NSW Education Week 2025 Ignite Your Potential
Two influencers at opposite yet closely connected ends of the public school spectrum triggered my talk to teachers, students, and their parents, families and friends, at Riverstone Public School, 7 August 2025.
The first influencer was my soon to be nine years old granddaughter who asked me the simple question, “Where did you go to school (primary)?” The second influencer was inimitable Murat Dizdar, Secretary, NSW Department of Education, when I saw him on Australian Story, ABC television, NSW schools boss Murat Dizdar is fighting to stop the flood of students to private schools, 7 April 2025, championing public school education - convincingly, powerfully.
I felt a strong need to give back to the public school that had given me so much.
ABOVE: Riverstone Public School’s student leadership team with me in the school’s library. Photo by Miss Cornelly, Assistant Principal.
Below is a transcription of the introduction and my talk at the Riverstone Public School, NSW Education Week, SCHOOL ASSEMBLY, 7 August 2025.
ABOVE: My donation was used to buy 95 books for Riverstone Public School’s library.
Introduction by MISS Lora Keany, Assistant Principal, Riverstone Public School
Our guest speaker today is Mr Mangold. Mr Mangold made a donation to buy books for our school library after he and his granddaughter were talking about where he went to school.
Mr Mangold grew up in Riverstone. The first house he lived in was on Garfield Road. West near Marsden Park in a house built by his great-great-grandfather. It is now in the Australiana Pioneer Village at Wilberforce.
When he was nine years old his family moved to 51 Elizabeth Street, Riverstone. He used to walk to school here in the early 1960s. He started Year 7 at Riverstone High School in 1964.
While he was at our school, he enjoyed all of his subjects. He also played Rugby League for our school and competed in team sports at district athletics carnivals. He has university degrees in drama and education. He was a writer-producer at Play School early in his career.
My talk
ABOVE: Riverstone Public School is very inclusive.
ABOVE: Addressing my alma mater was a privilege.
Thank you Miss Keany
Good morning, everyone!
If it’s okay with you Miss Keany we’ll do a short quiz before we start?
Everyone, please put your hand up. Put your hand down if you think I was in Year 6 at this school in 2003? Put your hand down if you think I was in Year 6 at this school in 1993? Put your hand down if you think I was in Year 6 at this school in 1983? Put your hand down if you think I was in Year 6 at this school in 1973? If you think I was in Year 6 at this school in 1963? Bingo! Give yourselves a big hug and a clap!
Ignite Your Potential!!? That’s a hard one. Here’s what I think it means. You guys might or might not agree with me. We’ll see.
Imagine a spark—small, yet powerful. That spark is your potential. It lives inside you; it never goes out. It’s still there even in me. I’ll give you an example.
Earlier this year I watched a movie called Blueback with my 8-year-old granddaughter. She and her 6-year-old brother go to a public school just like yours.
Some of you probably already know that Blueback is a book and a movie and that the story is about protecting a huge and friendly blue groper fish in the sea, from people with spearguns. The main character in the book is a boy called Abel. The main character in the movie is a girl called Abby. That’s fair, right?! Boy, girl, girl, boy, depending on whether you read the book first or watch the movie first.
Reading Blueback the book ignited my granddaughter’s potential and mine in interesting ways. Firstly, by igniting her interest in seeing the movie, and secondly, by inviting me to watch it with her!
What’s really interesting is that as a result of watching the movie, I read the book, and then I did a three-day scuba diving course where I actually got to see a blue groper for real! Amazing!
Now my granddaughter wants to see a blue groper too. She’s concentrating on her swimming lessons so that maybe we can go snorkelling in summer, at Shelly Beach, Manly, where I saw the blue groper.
So, how can you ignite your potential?
Believe in Yourself. Confidence is the first step. Trust that you have unique talents and abilities. Look for opportunities to find and develop them.
Embrace Challenges. Don’t shy away from difficulties. They are stepping stones to growth and success. You might not be good at some things straight away but that doesn’t mean you can’t be with practice. And remember, you can still enjoy doing things that you’re not necessarily good at.
Stay Curious. Always seek to learn. Lifelong learning is one of my greatest joys. Your school motto says it all: “Knowledge and Friendship”. Knowledge ignites your potential and opens up new opportunities, as does friendship. One thing leads to another.
Igniting your potential is not about waiting for the right moment. It’s about creating it! So, go ahead—ignite your spark and let it light the way to your future.
And finally, I have three Ignite Your Potential gifts you can all share. The first gift is an acronym: KYOTAP, capital K, capital Y, capital O, capital T, capital A, capital P. KYOTAP! KYOTAP stands for ‘Keep Yourself Open To All Possibilities’! But always be careful and think for yourself when you do!
KYOTAP was created by Fiona Buckingham, a fashion designer I met when I was teaching at UTS, University of Technology Sydney. I thought KYOTAP was Japanese but Fiona explained she created it as the name for her business designing and making clothes for women.
The second gift, which is probably already in your school library, is a copy of Blue Back, the book. And the third gift, no surprises here, is a DVD of Blue Back, the movie.
Enjoy!
Thank you.