Staff in the Spotlight

With so many staff joining our team this year, we would like to give our school community the opportunity to get to know our new teachers in a fun way. Each newsletter we will be spotlighting a new staff member and sharing with you all sorts of fun and interesting stories about who they are and most importantly, why they became a teacher and what they love most about teaching!

This week we are introducing our new Inclusion Leader, Kylie Rackham. 

How long have you been teaching?

25 years this year. 

What school/university or organisation have you come from?

Blackburn East primary - now a block of houses, Nunawading High - now a block of houses! Latrobe University

Why did you decide to become a teacher?

While working as an artist in residence at a theatre in Christchurch NZ - I was allocated 4 high schools to go out and run theatresports competitions with - loved every minute of it and came back to Australia to complete a post grad Dip Ed. 

What do you love most about teaching?

I love working with students on production work in both Media and Drama - seeing students take an idea from initial concept through to completion. It's wonderful when students exceed their own expectations. 

What has been one of your best teaching moments?

I ran a life boat activity with a Year 8 class one year and students had to make a decision about which characters they would have to throw off a boat in a doomsday scenario for the rest of the people to survive. The whole class was incredibly invested in arguing with each other about the final outcome, and I was able to stand back and watch as they passionately debated their positions. Some students were so outraged by the majority decision that they wrote a short play about the value of one human life over another and the performance of this became our group devised assessment. 

What are three things you would like your students to know about you?

I'm a bit of a Survivor fan (the only reality tv show I like) I will accidentally kill most plants through neglect, and I write plays in my spare time. 

Where's your favourite holiday destination?

Anywhere I don't have to cook or clean! Maybe lying in a hammock somewhere reading a book with absolute silence...

What TV show/series did you last binge watch?

Squid Game. Love a bit of Korean television - truly terrifying though!

If you could wear Harry's invisibility cloak for one day, where would you go and what would you do?

I'd probably have a bit of fun hiding things that people had just put down for a second! I swear people do that to me all the time!

What is the one piece of 'advice' or the one thing that you always say to your students?

What's the worst thing that could happen? You get it wrong, and you learn something!