From SA to Shanghai and back
People
From classrooms in Adelaide, to bustling schools in Shanghai, and now All Saints Catholic Primary School on the Fleurieu Peninsula, Sherrilie Burton’s career in education enabled her to see the world.
Mrs Burton still remembers the moment she and her husband David packed their bags for what was meant to be a two‑year adventure in Shanghai. Both were teachers, curious and ready to step into the unknown. They didn’t realise they were stepping into a vocation that would stretch across continents, deepen their faith, and surround them with a community that felt like family.
“We went with no children,” Mrs Burton says. “We took a two‑year contract, which turned into 11 years and two daughters born over there.”
By the time she boarded that flight, Mrs Burton was already well embedded in education. She’d been teaching since 2003, after early work in support roles that ignited a love of education.
“I found that my passion was working with children and young people,” she says. “So, I did my teaching degree straight after school.”
The classroom felt like home. But when the opportunity came to teach internationally, she and David jumped at the chance.
Shanghai, with its scale, pace, and cultural richness, became more than a posting. It became a crucible of faith, family, and resilience.
In Shanghai, life moved quickly. Mrs Burton and David welcomed their two daughters there; Madeleine, born in 2013, and Liv in 2016.
“We loved our experience and were very blessed with all that we got to do while we were living and teaching over there,” she says.
From New York to Singapore, Cambodia to Tibet, they travelled widely.
Among the memorable moments was taking part in the Great Wall Marathon in 2012, during which they raised money for Seeds of Hope, a charity initiative run by the education foundation they worked within in Shanghai.
“Full disclosure – I only ran the 10km (too many stairs),” Mrs Burton says. “Somewhere in the crowd that year was Liz Keogh, my former principal here at All Saints, who I did not know at the time. We later discovered the common location when I began teaching at All Saints in 2019.”
The sights and sounds were eye-opening but the thing that really had an impact was the way community, culture and faith wove together.
Their school operated with a co‑teaching model, an English‑speaking teacher alongside a Chinese‑speaking counterpart in every classroom.
“Our Chinese counterparts and community were so supportive in our lives there,” she says. “We learnt something new every day.”
That sense of home and the blessing of community became critical when Liv was born prematurely at 32 weeks.
Liv’s godmother, a close friend from the school community, came in the middle of the night to stay with their older daughter so Mrs Burton and David could rush to hospital. What followed was a blur of medical decisions, logistical challenges and prayer.
Liv was initially cared for in an international hospital, but when it became clear their insurance wouldn’t cover an extended stay in the neonatal intensive care unit, they had to move her to a local university hospital.
“The quality of care was wonderful. The staff at the school I worked at did the whip‑around. They made it so that I could have a car take me there first thing every morning and stay as late as I needed and bring me back every night and then pick me up again the next day, so that we didn’t have to worry about that.”
It was, in every sense, a living expression of Christian love: a community wrapping itself around a young family in crisis.
“That’s why we chose, even though we had her baptism back here, to have a christening in Shanghai with our friends and family there,” Mrs Burton explains. “They were very much a part of supporting our family through that time, and we really wanted to celebrate with our family there in that way.”
In 2018, after 11 years, the Burtons made the difficult decision to return to Australia. Leaving friends who had become family was painful, but in hindsight, she sees God’s hand in that chapter.
“I feel God was a little bit behind that decision,” she reflects.
Back in South Australia, the family re-acquainted themselves with the state.
“I’ve been going to the Seaford Christian churches for years,” Mrs Burton says. “My mum is part of the Anglican church there and I attend there as well.”
“I know that back here they were praying for Liv as well,” she says. “It was lovely to know that there were prayers happening back here.”
Today, that sense of being held in prayer continues in her work at All Saints Catholic Primary School, where she serves as Assistant Principal, Teaching and Learning.
Liv is now in Year 4 at All Saints; Madeleine is in Year 8 at Cardijn College. David, meanwhile, teaches at Woodcroft College.
“Working in the Catholic system and in CESA has just been a wonderful experience for me,” she says.
“The high-quality professional standards in teaching and learning that we are held to, and the faith community…that very much is what I enjoy. Being back here, being a part of our Catholic community and our school community at All Saints. It is a privilege and a responsibility to help shape thriving people, capable learners and leaders for the world God desires.”
As she reflects on the airmiles and friends made along the way, she feels fortunate to consider Shanghai and South Australia home.
“The community, the care, the love,” she reflects, “that’s what has carried us, wherever we’ve been.”
David and Sherrilie at the Great Wall Marathon in 2012.
The christening of Liv in the family’s Shanghai apartment by a Lutheran minister who served as a chaplain to the school community.
