Valete
JO HOLL
On Friday 2nd July we will say goodbye to Jo Holl who is taking early retirement from her Nursing role in the Medical Centre after 23 years’ service at St Lawrence College. We are all very saddened as a team but wish her well. Jo commenced her Nursing career back in 1984 where she started her Nurse training in Barnet. On completion in 1987 she was accepted for a post on the Paediatricward, then called‘Arthur Rowe’, atMargate hospital. Jo remained here working full time and then part time following the birth of her children Dominic and Emily. Jo then had the offer of a post here at St Lawrence, where at the time Sue Mallet was the resident sister in charge. Jo eventually took over the running of the Medical Centre until five years ago. She is taking lots of memories with her, some sad but mostly happy and she has many stories to tell of her time working alongside Jill Langridge when they were based in Cameron’s pre-fab building prior to the Middle school being built. We shall all miss Jo in our team but wish her well and much enjoyment as she embarks on this new period in her life. We look forward to hearing of her adventures as she tours around the country with Jon in their new campervan.
MIKE STEPHENS
Born in Manchester, Mike went on to study engineering at UMIST and then a PGCE in Leeds. In 1994, he went to Botswana to teach Maths at Moeng College (one of the oldest schools in Botswana). Here he met Rachel who, some years later became his wife. He moved on to teach in the capital, Gaborone, at St Joseph’s College. At the end of 1998 he moved back to the UK to East Kent where Rachel was from. Here he worked for a while at Northwood School in Ramsgate. He moved into a house in Broadstairs, next door to an SLC teacher. Mike was able to fulfil his potential as a dedicated teacher when he went to teach Maths and IT at Chatham House in 1999. He and Rachel married and went on to have two children, Kate and Tom. To the great fortune of St Lawrence College, Mike took up the post of Maths teacher in 2014. He quickly established himself in the College as an excellent teacher who was very well liked by his pupils and particularly valued by his A Level students. He was a tutor in Tower. He was also a brilliant colleague and very well liked in the Common Room. He and a few other teachers did some serious cycling together and Mike invested in an excellent bicycle. It was with great sadness that we saw him become ill and having to take extended sick leave, eventually having to take early retirement. This was quite a blow, particularly for the Maths department, but also for all of his students and the friends that he has made at St Lawrence College. His quiet professionalism is missed.
CHITESHA SENARATNE
Dr. Chitesha Senaratne joined St Lawrence in April 2010 as a newly qualified teacher of mathematics. Initially teaching both ICT and Mathematics for a few years, she eventually dropped ICT and became a full- time teacher of mathematics where she quickly became the backbone of the department. Chitesha is known for the hours she spends meticulously planning her lessons and marking student work and is an example that few could dare to live up to. Her many skills and life experiences gained before joining SLC came to bear fruit for many a student. As a top student of her year, she earned a scholarship to study at university in Russia where she attained a 1st class honours degree and gained a doctorate in engineering. Her fluency in the language came to the aid of a number of students over the years as she helped guide them through their A-level Russian examinations. She leaves SLC after almost eleven and a half years for a new life in Oxford where she has a position as teacher of mathematics at Rye St Antony. She has always put her family – both her actual family and her surrogate SLC family – ahead of her own needs and continues to do so now. Chitesha is an incredibly hard working individual, much loved by her students and the mathematics department alike, leaving a huge void that will be difficult to fill.
LAWRENTIAN 2021 76
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