An Inverell native, Penny moved back to familiar ground at the family farm with her partner, and accepted the reins of the school in her hands.

“I’ll be moving into my grandmother’s old house,” Penney said.

“I applied for Inverell because it is home and near family, and it’s the right time to come back home,” she said with a smile.

Penny had her primary education at Inverell Public School and high school at Macintyre High.  After completing her education degree at Newcastle with subjects in food technology, textiles and technology mandatory she came back to Inverell to begin her professional life.

“My first year of teaching was at Macintyre in 1988,” she said.

When a permanent teacher transferred in, Penny was sent to her first full-time posting at North St Mary’s in Mt Druitt near Sydney.

“It was a big school. I think at that time it was about 900 to1000 students there, so that in itself was quite daunting and very different,” she said.

Since that initial job, Penny has taught around the state, and spent a year in London as well as taking up two postings in the United States.

“All through my career I’ve just been given opportunities, I guess,” Penny reflected.

“I love teaching, I love kids. I’ve never, ever wanted to do anything else that I can ever remember,” she said.

“As a principal, I want to make sure I get the best education for kids.”

Penny’s experience in diverse and challenging schools has set a precedent for her approach to education.

“I’ve always been in tough schools, or complex, normal high schools, and that’s what I love; being able to work with the full range of kids, from the top academic kids and pushing them, but also those kids that struggle and making sure they get the best out of their education and we’re identifying their strengths,” she said.

“Everybody has strengths, it’s just identifying what those strengths are and how we can actually develop them and make sure kids get the best education that they possibly can.”

She welcomed the programs already in place at her new job.

“Inverell High’s always had a great reputation, so obviously I want to make sure I maintain that reputation and build on that.

She said she was excited to find the Clontarf Foundation was established at the school.

“That’s something that I’m really looking forward to, working with those kids and the staff that are down there, and building on that because I think that has huge opportunities for our Aboriginal boys in lots of different ways.

Penny felt that with Clontarf, the groundwork had been laid for more student opportunities.

“Yes, we’ve got that for our Aboriginal boys, but we definitely need to make sure we’re got something in place for our girls as well, and for the general population.”

Not a stranger to the principal’s chair, Penny gained knowledge in supporting staff in her role.

“I did six months relieving last year at Nimbin, and it was a very, very interesting school.

“What was nice doing the relieving at such an alternate school, was that it taught me how to sit back and listen to the staff and work out what’s going on first in the school before you jump to big conclusions.”

Penny will have to prepare the Inverell High School staff and community for the Local Schools, Local Decisions education reforms to being implemented in 2014. 

“I think that in education at the moment, we’ve got it’s a massive time of change,” she explained.

“We need to embrace those changes and as a principal, I need to make sure that the staff are on board, and that I’m supporting them through that time of change as well. 

“As we move into Local Schools, Local Decisions, it’s really quite daunting at times to think of the opportunities and responsibilities that I’m going to have over the next couple (of) years managing the whole school staffing as well as the whole school budget.”

Though the job ahead presents some challenges, she has already cleared an essential hurdle for a new principal.

“I know lots of staff here already; there’s some here that taught me, some that I went to school with, lots of students in the school that I know their parents.”

Resettling onto home ground as an educator both here and overseas, she had perspective on the young people she has met along the way.

“(It) doesn’t matter where you go in the world, kids are very similar. They all want the best and what you put in is what you get out, and I think that’s what’s true in teaching,” Penny said. 

“If you’re willing to do the hard yards and work with the kids and the parents, then you’ll get out ten fold what you put in. That’s what’s important I think.”