Mrs Kerr, a teacher at the school for 23 years, will retire after a career devoted to education.

Speaking ahead of her final day as a teacher after 35 years in the industry yesterday, she said it was a bitter-sweet feeling that she was stepping down from the career she loved.

Predominantly a junior grade teacher at Magpie, Mrs Kerr previously worked at a number of schools across the region, including Bacchus Marsh, Forest Street, Black Hill, Ballan and Napoleons primary school. 

“I love working with the kids and that will easily be the hardest thing to walk away from,” she said.

“It’s a bitter-sweet feeling. There is a sense of loss in what you are leaving behind but at the same time I’m looking forward to the next stage of my life.”

Mrs Kerr said receiving the Catherine King award for her services to teaching in 2010 was among her career highlights, as well as seeing Magpie evolve as a school.

“I was a blackboard and chalk teacher when I started out, but the technology has changed so much now,” she said.

“These days it is about teaching the children how to learn, not just feeding them content.”