Mrs Jan Sparkes came to Carey from PLC in 1988, where she had held the position of Chief of- Staff, to become Deputy Head of the Carey Preparatory School, which was Prep to Year 3.

In the early 1990s when the operational subdivisions of the School were re-cast, Jan was appointed Head of Junior School, Prep to Year 6.

During Jan's years as Head of Junior School, the scope of the Junior School was expanded considerably. A creche was established for the children of the staff of the School, and an Early Childhood Centre with Kindergartens for three and four-year-old children, as well as an additional service to parents and students through the provision of Before and After-School Care.

Jan has also overseen a major program of staff professional development and curriculum development through the inclusion of elements such as ELIC (language), EMIC (maths), PMP (perceptual motor program). Her initiatives helped transform the pedagogy in the Junior School through a focus on child-centred, inquiry based learning and teaching methodologies that have emphasised the individual needs of each child. This in turn
enhanced co-operative teaching and learning strategies, which in turn have led to positive behavioural strategies.

Jan's personal qualities, her interpersonal relationships, and her Christian commitment have had a profound and very positive effect on the ethos and ambience of the Junior School. She has always seen her position first and foremost as an educator, and her position as Head of Junior School as a vocation. She has espoused, both philosophically and in practice, the approach that 'A school needs to be a place for all children, not based on the idea that they are all the same, but rather that they are all different.' Her leadership style has been strongly collaborative, and supportive of her staff; she has always encouraged the sharing of ideas and experiences
in the development of teachers as researchers. Indeed, her approach to the leadership of the Junior School has been that of a leader amongst a community of learners - 'where everyone is a learner co-operating with one another in mutual trust and respect'. She has adopted an inclusive style of personnel management, embracing gender equity, encouragement of professional development, and sensitivity to the individual case. She has encouraged, both by word and by personal example, all teachers to be role models for the children with whom they interact.

Her dealings with students and parents have been similarly guided by strong educational philosophy and Christian principles, though I know there have been many occasions when her charity, her gentleness and her concern for justice, fairness and equity have been sorely tested.

It has been in the light of these qualities that Jan has approached and presided over a period of significant change in the Kew Junior School. A very major component of this has been the planning and development of the S.L. Hickman Junior School classroom block. So much of the subtle and special quality and ambience of this building is the outcome of dogged perseverance by Jan in her discussions with architect and builders, to incorporate those things that make this such an exceptional facility.

I have appreciated the calm and sensible contribution Jan has made to whole-school issues as a valued member of the Principal's Advisory Committee. Whilst naturally seeking to gain the best for the Junior School, she has always been conciliatory with and accommodating of the wishes and requirements of the Heads of the other sections of the School.

She has been significantly loved and revered by many students, parents and staff over the 12 years of her engagement with the Carey community. She has supported activities across the broad spectrum of the whole curriculum, and has followed the fortunes of the children she has known as they have moved through the School. Jan will be remembered by many students as 'that teacher who made the difference'.

Her legacy to Primary education State-wide, to our Junior School in particular, and to Carey as a whole, is great and will be influential for many years to come. She has been both respected and admired by her colleagues in equivalent positions in the Junior School Heads' Association of Australia.

Source: Dr Ross M Millikan, Principal -  Carey Chronicle 1999.