Farewelling beloved staff members

By Mrs Louise Wallace-Richards and Ms Kath Notley

At the end of this week, we will bid farewell to several staff members, including two members of the Senior Executive, Mr Nick Moss and Mr Scott Corbett.
The following tributes show the impact they had on the wider Radford College community.

Nick Moss

It is with much sadness that we farewell Nick Moss who will be departing the College at the end of this semester to take up a promotion position as Head of Senior School at Barker College in Sydney. Nick commenced at Radford 1 January 2007 in a permanent full-time capacity as a Geography, Studies of Society and its Environment (SoSE) teacher and Science teacher. He has continued to teach in the SoSE department over the past 17 years, with Global Studies becoming his main teaching subject in the last few years.

During his years of teaching SoSE, Nick was always looking for the opportunities to bring the units of learning in the classroom to life for his students including through trips to Timor Leste and the USA. He has taken senior students to Wollongong for the World Cities unit, Bombo for Coasts, and Montague Island for The Greening of Tourism. Perisher Valley, Cooma or Goulburn and the Cotter also featured in Geography field trips for Years 7–10 students. On one of the field trips to Montague Island on the south coast, I still remember hearing about when a class got marooned on the island due to inclement weather. His Head of Department at the time, Mrs Alison Steven, believes Nick was able to “navigate this situation (metaphorically and literally) showing great leadership and demonstrating his capacity to work with the unexpected, be dependable and stay calm in the face of trouble."

Other SoSE Colleagues have said of Nick as a teacher:

Thoroughly enjoys being a teacher, getting to know his students as individuals, working with them to improve learning outcomes.

Nick and I would often team teach in the Lecture Theatre, especially with our Year 10s and it was through this period that I became aware of the extent of his teaching capabilities. His presence, capacity to pace and differentiate content and process within that larger audience were second to none. I would sometimes leave the Lecture Theatre feeling both envious and a tad jealous.

Nick has also been involved in several co-curricular activities during his years at the College, including his beloved Cricket, as a manager of Rugby teams and helping put Year 10 students on the road to getting a licence through Road Ready. Never an NRL team though, only because the College does not offer the code. Many of us are wondering how he will cope with getting to watch Raiders games from Sydney. He assures us he will be down for all games. He is Canberra Raiders for ever!

Nick has also held several significant leadership roles in the Secondary School including Administration Co-ordinator in 2012, permanent Head of Year or Year Coordinator from 2012, Acting Head of Middle Years Term 4 2014, Dean of Senior Studies and IBDP Coordinator from 2022 and Assistant Principal Curriculum from 2023.

Nick was a caring, approachable, fair and kind Head of Year. As Dean he supported the pathways for all students, invested and grew the IBDP program and most significantly of late, led the IBDP five-year evaluation. Colleagues have remarked that Nick has a “meticulous eye for detail and streamlined numerous senior processes related to Year 11 and Year 12. His focus was on students developing skills for lifelong learning and preparing them for our changing world. This meant valuing the whole person, and ensuring they were guided and challenged through senior years.”

It is as Assistant Principal Curriculum (APC) that I have most worked with Nick and have appreciated his professionalism, strategic vision and his determination that everything we do in teaching and learning should be with the needs of the students in mind. He has led many projects to fruition over the past year and half as APC including our Approaches to Learning (ATL) and hurdle task rollout. The ATL initiative has shown his understanding that we need to focus as a school on providing feedback to students about how they are learning not just what they have learned. A key part of his focus over the past 18 months has been leading with the Dean of Studies and IB DP Coordinator, Mrs Alison Steven and the Director of Digital Learning Ms Lisa Plenty, student and staff understanding of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) and its potential impact on student learning. This included the transition to Nexus and new learning summaries, data dashboard, review of and changes to our curriculum, GAI response and numerous policy updates. Nick has shown his ability to cut through to the main issues and develop a balanced informed view. Similarly, his leadership and support for interdisciplinary learning has demonstrated his insight into what skills our students need for their future working lives.

Nick is personable, possessing a great sense of humour and has a genuine care for others. He will be greatly missed by the Radford community including students, staff and parents. The job of Head of Senior School at Barker is made for someone of Nick’s calibre. It is as if his experiences at Radford were all building to this role. Farewell Nick from us all.

Scott Corbett

Scott started his role of Director of Service Learning on 22 January 2022, commencing his Acting Assistant Principal role on 16 January 2023. He has proved to be a passionate leader of student well-being, promoting service to others as a way to enable Radford students to give back to society.

Many staff and students have shared their appreciation of Scott's work at the school:

Rev. Dr Katherine Rainger
I’ve learnt so much from Scott about working with students in a way that is relational and sets clear expectations – ‘clear is kind’ being a key motto! Going on the Timor Leste trip was a great opportunity to see his skills in action. He modelled what it means to travel alongside each other in a way that honours the people we meet and each other. Scott has a deep understanding of theories of well-being and how to put these into practice. What a gift it has been to work alongside him.

Mr Brett Lamson
Scott’s enthusiasm and positivity have made him an asset to Radford College these past few years. He brings so much energy to what he does that it is impossible to not be encouraged and inspired by his fun and upbeat approach. Every time I catch up with Scott, be it for a coffee or a work-related chat, I come away feeling the better for it. He’ll be sorely missed but at the same time I know he’s going to continue to kick goals and inspire young people as he moves on to his next role in China.

Mrs Di Fizpatrick
I had the fortunate experience of taking Mr Scott Corbett as my colleague on a Radford trip to Japan where we oversaw 18 students from Years 11 and 12. Scott thought he was super eligible as he had done Japanese to Year 10! While I thought this was quite funny, it wasn’t until we got to our sister school, that I experienced Scott’s willingness to ‘have a go’, with his language skills. Turns out, he must have got an ‘A’ in school for Japanese. It was such an enjoyable trip for everybody. Scott’s everyday optimism, his willingness to ‘get involved’, his genuine interest in the students and ‘same page’ support for me as the leader of the trip was comforting and professional. This resulted in an amazing trip for everybody, full of energy, fun and learning. Thank you, Scott.

Mrs Jane Lilley

• In his office displayed on the wall is the “circle of courage” . . . which, I think, in his leadership style and interactions with others he truly lives out: Belonging, Mastery, Independence and Generosity. This is what sets him apart from others.
• A fantastic mentor and leader who advocates for others and always displays “unconditional positive regard” (goes with the generosity).
• Always thinking and looking for ways that we can improve what we do and how we do it, looks for creative solutions to any problems that come his way, open to the ideas of others and supportive of them in their pursuit to try to do things differently.
• Very well respected, warm and thoughtful

I will really miss him. He has been a fantastic person to work with and I have learnt from him.

Ms Sam Lonsdale and Mrs Rebecca Hunter
Scott stands out as a caring, compassionate person with a ‘can do’ attitude. He genuinely cares for the well-being of all students & staff and strives to lead well as well as being a team player. We all know that he brings humour and wit to conversations which importantly is never at the expense of anyone else. He has been keen to support the great diversity of programs on offer to the secondary students as well as supporting respectful student advocacy. We are losing a person who has made a big difference in a short period of time and we wish him well with his next adventure in education in China.

Ms Ailsa Mackerras
Scott’s support of the IBDP CAS program has been invaluable. In addition to facilitating impactful CAS lessons, in which students enjoyed grappling with important contemporary issues, Scott inspired the IB students to be ambitious in their CAS projects. He facilitated creation of the Calvary Art project, which has resulted in an ongoing partnership between Calvary Aged Care and the IBDP students who offer art lessons to the residents. And it was through Scott’s support of the IBDP CAS students that Radford’s first LGBTQIA+ group was formed – the SAGE society.

Ms Ashlee Turner
Scott has been an absolute dream to work with. He always has time for you, is caring and compassionate, but most importantly, is always up for a laugh. It is because Scott is so wholeheartedly himself that makes him so relatable to staff and students, and for this we will miss him greatly around the school.

Student Voices:

Ellie Archer
Mr Corbett has played a huge role in the establishment of the SAGE club (an LGBTQIA+ community group at Radford College. It meant so much that he avidly supported and campaigned for this club. From this it flourished into a statement of support, an artwork and so much more. We would like to thank him for all of his work, support, and dedication to inclusivity at Radford College. We cannot express how thankful we are for his campaigning, encouragement, and kindness throughout this process. Mr Corbett has done so much for LGBTQIA+ and gender inclusivity and his sensitivity and courage in this space has meant so much to students in the Radford Community. His speech at assembly presenting Radford’s formal statement of support for LGBTQIA+ people was so moving. This speech challenged so many students like me to live with integrity, advocate for what we believe in and be true to who we are. Mr Corbett, thank you for everything you have done for Radford, and we will miss you very much!

Pip Humphries
Thanks to Mr Corbett:

• Consistently positive role model, always showing the best of yourself, acting with integrity, and demonstrating the values that you've spoken so much about.
• the bravery, courage, honesty, and integrity that you show is inspirational. In the time I've known you, you've always demonstrated leadership, not through bossiness, but by acting with vision, self-awareness, and empathy. Your influence over us as students has been profound.
• Engaging in class – CAS lessons were a great opportunity to explore really pressing and important issues, but in a grounded and engaging way.
  
• Empathetic and engaging with students.

Leadership retreat

• Provided guidance and love
• Engaging activities that made us think deeply and set us as a leadership group very well for the year.

Hamish McKee
Mr Corbett inspired me to undertake more service learning helping me to look at service as an opportunity beyond just getting your service hours. He has not just been a teacher to many students at Radford but a genuine role model for me and others. Mr Corbett has inspired so many students at Radford with his genuine investment in the growth of students as people, looking at people in a positive light and truly understanding and making a connection with students, this is what has made him such a key part of the college. Mr Corbett will be missed by Radford and will be leaving a very difficult place to be filled in our community. I wish you all the best with all future endeavours you undertake, and I am sure you will continue to make a profound impact upon many others, just like you have done for myself and the rest of the Radford community.

Other staff farewells

• Dr Rebecca Sillett
• Ms Ailsa Mackerras
• Ms Olivia Bundic
• Mr Ethan Bui
• Mr Paul Gibson
• Mr Chris Mutton
• Mr Mike Dunford
• Mr Michael Lewthwaite
• Mr Glenn Demery
• Mrs Phillipa Noakes-Dunn