Get to Know: Assistant Head of Primary - Community
Brief summary of professional career:
I moved to Mandurah from Brisbane for my first teaching job in 2003, thinking I’d have a “3-year holiday” here, but I fell in love with the town and have felt blessed to raise a family here and to grow in education. In my 20-year career I have taught in the classroom, but the longest teaching role I’ve had is as a Physical Education Teacher. Although most of my leadership career has been in an Assistant Principal capacity, taking on an Acting Principal role in 2020, amidst all the uncertainty the world faced that year, was a life-changing experience in understanding the needs of a school and its community.
What are you most looking forward to, in your role this year?
Moving forward with a changing community and working with our new and existing staff, families and students. To ensure that, to the very best of our abilities, every day at MCC is a great one, where we’re all excited to come to school and go home proud of what we’ve achieved in the day, and the improvements we’ve made to ourselves, each other and to the school.
Professional passion, or educational philosophy:
I am an enormous fan of Sport, and anything STEM related, and these two worlds collide with my passion for Lego Robotics Competitions and my love for sport data and statistics (which I often use in my teaching). I am also passionate for how The Arts allows students to express themselves, and their view of the world in a different manner, whilst also finding peace and relaxation.
I believe that schools should be a place where students are safe, happy and learn. Any subject area or activity that helps achieve this is worthy of our support.
What is a fun fact about you?
Being from Brisbane, I love the Lions and Broncos, but I have grown to love supporting the Perth Scorchers. I’m a self-professed Star Wars and Bluey Nerd and I always try my hardest to throw as many ‘dad jokes’ into the Primary School as possible (and I can say the alphabet backwards faster than any student in the Primary School can say it forwards!)
Key responsibilities of your Role:
The Assistant Head of Primary – Community oversees events, the Sacramental Program, Mass and Liturgy, Student Leadership, discipline and standards, along with milestone year level events. Communication with families and the community is also a key role.