Welcome new staff - part 2

Joining our community

Continuing our introduction to new staff members, we are delighted to have these teachers join our community this year. Please say hello when you see them around. 

Louise Tait

I am excited to be working at Northcote HS, I have heard very positive things about the school. I’m looking forward to getting to know the staff, students and parents and being able to challenge myself and learn new things in a different setting. I have worked for the first 15 years of my career in education at Ringwood Secondary College. I have worked in several roles including Junior School (Year 8) Coordinator, Senior School Assistant Coordinator, Head of Learning for PE/Health and I was the Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator for several years. I have taught across Years 7-12 in PE/Health, with many years’ experience of teaching Year 12 PE. I love being a part of helping students appreciate and enjoy all that these subjects have to offer. It feels like it’s going to be a big year for me, as I am jumping into full-time work after spending several years working part time, with a young family. In my spare time I play social basketball, I also played in the AFL masters competition last year for Darebin Falcons. I enjoy hanging out with my family and I like reading, cooking and gardening. I am also looking forward to being able to ride my bike to work!

Kiri Katsikis

I have a passion for teaching and learning and am thrilled to be joining the NHS team this year. I have taught English and Humanities in three government schools in the northern suburbs before joining Northcote HS. I am really looking forward to meeting students and staff and familiarising myself with the school and all it has to offer. I love to travel and learn about different cultures but I haven’t had the opportunity to do a lot of travelling in the last six years. I used to enjoy shopping but my daughter put an end to that when she dragged me to Boxing Day sales for over eight hours. In 2020, I will do my best to recruit as many students and staff to the Western Bulldogs as we will be the AFL premiers yet again. Go Doggies!

Catherine de Sousa

Hi! My name is Catherine de Sousa and I am new to Northcote High School in 2020 as a VCD and Textiles teacher. I am a 2019 graduate of the University of Melbourne’s Masters of Teaching (secondary Visual Arts and Design). I also hold a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Art History) from Melbourne University and a Graduate Certificate in Visual Arts from the VCA. I have a personal art practice that is based in drawing, however I like to utilise textiles such as embroidery and weaving to realise my ideas. This year I am most looking forward to fully embedding myself within the school community and the luxury of walking to work (I’m a Northcote local)! As a graduate teacher I am apprehensive about many aspects of the role, however I am incredibly excited to continue expanding, emerging and learning throughout my time at NHS, while supporting my students to do the same.

Jack Talbot

I was born and raised in the Northern Territory, spending most of my upbringing in Alice Springs. I left the desert for Melbourne at age 19 with my best friend. We rented an apartment in Brunswick together whilst completing undergrads at Melbourne University and playing gigs around the city with our band. After uni, things got a bit more serious with our music and we were lucky enough to tour internationally a few times – highlights included New York City, Amsterdam and Berlin! I came to teaching post the music career, taking up a job at my mum’s former high school in Horsham, Victoria. After two challenging but rewarding years in Horsham it was time to move back home to Alice where I spent three years working at Centralian Middle School. At CMS I was lucky enough to coordinate a school-wide literacy program, co-lead the Humanities and English teaching teams and coach a number of junior teachers.  

I’m excited to be back in Melbourne and the opportunity to work at Northcote will surely present some different challenges to what I’ve seen in Alice and Horsham. Having met the English faculty and some of the school’s leadership, I’m excited to work in a dynamic and committed team of educators. I’m most looking forward to getting to know my new students and observing their social, academic and creative growth through 2020 and beyond

Salome Broch

My name is Salome Broch, I grew up in the middle of Paris in a small apartment with a cat and a dog. When I was 10, I moved to Australia, without knowing a word of English and found myself in school within two weeks of landing, an interesting experience to say the least! After completing primary school here, I went to high school at Princes Hill Secondary, 'Prinny Hill' as we liked to call it. I then began a bachelor of Biomedicine at Latrobe University followed by an honours year in Biochemistry and Genetics before becoming part of Melbourne University’s internship program for secondary teaching. I am an avid skier, having begun when I was 2 and enjoy travelling where I have experienced extreme weather ranging from -40C° to 47C°. I am looking forward to interacting with the students and having class discussions about various scientific topics. I am also looking forward to running pracs as I know it is something students enjoy.

Sara McKenzie

Hi, I am enjoying Northcote High so far. The staff are lovely and I am really loving teaching co-ed again. I have two children - a 5 year old and an 11 year old who go to Brunswick East Primary. I guess my greatest achievement thus far is becoming a parent and learning (very messily) how complex it is. I have been teaching for around 20 years and I have taught mainly in the private system and, for the most part, in all girls schools - except for the three years I spent in London in co-ed government schools which was an amazing training ground for learning about teaching and classroom management. I have held many different positions of responsibility throughout my time as a teacher, however, teaching Literature and English is my passion. I am most looking forward to knowing my students and understanding them well - it takes a little longer in a new school. I am apprehensive about getting my head around the class times and understanding where all of the classrooms are!