What has been some of your most challenging moments as a headteacher?

‘I think I've been really lucky that I don't think that I have had anything that I've felt that we couldn't deal with as a school and as a community. We are all human beings and as human beings; we all make mistakes. It's really teachers' jobs and me as head of the school to try and support you young people when they make mistakes and to let them know let's see what we've learned from this and let's move on. I think schools are all about giving young people chances. I don't feel I have had anything unsurmountable and working together with parents, families and the community. If it came down to it, just near the end of covid. So probably covid related. While I didn't think it was a challenge that we couldn't overcome. I think what it was trying to get all our young people back into school and, getting them back to that what would have called our normal way of learning and trying a leave all the anxieties of a lot of our young people coming back because they hadn’t seen their friends. They had been isolated in the house. That was something that was challenging, but I think as school we decided that in that first year we were just going to focus on building relationships again and that's what we did, and I think that supported us and their journey going forward. So covid was challenging, but I think the way we went around it a staff and our young people about ‘let's get back to the relationships’ and supporting that part of the journey.’

Why did you become a PE teacher?

‘I was really lucky I went to a school not so far away from here called St. Margaret Mary's and I was really lucky to have good friends and good teachers, but I had fantastic PE teachers. And I had one a miss Wilson who was a netball coach. We had an obviously good netball team in Saint Margaret Mary’s, we were very successful and we went on to win lots of competitions and a lot of us became international players. The support that they gave us helped us get to where we were, they gave up their time, at nighttime and at weekends to make sure that we could get our training and get us to where we needed to be. I also had a fantastic head teacher called Mr. Mullen. And he supported us as well and again sometimes he supported us financially and you know he helped us buy uniform. He maybe helped buy his training shoes and just things that we couldn't afford. So, I had real role models in. And I just love. I would be doing PE in the PE department as much as I could. We were very lucky we had a swimming pool, games hall and tennis courts. So, we got lots of opportunities to be to play sport, but I think for me it was my teachers who were the ones that made me want to become a PE teacher.’

How do you feel about retiring?

‘I'm looking forward to on the 27th of June, which is the day after we finish, not having to plan for coming back in August so I think I'm quite looking forward to that. I'm looking forward to spending time with my family because as a teacher, and particularly a headteacher, you spend so much of your time in and around school and so I'm looking forward to that and look forward to doing some travelling.’

What your advice for achieving success?

‘The first thing is to trying to be true to yourself. If you don't know the answer to something, ask. Don't pretend that you know everything, because nobody does. So, I think question so you can find the right answer. Don't just always take what people say. Everybody makes mistakes and it's ok to make mistakes. I've made mistakes in every part of my career and I make mistakes as head teacher. But what you like to do is sign, right? OK, what did I learn from that? So that it happens, this situation arises again, how would I deal with it better? So yeah, I think that's probably one of the things you know, that I've made mistakes, I've tried to learn from them and next time you know, make better decisions. Try to make good decisions. And probably still hard work. Nobody gets anywhere without the hard work, even that person in your class. Who is the brainiest person in your class. They say they don't study And get top marks. They study they just don't tell you that they study. Believe in yourself. Make mistakes. Learn from them. Ask questions. Always try to walk in somebody else's shoes’

Mrs Craig Chats About Retirement and All Things Trinity!

S1 pupils, Caera Neeson and Arinade Adediran were fortunate to meet with Mrs Craig to discuss her retirement and fond memories of Trinity. We hope you enjoy.

How long have you been a teacher?

‘40 years’

What is your best memory as head teacher?

‘I have so many memories of being head teacher, even though I have only been headteacher for a short while. I think it really comes down to meeting all the fantastic young people. So it's probably not an event, it's all the interactions that I have with the different young people. But my best memory was the first day I stood up and introduced myself as head teacher because I was proud and felt privileged. I've been at Trinity for a long time. It wasn't anything that I would say that I aspired to. I always loved Trinity high school and I enjoyed working here, but probably for me my proudest moment was when I could stand up and call myself a head teacher of this fantastic community.’

Why did you want to become a head teacher?

‘I never, ever aspired to be a head teacher. When I became a PE teacher, I just wanted to be the best PE teacher that I could be. And then I got the opportunity to come to Trinity High School and it was because where we worked, my daughter was just a baby, it was a lot of travelling for her, went a job came up in Trinty high School it was known as a senior teacher. And that makes you sound old. But it was just the name of the post, and it came to Trinity. I really enjoyed it. My friend and I set up a netball club in the old Trinity High School building, and we ran that for about 20 years but then the school got pulled down. So I came here and then I was lucky enough to a lot of work in PE and outside and across south Lanarkshire . So I got a lot of experience. So I felt as if it was time to move on and became a deputy. I got lots of great experience the and worked with lots of great people the same way I did with PE.I worked up in Almada street which is county buildings it was a secondment but I really missed the young people. When I was up there. I was doing lots of things about curriculum and DYW and developing the young workforce. I wanted to come back to Trinity because I really missed the young people. So I came back to Trinity and the post of headteacher came up and I thought lets give it a shot, and then I got appointed. But it was never a plan, and it was probably when I always thought that I've taken the other job as far as I could to the best of my ability. That was maybe a chance to give someone else a chance to keep moving on. But honestly, I'm so privileged to have it really is the best job in the world.’

What is your favourite thing about being a head teacher?

‘My favourite thing about being head teacher is meeting young people, I think it's great because I get to see the whole school and I can pop in and out of any class that I want and see what's happening, which is brilliant. I love going into classes. I love meeting young people outside the classroom and because sometimes the classroom can be different, because you’ll act differently in the different classrooms that you maybe go into. So, I get the chance to meet young people in less formal situations, but also get to meet them in that formal setting. I get to hear some great stories. I get to meet some great people. I get to go and see people performing at an event, go to football matches, netball matches or pop my head into drama and see them rehearsing for the school show. So, that's probably some of my favorite things, but I really like when I go around about the school, and I see our young people being kind to one another and being manually. Sometimes they forget like we all do. But on the whole, I think that's the thing that I love best as head teacher about how we would treat one another, hopefully, with respect, and kindness. So that's what I really enjoy about being headteacher.’

What are some of your hopes for the future?

‘Well, my hope for the future is, is that Trinity High School will still go on from strength to strength with the new head teacher. That our young people will still be as great and wonderful as ever, go to do wonderful things and lead good happy lives.’

Did you like school?

‘There were parts of school that I liked, there were probably some teachers that I liked more than others. There were parts of school that I liked in parts, but that was probably due to my interest I loved. I loved English, Biology, PE, Home Ec and History, those were my kind of subjects so quite a wide range. I wasn't great at Art, but I still liked it.’

Finally, Mrs Craig was asked what she would have liked to become had she not been a teacher. Her response? An accountant!

We really hope you enjoyed reading and learning from this article. Mrs. Craig has been the best head teacher we could have ever asked for, and an asset to Trinity High. We wish the new head the best of luck, and will welcome he/she with open arms.

Article and Interview by Caera Neeson and Arinade Adediran (S1)