Welcome new staff - part 3

Jane Critcher

Jane is a bit of a mixed bag with interests in lots of different areas. She is sporty and likes to be outdoors or camping. She likes spending time at the beach with her paddle board. She is artistic and will try her hand at any new skill. Jane studied Fine Art, majoring in painting at the National Art School in Sydney before moving to Melbourne, and is currently teaching herself how to animate watercolour drawings. She has a huge sweet tooth and enjoys cooking up treats for family and friends. She tries hard to be eco-friendly in all that she does.

Jane is looking forward to the new topics and projects at Northcote High School as she gets quite excited about the opportunities to create new pieces. She is excited to learn new skills and settle into a new work place. Although she is worried that she’s not trendy enough for Northcote!

Abigail Egan

Abigail is thrilled to join the team at Northcote to teach Drama and English - her dream teaching load. Abigail’s teaching specialisms are Drama, English and Psychology all of which she has taught in a range of settings since 2012. After taking time off to complete her Masters of Education at the University of Melbourne in 2016, she was appointed as whole-school Capabilities leader at her previous school and it is an area where she has developed great passion and expertise.

What excites Abigail about coming to Northcote High School is its commitment to Respectful Relationships, collaborative teaching and student agency, which she believes provides the positive climate for learning to get the best out of kids. She is also looking forward to involving herself in co-curricular programs including the school production as well as other amazing programs the school has to offer.

On a personal note, Abigail is a die-hard Harry Potter fan (a proud Slytherin - don’t judge, they aren’t all evil) and she likes to spend her free time making her own clothes and doing Latin dance. Abigail is looking forward to the 2019 academic year and meeting all of you in the coming months.

Reuben Malcolm

Reuben had a passion for mathematics throughout schooling which led him to complete a Bachelor of Science, with an extended major in Mathematics, at the University of Queensland. This gave him a strong understanding of all areas of Mathematics, including analysis, algebra, and discrete Mathematics. A desire for a bit of a sea change and a passion for languages prompted him to teach himself Spanish and spend a year in Colombia teaching English. It was this that sparked an interest in teaching, and Reuben since moved to Melbourne and completed a Master of Teaching at the University of Melbourne. During this time, he completed a teaching placement at Northcote and was impressed by the quality of the teaching and the positive and supportive working environment.

He is looking forward to continuing to seek out new experiences and develop as a teacher, as he joins the teaching staff of the Mathematics department at Northcote for 2019. As a new teacher, the task of keeping on track of several classes at once seems daunting, but he feels sure that the rest of the staff will do their best to help in this transition. Aside from teaching and mathematics, Reuben has an interest in travel, fitness, and tabletop games.

Courtney Lever

Courtney is looking forward to sharing her love of geography and humanities with the community at Northcote High School. She grew up on a small farm in South Gippsland, where her passion for the outdoors began. She completed all her schooling in public schools in her hometown of Leongatha, and with such developed a strong passion for the importance of state school education. After she left high school she made the move to Melbourne where she studied a Bachelor of Environmental Science with honours in Geography at Monash University.

After she graduated, Courtney moved back to South Gippsland where she worked as an Environment Officer at South Gippsland Water. A large part of her role involved working with the community and school groups to educate them on the importance of water conservation. It was here that her love for teaching and engaging students began. She made the decision to go back to University to study a Diploma of Education. She has been teaching now for 5 years and couldn’t be happier for making the transition.

Courtney has a love for the outdoors particularly hiking, as well as a strong passion for sport, mostly netball, running and watching her beloved Bombers! She is really looking forward to getting to know new students and working in a school in which she is a part of the local community.

Elliot Wall

Elliot joins Northcote High School after teaching English, Humanities and Philosophy at a western suburbs public school for the last five years, where he was jointly the English Key Learning Area Leader. Prior to his teaching career, Elliot studied a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) with a focus on Philosophy. He also has a particular interest in literature, politics, economics, history, and debating.

Elliot is a big football fan and, coming from a family of Western Australians, was very pleased when the West Coast Eagles won the Premiership! One of the things he loves about teaching is that he is constantly learning. He is excited about the challenge of starting at a new school - no doubt there’ll be much to learn. Having studied as a student at Northcote High himself some years ago, he is slightly nervous about walking around the familiar grounds. However both himself and the school have changed a lot since then (and indeed much of the school grounds will not be so familiar) and in a way it feels like coming home.