By CASEY NEILL
Annette Hilton made a lasting impact on classrooms and hearts at Springvale Rise Primary School.
Assistant principal and her colleague of 11 years Gary Tippet said her death on 6 May followed an 11-month illness.
“She seemed an invincible person. That’s probably the hard part,” he said.
“The school and the teaching fraternity lost an innovative educational visionary, a beautiful person and a champion of the under-privileged whose energy and commitment knew no bounds.”
Mr Tippet said he and Mrs Hilton achieved a lot together.
“She was the genius. She was driving it…” he said.
“We’re a very underprivileged school in terms of socio economic status – one of the lowest in the state.
“Our academic data is astonishing.”
Rather than administrative ease, “she wanted everything to be about the students”.
Mrs Hilton researched how to make programs designed specifically for each child.
“Everybody was where they were at as a learner,” Mr Tippet said.
“Last year we had a boy in year two who actually goes to the year sixes to do numeracy because that’s his mathematical level.
“Previously, if you’re 12 you’re in grade six and this is the curriculum you get.”
He said Mrs Hilton “didn’t not do something just because it was difficult”.
“If that’s what was required for the students, it was hard, it was difficult, that’s what we did,” he said.
In 2010 she attended the Canadian Coalition of Self-Directed Learning conference in Toronto, Canada.
“The year after they invited us to go back there,” he said.
“They couldn’t understand how it could work in a primary school.
“We were one of the presenters that year.”
Mr Tippet said schools from around Australia visited to learn about the Springvale Rise personalised learning model.
“Her first school ever was Olympic Village,” he said.
“When I went to teachers’ college it was notorious – it was a very, very underprivileged and difficult school.
“It was there she decided that was the area she wanted to teach in.
“To come here, she knew it made a difference.
“Our students actually cry at the end of the year. School to them is everything.
“They’d rather be here than on holidays.”
Over the years she taught every year level and every specialist area and was an assistant principal before landing the principal job at Springvale Heights Primary School.
She had worked at the school up until 18 June last year.
“It was the last day of term two. She didn’t feel 100 per cent,” Mr Tippet said.
“She went for some tests and never returned.
“Everyone thought she’d be back and she intended to be.
“Even during this illness and all the times that I saw her, she never said anything about herself.
“She was telling me what to do, especially in the early days when I took over.
“I had a big list that she gave me.”
Be Ha worked in administration alongside Mrs Hilton for 11 years and said the school was planning a permanent memorial in the grounds.
“She was a very caring person,” she said, tears falling.
“She never took a sick day.
“She always put the children and community first.
“I learnt a lot from her.
“I had to clean up her room and I can’t keep my tears.”
On Mrs Hilton’s last birthday, Ms Ha spent 90 minutes by her hospital bed. She died the following day.
She left behind a husband, three children and two grandchildren.
“They’re all supporting each other,” Ms Ha said.
“I’ll never forget her.”
