From handwritten reports and manual copiers to centralised systems and computers, Angela Clark has watched Young High School transform over the years.
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On Tuesday the school administration manager celebrated 40 years on the job.
Angela was 29 years old when she began working as a school assistant in 1975, supporting teachers in the classroom.
By 1988 she was promoted to school administration manager, a position she’s filled for the last 27 years.
“Over that time I’ve worked in most areas of the school,” Angela said.
“I look after the finances…the budgets, I’m part of the finance committee who do the annual financial reporting in conjunction with the principal...and I oversee the school assistants.
“I’ve worked under six principals, soon to be seven.”
Not believing in taking a day off for no reason, Angela has 316 days of untaken sick leave in the bank.
She’s witnessed important projects at the school such as the installation of the all-weather shelter, Aboriginal garden, community kitchen and upgrades to the canteen in 2013.
But she said the biggest changes for her have been technology.
“We used to hand-write all the reports, then we went to typewriters and employed a pool of casuals,” Angela said.
“Now it’s all centralised reporting.
“And we had manual copiers, we had to ink it up - we put ink all over it and ourselves,” she laughed.
She also said mobile phones and social media have had a big impact on the school.
Her highlights include the many social in-school functions back in the day between all teaching departments and the Young Tafe.
Angela has been working part time since 2011 but says - now at age 69 and a mother of two, grandmother of five and great-grandmother of three - she still enjoys her job.
“I love it,” she said.
“Otherwise I wouldn’t do it… I love working with my team the most, I really do.
“And I have a sense of achievement.”
The school celebrated Angela’s 40-year milestone with a morning tea on Tuesday.