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Congratulations on 40 years of Teaching

This year Gavan Kelly, our Teacher Librarian at Cedar Campus, celebrates 40 years of teaching. What an outstanding achievement!

Antonine College is very grateful for Gavan’s skills and expertise which he continues to share with students and staff. We wish him all the best for the future.

See below a tribute to Gavan Kelly, written by Christina Staunton-Burke, our Staff Faith Formation Leader

- Ms Joanne Bacash

Tribute to Gavan Kelly

On behalf of our Antonine College Principal, Joanne Bacash, the Antonine Sisters and the Antonine College Community, it is my pleasure to congratulate and pay tribute to Gavan Kelly as he marks 40 years as a teacher. Today we acknowledge such an important milestone and admire and celebrate his dedication, loyalty and longevity of service to Catholic education.

Gavan’s teaching journey began in a small country school 15kms from Colac in the Diocese of Ballarat where he quickly learned the distinctive role that the teacher in a Catholic school has in educating young people of faith and service in their community.

After his initial appointment as Grade 4/5 teacher at St Brendan’s Catholic Primary School, Coragulac, Gavan pursued his love of travel.

During his teaching career he has gained extensive experience teaching students from a variety of cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds in Casurina, Northern Territory, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam before returning to Victoria to take up an appointment as Teacher Librarian at Holy Eucharist School, St Albans.

We have been blessed to have Gavan with us in the Cedar Campus Library for the past 16 years and under his supervision, it has transformed into a colourful and vibrant learning space with first class resources.

You only need to visit the library at Cedar when he reads to the students or witness the annual colourful and dynamic Book Week Character Parade in the Atrium to realise that books are his passion. The library is the hub of learning for our students who enjoy participating in literature and technology activities in their library lessons as well as annual events such as National Simultaneous Storytime, Read More in May Challenge, the Scholastic Book Fairs, the Great Book Swap and Book Week.

Gavan goes all out to celebrate Book Week with the Meerkat Productions incursion and the much-anticipated Book Character Parade as major highlights. It is highly fitting that the theme for 2024 is Reading Is Magic, a theme that is close to Gavan’s heart.

During the past four decades Gavan has taken on many roles to serve the school and the community and has consistently worked to improve his professional learning and engage professionally with colleagues, parents and the community which has certainly been evident at Antonine College.

Thank you, Gavan for the vital role you play in educating, forming and inspiring our students, for being a guiding light in fostering a love for books with our students.

We also thank you for the funds you have raised over the years to purchase books for the library through the commission made from profits of the Scholastic Book Fairs as well as hosting the Great Book Swap to raise funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

Congratulations on your 40 years of service to Catholic Education!

- Ms Christina Staunton-Burke