Community
20 March, 2025
Fond farewell for Jane
JANE Lee is preparing to step in to retirement after 22 years supporting St Colman’s Primary School students.
Mrs Lee has been a fixture behind the front desk at St Colman’s Primary School, serving as the school’s finance officer for more than two decades, but from the end of term one will step in to the next phase of life.
“I’ve been considering it for the past couple of years, and probably made my mind up a few years ago,” she said.
“I’ve decided to finish at the end of the term rather than the end of the year as it is such a busy time.”
Mrs Lee will join her husband, Lachie, in retirement and is planning on taking some time to travel abroad.
“We plan to do a lot of travelling,” she said.
“Our eldest daughter lives and works in London, our second daughter works as a school teacher in Saigon, Vietnam, and she’s planning to stay there for the next couple of years, and our youngest son is in Melbourne at university.
“We’ll have a lot more time to do some catching up with them.
“But otherwise I’ll just be doing the regular, from hanging out to gardening and doing home projects.”
Mrs Lee said she has loved her time at St Colman’s Primary School.
“I’ve always been grateful and I tell myself every day how lucky I have been to have got this job when I got it,” she said.
“My kids were only three, five and eight when I got this job and Lachie was a teacher at Mercy Regional College, so we always got to have school holidays together.
“The job itself is something I have loved – there’s an enormous amount of variety, it’s challenging and there’s always something new happening or something to learn.
“I love St Colman’s Primary School and catholic education across the network – I went to school in Noorat and Mercy Regional College, my husband taught at Mercy Regional College and our kids went to school at St Thomas’ Primary School.
“I really enjoy all the people you get to know in the network of catholic education and the Ballarat Diocese in general – it’s been great.”
Mrs Lee has spent her life in the Mortlake area, and on Monday marked 45 years working in the town.
“I started my first job as a 16-year-old at the state bank in Mortlake, so I’ve come full circle,” she said.
“I also worked at Golsworthys and did some work at the former Mortlake ANZ branch so Mortlake has been a big part of my life.
“I’m going to really miss the school, and coming over to Mortlake every day in general.”
St Colman’s Primary School will host a special farewell morning tea at the school on Friday, April 5 at 11am to give students, parents and staff, both past and present, the opportunity to thank Mrs Lee for her decades of dedication to supporting positive outcomes for students and the school itself.
Read More: Mortlake