AFTER 31 years of teaching at Bundarra Primary School, Sandra Logan, this week, retires to take the next step in her life.

Ms Logan first began her teaching career in 1981 at Warrnambool Primary School and spent six years there before a move to to Portland South Primary School where she spent the three years.

Next it was a position at Bundarra, starting in 1990, that captured her enthusiasm for teaching and learning.

“It's been really special, the latter part of my career - I've been able to work with families, so I'm teaching the children of past students,” she said.

With technology modernising, preparing the students to learn would become less time consuming and increasingly educational.

“When I started the kids were using blackboards and chalk and there wasn't a lot of books around either with around probably one or two books for the whole year,” she said.

“Kids are now using iPads, we've got smart whiteboards and photocopiers.

“The kids have really changed a lot, they're more aware of their world but they still have those same needs of wanting to be cared for.”

Ms Logans favourite moment in her earlier career is when they took students camping in the bush and taught them new skills.

“No phones, no computers and things like that and we take them out and do things like bike riding and bushcraft,” she said.

She had been a physical education teacher and librarian along the way, but has most enjoyed being a classroom teacher to the students and a mentor to many graduate teachers which she was pleased to see blossom in their careers.

“For eight years, my favourite place to teach is where I am now which is in the junior school prep, one or two, mainly because I just love teaching children to read.”

Ms Logan strongly believed literacy, reading and writing are important skills and they can open doors to many things.

“Teaching a child to read and write is just a passion of mine and something that I get a buzz out of every day,” she said.

She plans to return to the school occasionally for emergency work but otherwise will spend retirement on her different passions including bushwalking, gardening, time at the beach and travelling around Australia.

“I do love gardening so I'm going to be spending a lot of time in my garden to grow vegetables and other sorts,” she said.

“But I will do some emergency work maybe because I don't think I can just go out totally cold.”

Ms Logan said that the important part to being a teacher is to love the children and to have the eagerness to watch them grow and learn because it is rewarding to see them progress.

She will greatly miss watching her students grow and approach her each morning with a topic to chat about.

“I'm going to miss almost all the children and I'm going to miss the staff that I work with and all the friendships that I've made,” she said.

“It’s going to be hard on the last day when I have to say good afternoon to everybody.”