With 34 years of teaching behind him, all of them at Melbourne Grammar School, it’s not easy for Mike Shaw to summarise his thoughts as he looks towards retiring at the end of 2022.
“I’ll miss the people and the relationships I’ve forged in this community over so many years,” Mike says. “There are times during the year when Melbourne Grammar doesn’t sleep, and I love that vibrancy, as well as working alongside people who wanted to put in that extra bit purely because they love the place.”
From the seminary to the classroom
Despite the fact that he has taught many thousands of Melbourne Grammar students, teaching was not Mike’s first calling in life.
“I spent six years studying in a seminary,” he explains. “That took me to Taiwan, where I learned Chinese and met my wife. I’d always wanted to work alongside young people, so that’s when I decided to take another path, and I’ve never looked back.”
Since coming to Melbourne Grammar, initially as a student-teacher in 1988, Mike has held many roles, from teaching Chinese, Philosophy and Religious Studies to serving as Head of Miller House and Perry House, and then as our inaugural Director of Boarding. Alongside all this, he has found time to coach soccer teams throughout his time at the School.
Mike was also instrumental in establishing a unique Values in Action program – Project Holy Name – in Papua New Guinea. “Students lived with local families in a village with few resources during these trips. We also raised funds to help strengthen the facilities they had there to provide the best possible education for their children,” Mike explains. “I loved the freedom I had to set up programs like this, and I appreciated the trust the School had in me to do a good job, no matter what I was working on.”
The calling of pastoral care
Reflecting on more than three decades at Melbourne Grammar, Mike is clear that the best moments have been those when he has been able to be there for a student.
“Pastoral care has been the highlight for me,” he says. “Even when I first started as a tutor in Deakin House, I loved that sense that the students were part of a small family within a much larger family.”
“Moving from a day House to boarding and knowing that you’ve been entrusted with the responsibility of caring for boarding students is very meaningful,” Mike adds. “You get to see the boys at their best and worst. To go on that journey with them, and their parents, is a special thing.”
As a colleague, Mike has always been there to give advice, show support, or give a small nod of encouragement when it has been needed. The twinkle in his eye has never dimmed from the day he began here, and we wish him well as he begins this next part of his life’s journey.
Ben Hanisch, Deputy Headmaster & Head of Senior School
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Three other long standing Senior School staff recently retired. Their stories were published in the October 2022 edition of Grammar News. You can read their stories here:
