Parap Primary School principal and teacher Yvonne Harding retires

A beloved primary school principal is retiring after 26 years working with Top End students. Read about the ups and downs of her career.

Yvonne Harding never expected to launch a career in education but has mixed feelings as she prepares to walk away from the classroom one last time.

Growing up in country Victoria, Ms Harding looked up to her father as her hero.

But despite her tight-knit community peppering her with questions about whether she’d follow her father’s path to become a teacher, she always wanted to be different.

“My dad was a principal and my grandmother was a teacher on the other side – I have three brothers, two of them were principals and my other brother, his wife was a principal,” she said.

“I didn’t want to be like them.”

Parap Primary School students Thembi Hawke, Thomas Jelly, and Ruby and Isabelle Atkinson helped principal Yvonne Harding celebrate her final day at the school after almost 26 years. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

After winning a studentship at 17 to go to university and taking her first teaching role at 20 in 1978, Ms Harding has not looked back.

She spent a few years as a teacher in Melbourne before working in schools in Penang, Seoul, and Oman for two years each.

It was the warmth of Oman that inspired her to move her career to the Top End.

“I came to Darwin to have 12 months of summer, Oman meant that I really couldn’t go back to Victoria to live,” she said.

Parap Primary School principal Yvonne Harding said her first gifted class of Year 5, 6 and 7 students stood out to her and taught her she could do anything. Picture: Parap Primary School

As Parap Primary School’s principal, Ms Harding said she learned right alongside her students.

“You can do anything if you want to, you just have to set really high goals for yourself and challenge yourself,” Ms Harding said.

She taught several classes throughout her 26-year tenure including art, maths and science across several year levels.

She taught her first Year 7 class in 1998 before taking over a gifted class of students in Years 5, 6 and 7 for three years.

“I still see them and they’re my friends rather than students because you have built that relationship,” she said.

“There were only a few in each year level, they had to learn to work together.

“It was a gifted and talented class... they were amazing at what they could do.

“There was a little boy there that truly could play the piano, his maths was amazing, his story-writing, just across the board he could do everything.

“He’s now a doctor.”

Parap Primary School principal Yvonne Harding brings miniature schnauzer Wesley to school once a week to engage with her students. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Ms Harding keeps her finger on the pulse of her school every time she enters a classroom.

She said she maintains a connection to her students and teachers by continuing her role as a teacher as well as fulfilling her duties as a principal.

“In the last 10 years I’ve done so much work around maths so that all of our kids love maths,” she said.

She also brings six-year-old pup Wesley to school once a week to engage the kids.

The miniature schnauzer is well-loved by students and teachers and often features in school art pieces.

“I have always been very involved in school sport,” Ms Harding said.

“I’m on the school sport board and just encouraging my teachers, my child, and all of the other children to be part of being in a team.”

Parap Primary School students enjoy Sports Day. Picture: Facebook / Parap Primary School

The beloved community leader said she taught many of her current students’ parents.

“About a third of our population, the families went to this school, so they’re very old-school Darwin people,” she said.

“I think that is so exciting to know that they’ve trusted me as their teacher, and then they’re really happy for their children to come here as well.”

Ms Harding’s strong relationship with the Parap Primary School community helped her through some of the hard days over the years.

“That’s what school is about, it’s a community,” she said.

Originally published as Parap Primary School principal and teacher Yvonne Harding retires