Health insurance company Teachers Health (THF) celebrated the hard work and dedication of our school leaders on Principal’s Day on Friday, with Chris Egan one of the many who have led their schools through the challenges of the last year.
Having been a principal for 10 years and presently at the helm of Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School in Beverly Hills, he says that along with health professionals, teachers are the real champions deserving our praise during the pandemic.
“It has been very tiring for teachers to provide learning remotely and they have very much missed teaching their students at school,” he said.
“They have assumed significant responsibility for the learning and well-being of their students and have done this with a positive ‘can do’ attitude.
“Covid impacts on all of us in different ways and teachers are balancing their work with a multitude of pressures in their private lives including supporting their own children doing home learning.”
Working longer hours now, Mr Egan has been finding it hard to ‘switch off’.
“You find yourself thinking about your students, staff and parents all the time,” he said.
“I have prioritised trying to get some daily exercise and relaxing at night; my beloved Sharks football team has not been a source of consistent joy but I have loved watching Aussie Olympians excel at Tokyo.”
Mr Egan says he wishes the community knew how hard principals and teachers worked for their students, giving the profession the respect that it rightly deserves.
“Apart from providing healthcare, there is nothing more important than giving a child the gift of education and opening up the doors of opportunity for them later in life,” he said.
