Mrs Jessup took over from Helen Hollingsworth in 1995 and loved her job, describing the preschool as “a great place to work, with children always bringing something different to your day”.
“It’s a fantastic place with beautiful grounds,” she said.
A lot of satisfaction has been derived by Liz over the decades of teaching preschoolers at Mulwala.
“The pride you see in the little bodies grow up – we’ve got three past children here today with children of their own here, and they’ve turned into fantastic people. You take pride in seeing children develop into adults,” she said.
“On average, we’ve had 35 children a year. For the past two years, there have been 40 children – our maximum.”
Other highlights in Liz’s time at Mulwala Preschool have been the extended outdoor area next to the fire brigade station and the steel-constructed two-level ‘Taj Mahal’ which is nearing completion.
Located at the gate entrance, the ‘Taj Mahal’ will provide a cubby house below for children to play and a lookout on top to view the community.
Her long-time 2-1-C, retiree Maree House, commented: “Liz was a wonderful leader. She knew all the government rules and regulations and was great fun to work with.”
Liz has devoted all but six weeks short of a half-century to junior, special education and preschool children. She was farewelled and thanked for her services by so many adoring fans, the children and parents.