Mr Chant

The students in 3D welcomed a special teacher in their classroom last week. Mr Chant, our school Principal used the inclement weather as an opportunity to brush up his teaching skills.

All school principals begin their careers as teachers, after several years of experience, they undertake further leadership and managerial training to further their careers and leap out of the classroom into a leadership role.

Educated in Sale, country Victoria, Mr Chant was taught by his own father who also was a teacher, and who later became a school Principal (he has since retired). Mr Chant was a smart kid and fast tracked his primary and secondary education.  He started university at the young age of 17 and graduated with a teacher’s degree at 20. His first job as a classroom teacher was near his hometown, where he taught to a class of grade 5/6 students, his pupils were only 8 years younger than him. 

He then became a PE teacher for some time, before teaching at the Melbourne Zoo for 18 months (the story does not say if he was teaching tricks to animals or curriculum content to students, perhaps you can ask him!) 

His next placements were in Valkstone Primary and Tucker Road Primary until 1999, alternating between classroom teacher and PE teacher.

We won’t mention his age, but he had his first leadership role as Vice-Principal at Mentone Primary in the last millennium, in 1999 more precisely.

Gardenvale Primary gave him his first Principal position and that is where he worked until he joined CJC in 2017 as Interim Principal for a short period of time, and later became our official school Principal in 2018.

We wish him a long and prosperous career; we are lucky to have his expertise and passion at the service of CJC.