IN 43 years of service with Catholic education, Presentation Sister Rosemary Haley’s passion for teaching children has never diminished.
Sr Haley began teaching at Norman Park, Brisbane in 1962 and transferred from one school to another, until she retired from her position at Queen of Apostles Primary School, Stafford at the end of last year.
She was among more than 45 retiring employees who have worked with Brisbane Catholic Education for 20 years or more, and who were honoured on March 10 at the O’Shea Centre, Wilston.
Sr Haley taught in schools across Brisbane archdiocese, Toowoomba and as far west as Longreach.
She said her time in Longreach was particularly rewarding, even though she remembers the heat was a terrible challenge at first.
She would sometimes work all week and then travel several hours to Aramac and Muttaburra on weekends to teach religion.
After returning to Brisbane, where she spent the next 10 years as religious co-ordinator and then assistant principal for religious education, as well as teaching early childhood years, Sr Haley felt she needed a break.
“A lot of people would say that those grades and religion don’t really go together, and I got to the stage where I felt that I was giving so much to the overall school that I couldn’t give it to my classes,” she said.
After taking a break for her silver jubilee and completing further studies at Castle Hill in Sydney, Sr Haley was offered a position at Queen of Apostles School, Stafford.
It was to be the first school at which she would spend more than four years.
“I always thought it took me about the four years to get established somewhere and then I’d have to move on, so it was lovely being in the one place,” she said.
She spent 14 years in total at Stafford.
Now she has retired, Sr Haley is volunteering her services as a teacher’s aide.
