Staff Spotlight
New Staff Spotlight
Welcome Geoffrey Lambourn!
Mr. Lambourn is our Inclusion Officer and it's very likely that your student has met him in the classroom already. Geoff makes sure he is visible and readily available to help students feel a part of our school and to have the supports in place to maximise their learning. Mr. Lambourn is looking forward to working in a big quality secondary school that is Doncaster Secondary College as general class support. Outside of school, his interests are Music, Post impressionist, Cubist and Abstract Artists and Australian Rules Football and Cricket. He also enjoys artisan food and craft beer.
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Get to know Jeff Lucas!
It's the strong reputation of DSC that gets Mr. Lucas travelling a considerable distance each day to get to work! That, and his love of teaching Humanities. Currently, his Year 10 classes are studying the interwar period of WW1 and WW2, and his SEAL class are delving into the business and economic impacts of the Industrial Revolution. His Year 7 classes have just completed mapping skills.
Mr. Lucas is a self-declared history nerd, which is backed by his students. Following a class where he enthralled students with everything about Japan under the Shogun, his students commented, "You really love this, don’t you".
Mr. Lucas is motivated to make an impact on students’ abilities to critically reason and use sound logic when making decisions. History is a great way to get some context on the world students live in and he hopes to inspire students who challenge heterodoxies by evaluating evidence. After all, we want our students to grow into adults who have the skills to make up their own mind about the world they experience.
Outside of school, Mr. Lucas loves to travel and more recently, hiking. Earlier this month, he raised over $8,000 for Oxfam by completing a 109km hike in 26.5 hours!
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Meet Deana Mihalos!
Deana is a proud local who completed her teaching rounds at DSC in 2012. She was impressed with our collegiality and positive culture and knew early on that DSC was a school where she would like to teach. Fun fact - Deana's mother went to DSC (a very long time ago) so she has always felt connected.
This year, Deana is teaching both Senior Psychology (Year 12) and Junior Science (Year 7 & 8). She is very passionate about the field of Psychology and has completed her undergraduate degree in this field before moving into teaching. "Psychology is so applicable to our lives, providing insight into the way we think, feel and behave, which is why it is such a popular subject. In Science, it is so rewarding when students have that 'lightbulb' moment when exploring difficult concepts. There is nothing better than when the learning comes together and it just makes sense. I'm passionate about seeing my students succeed, so this is where my focus is."
Deana is looking forward to building positive relationships with staff and students along with their families, support the leadership team in improving our overarching school goals, and contribute positively to the community by fostering a positive learning environment both in and outside of the classroom.
Outside of school, Deana loves to travel. Last year she spent time exploring Europe, discovering different cultures and expanding her knowledge of the world. Deana also enjoys good food and coffee with a side of reality TV (her guilty pleasure!).
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Welcome Rebecca Ung!
Ms. Ung is impressed with the sense of community at Doncaster Secondary College. Everyone, including all staff and students, have been extremely welcoming and supportive, making her transition into this school very smooth.
Ms. Ung was drawn to teaching English and Psychology because of their extremely intriguing aspects. As a reader, she thoroughly enjoys exploring different texts and analysing different ideas/concepts that are relatable. In her English classes, students explore this while developing critical thinking skills. In Psychology, understanding and exploring the different elements of human behaviour and the influences to our mental processes is something that will always leave her fascinated to learn more and to build that capacity in her students.
In her free time, Ms. Ung is very passionate about music and finding creative outlets. She plays the guitar, keyboard, and the ukelele.
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Hello Lucinda Dance!
Ms. Dance is a proud mum of two beautiful little children, June and Teddy, who keep her very busy at home. She loves them but appreciates her time at work with her students! Having just moved from Footscray to the easter suburbs, Ms. Dance was looking for a vibrant, diverse, and community-minded school. Doncaster Secondary College stood out for this, as well as its welcoming and supportive environment, offering both interest and challenge.
The importance of developing strong communication skills in students is what drew Ms. Dance to teaching English and Drama. She hopes to foster the personal and social skills of collaboration, communication, and critical thinking in her classes. These skills are vitally important for the next generation to succeed, particularly with the amount of media they are consuming every day!
The best part about Ms. Dance's job is helping students to access literature they had previously thought was old-fashioned or boring! It is such a joy to see students enjoying and learning from diverse, well-loved stories. She also loves assisting students in expressing themselves through their own writing. As someone who writes to express her thoughts and ideas about the world, she feels that it is important to build these skills from a young age.
Ms. Dance will be working to strengthen the Drama department with the help of Emma Wood. Post COVID, performing arts in schools have struggled to find their feet again, but Ms. Dance is very passionate about the power of theatre in young people’s lives and is determined to build greater involvement from students at DSC in Drama.
No surprises, but outside of school, Ms. Dance loves the theatre! She also enjoys playing a friendly game of soccer, traveling (she's been to Japan four times and intends on more trips there!) and spending time with family and friends.