Vale Bernie Shepherd AM
Bernie Shepherd AM was the founding principal of St Marys Senior High School.
Bernie was a family man and an educator at heart. In addition to his invaluable contributions to the development of St Marys Senior High School, he had a distinguished career as a teacher of science and as a leading academic. Bernie was a member of the Board of Studies (now known as NESA), an author and co-author of many recent articles and reports on the state of Australian schools, and a friend and a mentor to many of his staff and students.
A passionate advocate of learning and of the importance of education for all, Bernie’s retirement from teaching can be seen to have been in name only. He continued to make highly influential contributions to education after his retirement, being respected as an expert in school funding models and education policy. Bernie also remained actively connected to our school community in a wide variety of ways, with the annual Bernie Shepherd Award for Excellence in Science being just one way that we recognise this.
Sadly, Bernie passed away in June 2017 and we take this opportunity to acknowledge his tremendous legacy and his ongoing role in the life of our school. A memorial for Bernie was held at St Marys Senior High School in July 2017 and a video of this function can be seen here: Bernie Shepherd's Memorial video (Youtube link)
