Fiona Bailey has been teaching since 1985 and been with MHS for an incredible 21 years, in which time she has turned herself into a staff stalwart and a student favourite.

She admitted although retiring will be a relief in some ways, it’ll take some acclimatising to go without the school and the people in it.

“I’ll miss the kids for sure,” she said.

“I’ve also made wonderful friends with some of my colleagues and I’ll certainly miss some of them, too.

“But, the main thing I’ll miss is the kids every year.”

Although Ms Bailey has been an educator for a long time across a variety of roles, and has understandably had good and bad days along the way, she looks back upon it all in a very positive light.

“It’s been a fabulous career,” she said.

“I’ve been across lots of faculties.

“So, I’ve had lots of experiences and seen some wonderful kids come through the school.”

Her close relationship to the students is down to finding the right balance, she revealed, as she aims to make the pupils feel as comfortable as possible and always be there for support.

“I think it’s a matter of mutual respect, we trust each other,” Ms Bailey said.

“They know that I mean what I say and I’ll do as I say but I also have their back.

“The kids know that I’m their advocate and their best interests are what I will fight for – always.”

This has been obvious in her current and, now, final role as senior prep room coordinator, where she has put in the extra mile to assure every student is on top of their study, as well as providing an outlet for anyone who is going through a tough time personally.

While the word irreplaceable is thrown around a little too often these days, it would be remiss of anyone who has seen Ms Bailey to not acknowledge the fact MHS may never find another gem like her.