Principal Focus: Bernadette Fabri ‘No two days the same’
Last year St Patrick’s Primary Parramatta Principal Bernadette Fabri was presented with a compendium to honour her 40-year IEU membership. She was also recently featured in the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH).
In the article of 28 May, Fabri explains that the variety of her job, with no two days the same, is one of the things she finds most satisfying about the role.
“There are so many aspects to the role, from administrative tasks to watching children learn and achieve,” she said.
In her ninth year as a principal, Fabri said she didn’t aspire to principalship at the beginning of her career, but over time “you recognise your ability and desire to make a difference in the lives of a community and become confident to give it a go”.
“There are many aspects of the job I love but the most satisfying is watching children and staff grow and flourish and increase their confidence and skills. They contribute to the school in the most extraordinary ways that far exceed what one can do alone.
“Without doubt, having to lead a school during a pandemic was the most unexpected thing I had to do, never in a million years did I see that coming,” she told the SMH.
Fabri described how she had to adapt quickly to online learning, with principals experiencing “decision fatigue”.
“Leading a school requires a positive and hopeful attitude and an understanding that success is best achieved when people feel valued and supported to contribute in their own ways.
“The satisfaction gained from teaching is indescribable.” she said.
Read more from our June 2022 edition of Headlines: