Meet Mrs Tindall

Primary Coordinator

ISC (Information Service Centre) Teacher

Where have you lived?

I grew up in Sydney on the Northern Beaches in a little town called Newport. I have always lived by the beach, which is why I love living in Forster. We moved here 9 years ago.

What’s it like being on staff at TCC?

Working at TCC is fantastic. It is like one big family. I feel blessed to be able to work with such a great team and love being able to work with students on a day to day basis.

What does your role involve?

This year, my role has changed a lot! As the Teacher Librarian for a K-12 school, and my role as Primary Coordinator I am involved with many different aspects of day to day life within the school. My duties as a Teacher Librarian involve normal administration duties (circulation, accessions, acquisitions etc.), however Mrs Archinal is an amazing help for this!  I also teach every class, from Kindergarten to Year 6. This year we are incorporating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) type learning into our library lessons. This means that our students not only have their normal library lesson, where they borrow and return books and we instill in them a love of reading, but we are also incorporating hands on, group based learning, which our students love. From coding our robots (the Sphero balls), to engineering towers and projects, we want our students to be solving ‘real world’ problems.

The Centre is open from 8:50am – 3:30pm every day, however we do close at recess. Our Secondary students access the Centre during their free study periods, and our distance education students also use the centre for their studying needs. All teachers can book into the Centre in one of the three different zones (Computers, Classroom or Mini Theatrette).

Lunch time here is a hive of activity. We average around 70-100 students every lunch time, where students can play games (chess, puzzles, cards), use the computers for educational related games, read a book, or participate in one of the activities for the day that is set up in the classroom (domino towers, straw towers, play dough animals etc). We also encourage primary students to come in at lunchtime on a Tuesday or Wednesday to do their homework.

Friday lunchtimes is a Secondary School only day, where Mrs Sage has homework help on, and also a STEM club.

Why the name change?

We have renamed the library to the Information Services Centre. A lot of people have asked why we did this. The main reason is that we want to be a 21st Century Centre, that equips our students with all the information they need for their future. Libraries are no longer a place for just books. We now access information in all sorts of ways, through ICT, E-books, etc. We want to encourage our students, from Kindy all the way up to Year 12, to come to the ISC first for all their information needs!

What else do I do...

As a Primary Coordinator, I am also responsible for other facets of school life including NAPLAN coordinating, Drama & Debating Eisteddfod Coordinating, managing Stage meetings, discipline, welfare etc.

What are you looking forward to at TCC?

I look forward to learning a lot during this year. I am currently studying my Masters through Distance Education at Charles Sturt University and am looking forward to this challenge. I know I will grow a lot, as I master the many different aspects of my new role, however I do love to be able to spend time with all students in the College. Rather than focusing on one class, I now have the unique position of being able to work alongside and mentor many different students and watch them grow, not only academically, but also spiritually in their relationship with Christ.

How do you like spending your spare time?

As a mum of three teenage girls, I spend a lot of time being a taxi driver! My oldest daughter (Gemma) is almost 18, and is in the process of getting her license, so we spend many hours in the car together. My two younger children (Jasmine and my step daughter Jaide), are both 15 and love the beach, so we also spend a great deal of time at the beach as a family on the weekends. Jasmine is also a keen dancer, so we do travel a bit with her many dancing commitments.  My husband is the Principal at Coolongolook Primary School, which is a very busy job! We like to walk the dogs every afternoon after school along the beach to talk about our days, and the dogs love it as well!

I enjoy going to the gym in the morning before school, hanging out with my church family and spending time with God.