'Office lady' Jenny Middlin marks 40 year milestone in school administration at Woodmans Hill

This month Ms Middlin marked 40 years with the school, though it's undergone quite a few name and location changes along the way.

Ms Middlin studied at Ballarat North Technical School (which is now the Ballarat Specialist School Farm Campus in Norman Street) and after graduating in 1979 she did volunteer work there, and at Macarthur Street Primary School, before being offered a job at the tech school in its library and English resources centre.

Before long she was in the front office in administration helping students, parents, teachers and management with their daily needs.

She was there when the tech school was renamed Midlands Secondary College in the late 1980s, and when it merged with Ballarat East High and Wendouree Technical School to become the senior campus of Ballarat Secondary College in the early 1990s.

"I was there when they merged, and they moved me over to Ballarat East (now Woodmans Hill) and I worked between there and the Barkly Street campus when the senior school moved to Barkly Square."

And she was there when Ballarat Secondary College demerged to become two separate schools - Woodmans Hill Secondary College and Mount Rowan Secondary College - at the start of 2019.

"It's been the same school but they've moved me around," she said.

The heart of the role has stayed the same.

"We just make sure everybody is on track for the day and we look after the students. They come through admin a fair bit when they need help so we can pass their issue to teachers and things like that."

It's not just the name and location that have changed over the years, but the technology and the workload.

"My job started with manual typewriters and lots of paper files," she said. "We got very excited when we got our first photocopier. Technology has been challenging for me to keep up, but I've managed to do it.

"They said when computers came out there would be less paper and less everything but it become more and that's probably the difference I notice - there's a lot more workload."

She has seen numbers fluctuate from more than 900 to fewer than 300 and the current Woodmans Hill Secondary College now has around 550 students.

The one thing that hasn't changed over the decades is the students.

"I think students have always been the same. There's always been the ones who need a little bit more nurturing than others," she said. "If you treat them with kindness and treat them the way you want to be treated everything is fine. The only thing with students now is social media which can make it very hard for them."

Having seen thousands of Ballarat teens come and go from the school, it's no surprise she often runs in to them when out and about.

"I used to know the name of every student in the school because I was front of house for a long time, so I'd get to know the parents and students really well just by the day to day things you have to do.

"When I'm out I will have ex-students say to me 'I remember you in the office, how are you?' and then there are times when you see some kids succeed that you didn't think would."

She also sees former students coming back through the school doors as parents with their own high school aged children, and a few who have returned as teachers.

What makes her "feel old" though is when some of the classmates she went to school with turn up to the school with their grandchildren.

"Because I started so young I went to school with these people who are now coming in as grandparents. It makes me feel old but some of them look out for me if they've got a certain request or want something."

COVID hit schools hard and Ms Middlin saw the impact first hand on students and staff.

Administration staff were able to continue to work in the office, taking turns who would be on site, but a school without students is not something she ever wants to see again.

"It was a bit different in the say that you just didn't see the students for so long," she said.

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"There would be times (over the years) when you would think it would be great without students but it wasn't because you knew they were at home struggling, and teachers struggled too because it's not an easy thing to do for a teacher to get a student working across a computer, but they did quite well."

Although school has been back to face to face teaching for more than a year, she knows some of the students are struggling.

"I like the kids, I really feel for them. They are trying to do school, they have been through COVID but it's not only that, it's the way things have progressed with social media and that sort of thing."

Her 40 years in the job were marked at school with an afternoon tea and presentation, which involved current and former colleagues.

In all that time though she's never been tempted to change jobs.

"I was always comfortable doing what I do ... and I haven't really ever thought about doing anything else."

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