Orange principal Michael Croke is closing the book on 44-year career in education

The principal who guided the unification of two of Orange's Catholic education institutions to form Catherine McAuley Primary School, Mr Croke will give up the position at the end of the school year after a 44-year career in education.

The role will be taken on by Jo Flynn from St Patrick's Summer Hill in Sydney.

Adjacent to his teaching career, Mr Croke has written books and hosted radio programs but he says the daily interaction he has had with students numbering almost 20,000 would be the thing he missed the most.

"You just start your day with such a great spark when they say good morning to you, did you watch the footy last night...," he said.

"The kids today are just so connecting - morning Mr Croke, how are you - and that's a kid in kindergarten. 'Nice tie you're wearing'. I just love them."

Born and bred in Dubbo, Mr Croke came to Orange in 1987 to take up the assistant principal's role at St Joseph's Primary before taking the principal's reins in 1997.

In 2012, the Bathurst Diocese combined St Josephs with infants school Sacred Heart to form Catherine McAuley, the largest primary school in the diocese at just over 500 children, with Mr Croke at the helm where he has remained.

He said the unification was made easier by the committed and talented staff at the two schools.

"It was pretty easy. It was common sense," he said.

"For the primary school to have an infants component was fantastic and for the infants to have these bigger children to look up to was fantastic. It was win-win."

Mr Croke's teaching career started at St Josephs in Balranald in 1978, a post that taught him valuable lessons about the impact teachers could have not just on children, but the community they came from.

"You're in the cricket team, the soccer team, I played in the band on Saturday night ... and all of a sudden, I got a really good idea of the effect a teacher can have, for better or worse, in a town. You just do everything.

"I got in the rep side because when I went to training I had a thigh pad. They said this bloke must know what he's talking about, that's country towns but it gives you a real good idea of the impact a teacher can have on a community.

"I've always been in towns and it's just fantastic, just to get involved with the community and involved with the parents, it all fits it. What you do through the day, what you do on the weekend, if you do it properly it just makes life easier for you."

That sense of community has been ingrained ever since those early days at Balranald.

"I believe in the community, I like to get involved with people, parents love to see teachers [get involved] ... trivia nights on Friday night, it is totally run by teachers and the parents love that. We just say we're all in this together."

In his 40 plus years, Mr Croke said he has seen a positive evolution in the way children are taught.

"When I first started teaching it was one-size fits all," he said.

"You're in the class, the teacher taught the class sitting in rows and now, the beautiful thing about teaching now, it takes into account everyone's different ways of learning. Classrooms have totally changed, technology has changed and I think we realise now that not everybody's child learns the same way.

"It's not one size fits all and because of that we see children's personalities, and I just see them so connecting, so caring for others. Schools have a lot of programs like that, we have peer support, the kids are involved in Mini Vinnies, they're just so giving everywhere."

Catherine McAuley also boasts a wide variety of cultures which Mr Croke says has also benefited the students.

"Kids here are aware they live in a great town and they have some things that kids in other towns don't have, kids in other countries don't have."

For almost 25 years Mr Croke hosted a radio show, mainly featuring sport on Saturday mornings with the ABC. He reckons those days are behind him but may add to the list of four books he has written.

"But for the next year or so I probably won't do a lot, I've got a few ideas," he said.

"What I will do is something that relates to the skills I've learned as principal but that's all I'd probably say at this stage.

"I just want some free time to myself. I'm not a triathlete but I want to go for a dip at nine o'clock and a run at 10. I'm just looking forward to not having time constraints."

Spending more time with wife Helen and children Josh, Elizabeth, Annie and James and the family is also on the agenda.

"Watching the first day of the test at home. Going to Manly oval and watch fourth grade cricket - just do stuff like that."

In between teaching at Balranald and Orange, Mr Croke taught in Wagga from 1980 to 1986 but will always look back fondly on Catherine McAuley.

"I've always loved the community of the school, the parents have been fantastic and the kids, what's better than dealing with children every day. They are so wonderful."

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