Three new principals appointed at primary school

If having too many school principals is a good thing, then Euroa Primary was in exceptionally safe hands on Friday 1 May. For one day only, three newly appointed—and very smart-looking—assisting principals stepped into leadership roles alongside current principal Kim Flack, taking on the serious task of helping run the school and keeping day‑to‑day operations ticking along. Despite their busy schedules, the trio of Mr King, Mr O'Bree, and Mr McCabe made time to drop in on The Euroa Gazette to share thoughts on leadership, decision making, and the things that matter most to the school community, including looking after one another, paying attention, and lending a hand when needed. The visit began with a tour of The Euroa Gazette's former printing area, where the expertise of a local retired printer was on hand to show the visitors the historic guillotine and an original printing machine, before the trio sat down with this correspondent for the serious stuff. Mr King said the role involved classroom visits, checking in with teachers, and making sure welcome circles and lessons were running smoothly. “We’ve been going around to lots of teachers and asking them if they need food for breakfast,” Mr King said. “We’ve also been checking that welcome circles were going well and that all the classes were getting on with their work.” Asked about using the school’s public address system, Mr McCabe initially baulked at the idea of addressing the entire school, admitting he hadn’t yet planned what he would say, before quickly proving that the role called for a fair bit of thinking on his feet. He said the job mostly involved practical announcements to keep the school running smoothly, such as locating lost jumpers or reminding students about medication before politely asking them to come to the office—demonstrating that even principals sometimes need to improvise at the microphone. Mr O’Bree agreed with his colleagues that the day had been enjoyable and rewarding, even if it hadn’t yet inspired concrete future career plans. The trio said the experience was less about authority and more about leadership, responsibility, and helping out where needed. At a school assembly later in the day, all three principals said that Ms Flack did 'too many jobs' with the latter agreeing it would take 'about twenty' assisting principals to cover her workload. This masthead then asked Ms Flack if she thought her job was still secure. She had no comment.