A year on, Moriah principal reflects
AFTER a year on the job, Moriah College's first non-Jewish principal, Kim Fillingham, is pleased he joined the "Moriah family".
JOSHUA LEVI
AFTER a year on the job, Moriah College’s first non-Jewish principal, Kim Fillingham, is pleased he joined the “Moriah family”.
“People always told me about the Moriah family before I arrived here, and it sounded like a bit of rhetoric, but it’s actually a reality,” Fillingham said. “There is a very strong sense of belonging here and I think that largely comes from the fact that a lot of parents are graduates and people actually want to be here.”
He arrived at the school after a period of disruption following Dr Leon Bernstein’s short tenure as principal of Australia’s largest Jewish school.
With a background in the public education system, Fillingham has worked at schools throughout NSW where, he explained, both children and teachers arrived “by coincidence”.
“At my previous positions, the teachers were often allocated to the school and the students attended based on their address, not because of a choice. Here, though, everyone wants to be at Moriah.
“The parents are committed, the teachers have made a decision to be here and it creates a very powerful work environment. Moving to Moriah is the best decision I have ever made.”
This year has been a learning curve for the father of two, with the educator getting to know more about Judaism and the South African community as well.
“One of the joys of the job is learning every day about the Jewish community, its culture and traditions. I’ve also been learning a lot of new words, and while some of them have some Yiddish in them, most are South African.”
His biggest challenge, he said, has been teaching the community about his new role, which also includes the position of chief executive officer.
“With the structural changes, people are still learning and understanding the new model because the people in this chair before me have been in charge of the day-to-day operation of the high school, but that isn’t my job.
“My role encompasses educational leadership and management, but also the business leadership and management of the school.”
As for the future, Fillingham said it includes further changes to Moriah’s middle and primary schools.
“We’ve created some positions in the middle school … They are known as teaching and learning coordinators, or TLC, which is nice because it’s about tender loving care for the middle-school kids. The next task is to change the way we approach the curriculum in the primary school to integrate Jewish and secular studies.”
Despite the hard work, the principal said he still finds time for some fun and his family, including his husky-golden retriever cross Duke.
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