Narrabri High School farewells Dinos and Michelle Charalambous

When the final school bell for 2021 rang last week, it signalled the end of an era for Dinos and Michelle Charalambous and the start of an exciting new chapter in their lives.

The couple has been part of the Narrabri High School community for more than 30 years, witnessing the teaching profession and classroom evolve from the use of a Gestetner to chalkboards, overhead projectors and into the digital age.

While teaching tools have changed over the years, their commitment to improving the education and wellbeing of students has remained steadfast.

“It’s the people and the kids we’ll miss the most,” said Mrs Charalambous.

“Absolutely, the people and the kids,” added Mr Charalambous.

For both teachers, the most rewarding part of their often-challenging jobs has been the ability to make a real and lasting impact.

From fostering the development of student’s social skills to nurturing academic excellence, including several Band 6 results for Year 12 students. They have always strived to bring out the best in children.

“The proudest moments are the small ones, when kids come and have a talk to you and are incredibly appreciative,” said Mr Charalambous.

“They come and give you photos of appreciation and thank you cards.

“All these little, but meaningful things, I’m finding as I’m packing up my office.”

“It’s definitely about making a difference,” added Mrs Charalambous.

“That’s what keeps you going.

“When a student says, ‘I’m going to follow that career’ or I had one student say, ‘I didn’t used to like science but I’m going to do it in year 11 and 12 now’.

“Those are the moments when you know you’ve made some sort of a difference, or you just see the light bulb switch on when you’re explaining something, and their eyes just light up because they understand it.

“It’s always nice hearing what students have gone on to do, when someone comes back and tells you they’re a doctor or they’re an engineer and they say, ‘We got where we are because of Narrabri High School’.

“It’s always nice to know that you’ve made an influence on someone else’s career.

“I think for both of us, we’re proud of the success of the kids, former students who now have their own businesses in various trades.

“Narrabri High School has produced doctors, engineers, radiologists, teachers, a jet-fighter pilot.”

Mr Charalambous started at NHS in 1987 as an English and History teacher, moving to the school after one year teaching in Wee Waa.

His leadership and dedication to the students and broader school community resulted in Mr Charalambous becoming principal in 2018, after three terms in 2017 in a relieving capacity.

Mrs Charalambous joined NHS in 1989, following three years teaching at Narrabri TAFE, as a casual teacher in the role of a careers adviser.

Her enthusiasm for science led her to complete a science degree and she was given a permanent appointment in this subject.

In recent years, Mrs Charalambous became the head science teacher, inspiring students with her passion for physics, facts, and engaging style of teaching.

Mrs Charalambous said she wanted to be a teacher since she was in kindergarten and has always loved learning.

“Science is a giant episode of ‘How stuff works’ – it’s fantastic,” she said.

“I mean what we have done as human beings and what’s been done with science is incredible.

“I say to the kids, ‘How cool is it that someone sat there and worked out if you jump electricity off a spark gap you can create this wave that carries information around the world – it’s great.”

Mr and Mrs Charalambous’ individual passions for history and science make them ‘a formidable Trivial Pursuit team’ but as well as a shared commitment to teaching, they are both mad about sport (especially soccer) and it’s one of the reasons they love living in Narrabri.

The couple met while studying at the University of New England in Armidale and moved to the region for work 36 years ago.

The plan was to stay for three years but Narrabri’s sporting opportunities and kind community spirit are what made them stay for much longer than they ever intended.

Narrabri is where they raised their two children, Nicole and Sophie, who have both become teachers too.

“I think there’s something wonderful about living in country towns,” said Mrs Charalambous.

“You can ring the doctor and they know who you are, you can walk into the chemist, and they know who you are.

“It’s that local knowledge and service that make you feel like part of the community.

“And that’s what I think keeps you here – it’s a great little town.”

As principal, Mr Charalambous has helped to introduce and continue many projects and initiatives that make NHS so special.

From supporting the Steve Bailey initiated MADD night to the highly successful Clontarf program and overseas excursions, which have exposed students to a new way of learning and expanded their view of the world.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into trying to support kids and parents,” said Mr Charalambous.

“Sadly, a victim of COVID was the overseas excursion last year, we were two weeks away from getting our tickets when the department cancelled, which they had to do.

“We did four overseas excursions and they’re pretty significant and we had the community come on board too and support them.

“They’re important because it’s a different way of learning – to go to a battlefield, to go to Pompeii, to see the artefacts and to see a little bit more of the world along the way is great and a real eye-opener.”

NHS held a presentation to thank Mr and Mrs Charalambous for their outstanding service on December 10 and the staff farewelled the popular pair at breakfast on December 12.

A formal celebration to recognise their contribution to the Narrabri school community will be held next year at The Crossing Theatre.

For now, Narrabri will remain home for Mr and Mrs Charalambous but they look forward to reading more books, spending time with their family, travelling and not being at the mercy of the school bell.

And as the demands and expectations on teachers continue to increase, they want to recognise the tireless efforts of their colleagues and support of the community.

“We’d like to thank the community and ask, as they already do, to continue to work with the school,” said Mr Charalambous.

“When we work in partnership that’s when we achieve positive results for the students, parents and school.”

“Yes, thank you and I hope we’ve made a difference,” added Mrs Charalambous.

Mrs Charalambous said if she could wave a magic wand and leave the school with one parting gift it would be more teachers.

“More staff because it’s a great school, it’s a great place to teach and we’ve got a really fantastic collegial staff.”