LOCAL LIFE
Hayley McDonald
“ We don’ t have academic honesty or intellectual rigor- schools have abandoned integrity and rigor.”
Not from what I witnessed at Richmond High!
“ It is my and the staff’ s vision to send our students out into the wider world as critically thinking members of society,” Hayley said.
Hayley’ s leadership, coming in the wake of previous principals and their staffs, has been the catalyst for Richmond High this year being rated 89 th out of 1457 secondary schools and colleges across Australia.
Each and every one of the Wyndham Scheme pioneers could not have been more delighted with their visit to their old alma mater.
The visitors could not have been more impressed by Hayley, staff members and especially the students – those Student Representative Council members who chaperoned the visitors around the school and the hospitality students who prepared delicious finger food and hot beverages for morning tea.
“ How good is this – a day all of us will remember,” mumbled Paul Wayling, well, that’ s what I believe he said with his mouth full of his third or fourth sausage roll at the morning tea.
Hayley’ s journey to Richmond High began with her birth in Newcastle, it wasn’ t gentlemanly to ask“ when”.
“ Mum and dad were both teachers and when I was a toddler they bought
a property out at Singleton where they mixed teaching locally while also producing beef and lucerne on the farm,” Hayley said.
After graduating from Singleton High, Hayley attended the University of New England at Armidale, attaining her degree in Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English, and later gaining a Diploma of Education.“ My teaching career began with a six-year term teaching English and Drama at Temora High and later I also taught at Girraween Selective High and then Irrawang High at Raymond Terrace,” Hayley said.
Over the ensuing years, Hayley honed both her teaching and administrative skills at Kandos, Cessnock and Waratah in Newcastle.
“ It was while I was teaching in Kandos that I learned that a valued school is of paramount importance to a regional community,” Hayley said.
While on the staff at Cessnock High, Hayley was promoted to Deputy Principal and then moved up the ladder in 2018 when appointed principal at Callaghan College.
Old Julius would be proud of this woman’ s achievements!
I asked Hayley about the relocation to Richmond High.
“ When I learned of the position becoming available, I jumped at the opportunity to teach in what is still a country environment, and also to live
Hayley’ s other passion apart from family, friends and her profession, is gardening. Give her a secateur or trowel, and she’ s in Seventh Heaven!
closer to my two daughters,” Hayley explained.
“ Both live in Canberra, daughter number one is a lawyer, and number two is attending ANU( Australian National University) with the aim of becoming a history teacher.”
I then posed the question as to what tickles her fancy apart from teaching.
“ I absolutely love gardening, it really
is my favourite pastime in the world,” she replied.
“ My other passions, apart from family, of course, are reading Australian crime fiction which has really boomed in recent years, and live theatre at which I am a regular attendee.”
To say Hayley Macdonald is living the dream is to say Julius Sumner Miller could teach!
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THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine. com. au ISSUE 186 // NOVEMBER 2025 7