Shirley Mangiameli and Janine Hill have said goodbye to Echuca East Primary School after almost three decades at the school.
Assistant principal of Echuca East Ben Hawthorn said it was hard for the faculty to pinpoint when the two started.
“We were trying to work out how long they’d been here for, and we couldn’t, because they’ve been here longer than anyone else,” Mr Hawthorn said.
Mrs Mangiameli said they started with Echuca East “around 1994”.
“I started at Cohuna, then went to Dunolly, then 208, Echuca South and then for 28 years I’ve been here,” Mrs Mangiameli said.
“I came as a music specialist before I was a classroom teacher. I’ve been numeracy leader, a leading teacher, and now I’m retiring.”
Mrs Hill, conversely, “zig-zagged” her way across the state before coming to Echuca East.
“I started at Terang and went to Cranbourne, and then Portland and then Dimboola and then I started at Echuca East doing part-time PE,” Mrs Hill said.
“I went into the classroom for a few years, and then I did more PE. I’ve been mainly with the Grade 1s and 2s, with one year with Grade 5/6.”
Mrs Mangiameli cited the ever-changing nature of the work as one of her favourite parts of her long career with Echuca East.
"I’ve loved the variety. I haven’t been stuck in the same area doing the same thing, and I really love that about East,“ she said.
Mrs Hill said helping her students learn had been the most rewarding part of her career.
“I enjoy the challenge to help kids learn, and seeing them achieve, especially the struggling kids, is the rewarding part,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to the next part of my life and more family time.”
Mr Hawthorn described the long-serving teachers as mentors for the entire teaching faculty of Echuca East.
“In my personal experience — and I think every single teacher here would agree — Janine and Shirley have had a key role in moulding and shaping a lot of our teachers as they’ve come through, and even our graduate teachers,” he said.
“I think every teacher here would attribute their learning to Janine and Shirley.”