Staff Spotlight

At Cecil Hills High School, we have some of the smartest and supportive people on our team - but in addition, our team members also have a wide array of hobbies, talents, and interests that make them truly unique.

We hope you enjoy our ongoing Q&As - aiming to introduce our community to the clever, creative and talented team @ Cecil!

Featuring

I'm Jimmy Bellavia and I have been working at Cecil Hills High School for almost one year.

How long have you been teaching and what subjects do you teach?

I have been teaching for almost 13 years and I teach History and Legal Studies

Like many teachers, I have multiple roles which I fulfill each day. I am a:

Classroom teacher:

Responsible for engaging students in immersive learning, building tomorrow’s future leaders.

Being a role model
Displaying a love and passion for life-long learning
Programming
Assessment and reporting

To be honest, the list of what being a teacher entails is almost endless and I know all teachers do an amazing job of going above and beyond.

Head Teacher Administration:

This is like being able to put all the pieces of a big jigsaw puzzle together, however, it is everyday, and you don’t know what pieces of the puzzle you are going to get each day.

Timetabling
Staffing (contracts, etc)
Pays
Liaising with NSW Department of Education EDConnect
Supporting the Executive and Senior Executive
Supporting casual and relief staff

To be honest, this role entails doing work before and after hours and being dedicated.

I work with an awesome team-mate, Marija Miletic, who does an amazing job everyday. Together, we try our best to ensure that our school can run as smoothly as possible.

What school were you previously at and what did you teach?

I worked at Chester Hill High School for almost five years and before that Granville Boys High School for about seven years. Prior to that I did work at Hoxton Park High School as a temporary teacher.

I have always taught in the HSIE Faculty at all of the schools I worked at. I have a genuine passion for teaching History and have marked it for the HSC.

Where did you go to school?

I actually wanted to come to Cecil Hills High School as a student. I was just out of area and was placed on a waiting list. I would have been in the fourth cohort through the school. However, I ended up going to Good Samaritan Catholic College, another local high school.

What do you like to do when you aren't working?

I like to spend time with my family. I think it is important to treasure every moment possible. Given the current situation at the moment, I think it is even more important to care for and make time for our loved ones.

I also thoroughly enjoy restoring cars. I have built quite a few cars with my father over the years. As the son of a mechanic, I literally grew up with cars. Needless to say, I also enjoy racing them. I am a regular at Sydney Motorsport Park, attending Roll Racing and Drag Racing as much as possible.

Do you have any favourite sporting teams and/or pastimes?

This is a bit of a touchy subject, as many people might not like this! I love soccer/football and have previously played for both Marconi and AC United. My favourite team in the EPL has to be Arsenal; I've always been a fan. I enjoy watching Serie A as well, and have been a big Juve fan since I can remember.

I love the F1 and no, I am not a fan of Lewis Hamilton. I am obviously a big fan of Danny Ricardo, because he’s Aussie and I see him as the underdog. But I have to say, George Russell is promising and well, if Toto thinks so, then he’s going to go far.

If Hollywood made a movie about to you, who would you like to see cast as you?

Matt Damon.

Favourite movie

The Godfather Trilogy.

How do I define success?

I think success is all relative to the individual. Success for me is about accomplishing what you set out to do.

My advice to students

DO all that you can, DREAM as much as you can, REACH for the stars and NEVER give up.