Vale –Adelaide Patricia McCall (affectionately known as Trish) 12.4.1953 – 17.12.2019

**UPDATE: Trish McCall’s funeral will be held on Friday 3rd January 2020 at 11am at St Bernadette’s Church South Rd, St. Marys followed by graveside service at Centennial Park.

It is with deep sadness that I share with you the passing of Trish McCall. Trish retired from teaching at Cardijn College in April 2018 and we recognised her 47 years of service to Catholic Education at the 2018 End of Year Mass and Awards.

Trish completed her Year 12 at St Dominic’s Priory School, North Adelaide in 1970. In the early 1970s, Trish was a sister in the Dominican order (seven years) and had extensive experience as a teacher in junior secondary classes in science, mathematics and RE. In 1974, she joined the staff at St Augustine’s School at Salisbury as a remedial teacher, sports coordinator and coordinator for sacramental programs. In 1978 she joined St Bernadette’s school in St Mary’s and in 1979 she joined Marymount College as a teacher in RE, Maths, English and Drama. In 1984, Trish joined the Catholic Education Office as a Consultant in Special and Adaptive Education for Secondary Schools.

Trish joined the staff at Cardijn College in 1990 and she was awarded her 25 years’ service award in 2015. In that time Trish taught across the curriculum but her passion became English and she was well known to her Year 12 students for getting the very best results in this subject. Students wanted to be in her class. She would spend extra time at lunch and after school to be with her students to support them in their studies. Trish has held numerous leadership positions including assistant to the Deputy Principal with a special gift for administration, timetabling and assisting students with subject selection. She has also held the Acting Deputy Principal role at Cardijn for periods of time.

Trish was a great support in community activities and especially the annual quiz night. She would manage the scoring and overall running of the night with the organising committee. During the week you would find Trish in the library after school helping students in the homework club. She attended many camps and retreats in her time at Cardijn. She is well loved by our staff and always supportive of others. She would be the first to volunteer to take a relief lesson or a yard duty if someone asked for help. For a three year period Trish helped me with the 30 year history of the school, she took it upon herself to read through the 30 years of annual reports from the principal to ensure we had captured the essence of our history. She loved the work and enjoyed putting her angle on the stories of Cardijn.

We had come to appreciate Trish’s presence at Cardijn as a great colleague, wonderful teacher who was loved by her students, wonderful openness and flexibility, generosity and passion. A true professional who was respected by students, staff and families.

We will deeply miss Trish, she has been a wonderful gift to the life of Cardijn, a blessing now at peace with God.

Rest in Peace Trish.