s strongly instilled in him that we’re here to serve, to make people’s lives easier.”
The best way of resolving any ‘conflict of interest’ was being focused on what was best for the students.
“You overhear staff saying the same thing – what’s the best for the kids rather than what’s in it for you. That’s been a huge change in the last 20 years at the school,” Ms Mackay says.
“If everyone has that mindset then there’s no conflict.”
The couple make a rule not to bring work home. On their drive to school from their Cranbourne home, they don’t talk shop until they reach a certain gum tree.
On the return home, that same gum tree marks the end of school talk.
“If you can’t work with your partner, what’s going on in the relationship?” Ms Mackay says.
Their departure will largely coincide with the near-realisation of Mr Mackay’s long ambition to rebuild the school.
After several delays, the “final piece of the puzzle” of gymnasium, music room and canteen is now under construction.
“We were hoping to hold off our retirements until the hall was completed,” Mr Mackay says.
“But we’ll be going in the knowledge that we’ve left the school in a really good position as a modernised and fit-for-purpose establishment.
“I’m not getting any younger and the work is getting more demanding. The workload is huge and getting greater.
“I’ve found myself looking at screens all day long rather than talking to students and teachers.
“I got into school teaching to work with people not to stare at panes of glass.”
Meanwhile, for assistant principal Ms Mackay, the job had become a double-edged sword.
“I love the job, the work and the community – but it’s so hard, I’m so tired.”
Post-retirement, Mr Mackay says the couple will finally travel in their under-used campervan. He still hopes to work as relief teacher.
“We don’t stop because of a number on a calendar.”
Ms Mackay says there’ll be more time for friends and family. She will still be making the birthday cards behind the scenes, allowing others to hand them out and continue the tradition.
“We’re leaving the school but we’re not leaving the community.”
