Ladies’ College celebrates work of tech support staff

The purpose of Techognician Day is to appreciate and showcase technicians who often work behind the scenes, and the importance of their roles, and The Ladies’ College did just that.

‘The technicians run the department from a practical point of view,’ said Ladies’ College science technician Sharon Fraser.

‘Teachers submit their experiment requests and we get it all ready, but also create new and fun experiments for them to try.’

Two of the science labs at The Ladies’ College have been renovated, and the technicians were heavily involved with the design process to make it tailored to the school’s needs.

They monitor health and safety and safely dispose of harmful chemicals when necessary.

‘We would probably just about be able to manage without them but life wouldn’t be anywhere near as fun,’ said head of science Dr Karen Marshall.

‘The technicians are very knowledgeable and we really would be scraping the bare minimum without them and would have the least amount of practicals.’

Head of physics Rialette McGregor said that the technicians care a great deal about the students and exude a sense of fun.

‘Our technicians are innovative, productive and kind.

‘They often anticipate problems before they arise and regularly offer us solutions to situations before we even realise we have a problem,’ he said.

‘This includes challenges specific to science teaching, but also in the general functioning of the department and the human nature of the teachers in their care.’

Science is not the only department with technicians.

Scott Dorrity is a technician working with media and designing boards around the school.

He said that his role entails making life generally easier for teachers, by picking up tasks so they can focus on teaching.

With the shift online only moving more swiftly, ensuring technology is working is a critical part of education and is maintained by technicians.