Brian O’Dwyer

Travel and adventure await Brian O’Dwyer, who will call time on his 38-year teaching career — 34 of which have been spent at Seymour’s St Mary’s College — at the end of this year.

Coming straight out of the building trade and in to teaching, Mr O’Dwyer combined his two loves and taught at Broadmeadows Technical School for five years, before making the move to St Mary’s.

There, he’s been the woodwork guru for a generation of students, while his pathways teaching and mentoring have helped guide hundreds of Years 9 and 10 students on their chosen career paths.

Then there’s the college drama productions — one of Mr O’Dwyer’s fondest memories — where he has been head of backstage since he arrived at St Mary’s.

Reflecting on his time at the college, Mr O’Dwyer said it was the staff and students that he’ll miss the most.

‘‘I look forward to coming to school every day, it’s a great place to work,’’ he said.

‘‘The banter with the kids is really enjoyable. Hard to believe but I look forward to yard duty. Of course you have to sort out a few dramas and say ‘pick up papers’ now and again, but just the general banter with the kids is a lot of fun.

‘‘The memories with the staff and the camaraderie we all have is also something that I’ll look back on fondly.

‘‘There’s an uplifted feeling around the school, and it has a great community feeling about it. I’ll miss the place, that’s for sure.’’

But all good things must come to an end, and Mr O’Dwyer and his wife Cath, who also has retirement plans for the nottoo-distant future, plan to hit the road — and the skies — to tick off a few bucket list items.

Also on the horizon for Mr O’Dwyer is the chance to spend more time with his family and of course, there’s plenty of odd jobs around the house to keep him busy in to his retirement.

‘‘It’s a new phase for Cath and I, but we’re looking forward to what’s ahead of us,’’ he said.

‘‘We’re just going to wander about and see the rest of Australia that we haven’t already seen, and have a look at a few parts of the world that we’re interested in looking at as well.

‘‘I’ve got plenty of projects at home that I’ve never got around to doing, and I’m involved in all sorts of community things as well, so people will still see me around.

‘‘I have four grandkids now, so I’m looking forward to spending some time with the kids and grandkids and going to their school things which I haven’t been able to do, so I’ll enjoy all of that.’’

Outgoing St Mary’s College principal Peter Kelly said Mr O’Dwyer’s dedication and involvement in college life over more than three decades has been second-to-none.

‘‘His selfless dedication to the life of the college, be it his involvement in the college productions, art shows, carnivals, the Parents and Friends Association, or the college board, has shown him to be a model of leadership within the school,’’ he said.

Mr O’Dwyer’s contribution to St Mary’s will be celebrated at tomorrow’s joint celebration with Mr Kelly.