Fresh start for Finley teacher

She lived and worked in Sydney’s Northern Beaches area, which is one of the most sought-after areas in the state.

A practicing artist, Ms Perry even ran workshops for adults at a studio she managed called ‘Paint & Sips’.

But for all the glamour of city-life, Ms Perry says she was drawn to the country.

‘‘I really enjoyed my time in the city, but there has always been this quiet, peaceful, stillness in the country, and I’ve always been drawn to that.’’

Last year Ms Perry applied for a position at a school she had never heard of, in a town she’d never visited.

And in October, she drove the seven hours from the sandy beaches of Sydney to the sweeping plains of the Southern Riverina.

‘‘I first visited Finley in October, just after I’d been offered the job,’’ said Ms Perry.

‘‘And I absolutely fell in love with it.

‘‘I love the way that everyone’s really welcoming, even just going for a coffee or a meal people will recognise you. Not only that, but they’ll recognise if you’re new.

‘‘Everywhere we went people were just so welcoming.’’

Ms Perry’s first impressions would only improve after a visit to the high school proper.

‘‘Having come from a bustling city-school of about 3000 students, and then to a small country school where you have less year group classes, but more time with those students and more opportunity to get to know them as an individual — honestly that was really refreshing.’’

Ms Perry has taught all manner of students in her six years as an educator.

She has worked with students who have special needs, students who are considered ‘gifted’, and the majority who belong somewhere in-between.

But regardless of their background, every student has their own story to tell, image to draw, or painting to colour.

‘‘Art is something people approach that’s independent of their abilities,’’ she said.

‘‘It doesn’t matter where someone comes from, or what they look like, or how gifted they are, everyone learns to approach art differently, and that has always inspired me.’’

In recognition of the students’ diverse interests and talents, Ms Perry has begun a massive undertaking at Finley High School — the installation of a fully-equipped pottery studio.

With an industrial kiln already delivered, school administrators expect the new art room to accommodate up to 20 students at a time.

‘‘I really want to get students working with their hands and increase the amount of practical work they are engaging with,’’ she said.

‘‘So it’s not just drawing one year and painting the next, but rather every student from every year level has the opportunity to try a medium that might suit them.’’

Ms Perry will also draw upon what she described as ‘‘a culture of collaboration’’ at Finley High.

She has already begun drawing up lesson plans that take advantage of the school, and its locale.

From painting portraits of farm animals in the school’s ag science plot, to painting plein air (outside), Ms Perry wants her lessons to compliment not only her students’ education, but their lived experience too.