Saltwater would like to introduce some of our new staff members for 2025.

PREP

CHLOE SACH

Hello everyone! I’m Chloe Sach, and I’m so excited to join the Saltwater College community as a Prep teacher. Originally from England, I’m making the big move to Australia this December. After visiting in 2023, I absolutely fell in love with the country and knew it had to become my new home.

With 7 years of teaching experience, I’m thrilled to bring my passion for education to Saltwater College. I can’t wait to meet my Prep students and guide them on their learning journeys. “I am very excited to teach at Saltwater College and be your Prep teacher.” “I’ll be there to help you grow and learn next year!”

I won’t be making the move alone, my adorable 3-year-old Miniature Dachshund, Glenn, will join me in May. I can’t wait to have him by my side in my new home.

Outside of teaching, I love reading books, visiting the beach, and traveling to explore new places. I’m looking forward to bringing my enthusiasm for adventure and learning into the classroom to inspire my students.

I’m so excited to become part of the Saltwater College community and start this new chapter. See you soon!

MARTA ANDREW

Hi everyone,

My name is Marta and I will be joining the Prep teaching team of Saltwater College next year. I am looking forward to harnessing and building on the unique type of creativity and excitement that working with students, at the start of their educational journey, brings.

I have many hobbies, including (but not limited to) travelling, cooking, music, languages and even reading (and sometimes writing) poetry. Having lived in several countries before moving to Australia, I have many ‘weird and wonderful’ stories to tell. With my background in banking, management and psychology (to name a few), I believe I bring a unique set of skills to the profession.

I can’t wait to start my new adventure as an educator at your wonderful school, and to meet my new colleagues, students and their parents. My teaching motto is - ‘Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire’, (W.B. Yates) and I am more than ready to ignite a life-long passion for learning within each and every one of my students.

Here's to a year of fun, adventure and learning!

ALICE BLUE

Hello Saltwater P-9 College,

My name is Alice Blue (Ally) and I’m very excited to be joining the Prep Teaching Team at Saltwater, in 2025!

My family and I moved from Hobart, Tasmania, to Melbourne earlier this year. It’s been a move a long time in planning. Our young adult children are finishing High School or have already started tertiary education, so we’ve followed our children to bigger and broader horizons.

I’ve been a schoolteacher for many years, I’m passionate about Early Childhood Education and Creative Arts in the Early Years.

Art is in all of Us!

Many years ago, I studied Marine Biology and Ecology, I’m passionate about nature, gardening and earth sciences.

I’m new to the Victorian Education Curriculum and I’m excited about taking on changes and learning new concepts for my lessons.

I’m looking forward to sharing ideas and stories with the Saltwater College Community.

YUMENG GUI

Hello Saltwater College community!

My name is Yumeng, and I am excited to join the team as a Prep teacher. I have a background in psychology and recently graduated with a Master of Teaching (Primary), equipping me with a strong understanding of child development and learning.

I am passionate about creating a welcoming and engaging environment where every child feels supported to grow and thrive. My teaching approach focuses on hands-on, curiosity-driven learning to build key skills and foster a love for learning. Outside of school, I enjoy exploring nature, reading, and spending time with loved ones.

I look forward to meeting the students, families, and staff and working together to support our Prep learners. Here's to an exciting year ahead!

YEAR TWO

CLARA BAEZA

Hello Saltwater P-9 College Community!

I’m so excited to be joining the wonderful Saltwater P-9 College community next year! My name is Mrs. Clara Baeza, and I bring with me 8 years of teaching experience, specializing in general education, technology, and American History. I’m passionate about creating a classroom where my students feel motivated, supported, and inspired to grow.

Building meaningful connections with students, families, and colleagues is at the heart of my teaching. I want to create a space where learning is not only challenging but also fun, engaging, and full of positive energy.

When I’m not teaching, I love getting lost in a good book, exploring nature, listening to music, and enjoying TV shows and movies. Thanks to my husband, I’ve even started to explore the world of anime, and I’m loving it!

I truly believe that “Through love, passion, and determination, we reach our destination,” and I can’t wait to bring that spirit to Saltwater next year. I’m looking forward to meeting all of you, learning together, and making the year ahead a memorable and successful one.

YEAR THREE

CHRISTINE KIM

Hello everyone,

My name is Ms. Kim and I am more than thrilled to be your teacher in 2025. I can’t wait to get to know more about you, but first I want to let you know a few things about myself.

In my spare time, I vigorously read, travel, meditate, listen to music and play board games. Among those, reading precedes other hobbies as I believe it enables us to experience new and unfamiliar worlds and to connect with other people. I usually like to read books written by the same author and my current favourite authors include Bernard Werber, Haruki Murakami and Malcolm Gladwell. I would love to hear about your favourite authors if you have one.

Hope you have a great holiday and I will see you at school on your first day of Year 3!

TESNI HURLEY

Hello Saltwater P-9 College Students and Families, my name is Tesni Hurley, and I will be one of the Year Three teachers in 2025. As a teacher, I believe in instilling a love for learning in my students and encouraging their curiosity.

I am thrilled to be joining the Saltwater P-9 College community next year. I have been a teacher for the past seven years, working in and around London, England. Additionally, I've had the opportunity to teach abroad in Thailand for a year.

I look forward to meeting students and their families very soon.

ANGELA JESSEP

Dear Parents/Carers and Students,

I’m very excited to be joining Saltwater College in 2025 and teaching grade 3.

I’ve been teaching for fifteen years and I’ve had the chance to teach in five countries including China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Australia. While working overseas and in Australia, I especially learned lots of strategies

for teaching literacy. I have some experience teaching PYP, and I’m really curious to learn more about it, together with our students.

As an educator, I believe that teachers should try to be good role models and show students how to demonstrate the school values. They should foster good relationships with students and their families. One of the best ways to do that is to listen carefully to each other and I encourage you to please communicate

your hopes and fears for your child’s life at school openly with me.

Finally, I have high expectations that students will learn to understand how we can develop ourselves through education.

I’m look forward to working as a team with you in 2025

FAY DERMOTT

Hello!

Im Fay Dermott, from Liverpool, UK. I am delighted to join your esteemed institution as a primary school teacher.

With a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) from 2021 and four years of experience teaching secondary school, I am eager to transition into primary education. My teaching philosophy emphasises creating a nurturing environment where students feel safe, valued and empowered to explore.

In my classroom, you can expect an encouragement of curiosity and critical thinking, with a supportive atmosphere fostering confidence and creativity, ensuring there is differentiated instruction and learning catering to diverse learning needs.

Outside of work, I love to stay active at the gym, explore nature through hiking and spend quality time with family and friends.

l look forward to collaborating with colleagues, parents and students to make this academic year enriching and memorable.

Thank you for welcoming me to the Saltwater College community.

YEAR FIVE

WING LAM WONG

My name is Wing, and students call me Miss Wong. I’m from Hong Kong and have spent the last 5 years studying at Monash University, where I completed both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in linguistics and primary education. Having lived in the southeast suburbs for most of this time, I am excited to learn new things and meet new people in the west!

Coming from a multicultural background, I speak English, Cantonese, Mandarin, and a little bit of Korean. Please feel free to come and say hi – I’d love to get to know everyone in the community!

Apart from my passion for educating well-rounded children, I also have a deep love for food and pilates, which I usually enjoy when I’m not spending time with friends and family.

I feel very excited and honoured to join the Saltwater community, and I can’t wait to meet and create meaningful memories with all of you!

ADAM GRIMA

I am a dedicated educator with 10 years of experience, passionate about fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment. I consider that working in partnership with parents and families, underscored by constructive and ongoing communication, to be a vital part of education. I’m excited about the opportunity to join the Saltwater P-9 community. I am driven to motivate students so that they may continually strive to exceed their personal best. I love sports especially AFL football and basketball. My other interests include movies and comic books.

SECONDARY

ESTELLE PIZER

Hello, My name is Estelle Pizer. I am excited to be teaching Year 8 English in 2025. I have a wealth of experience in Primary and Secondary government, private and international schools. As well as classroom teaching, I have worked as an educational coach in special education, literacy, digital technologies and as a leader in gifted education. I have also worked in the music, television and film industry.

Outside of education, I am an accomplished writer, composer and photographer. I recently returned to Australia after living in Japan. My many passions include: photography, writing words and music, Japanese crafts, travel, and contributing to making the world a better place. I am looking forward to sharing my love of education with the students, staff and school community at Saltwater.

AARON MCNABB

My name is Aaron McNabb, and I’m thrilled to join Saltwater P-9 College as the Digital Technology teacher in 2025. I live in Point Cook with my wife and our 6-year-old son who will also be starting at the school in 2025. We moved to Australia from New Zealand in April 2023 and have loved settling into the vibrant community here. After teaching in Tarneit, I’m excited to bring my enthusiasm for all things ICT and Digital Technology to Saltwater College.

My passion for this field stems from my background in electrical engineering and ICT management, and I can’t wait to share my knowledge with the students. I believe in fostering creativity, curiosity, and confidence through technology, and I’m eager to inspire the next generation of digital innovators.

Outside of teaching, I’m an enjoy travelling, cooking, and music. Exploring different cultures around the world has shaped my perspective, and I enjoy bringing those experiences into the classroom.

I look forward to meeting you all and embarking on this exciting journey together in 2025!

JEFF MACKEY

Hi my name is Jeff Mackey. I'm very much looking forward to commencing at Saltwater next year. My family consists of my wife Claire and our two daughters Hannah 13 and Zoe 11. My favourite sports teams are the Boston Celtics in the NBA and Geelong in the AFL. I like watching basketball, cricket, and AFL. I coach my daughters' basketball team and I play basketball (very poorly) myself. I love cooking, reading and playing Nintendo Switch with my girls. I'm currently reading Juice by Time Winton and watching Shogun on Disney+. And I sometimes look like the picture above!

HARVEY COSTIGAN

Hello Saltwater,

I’m Mr Costigan and I will be starting out as a Secondary Humanities and Mandarin Chinese teacher for 2025. I’m excited to start a full time teaching position after working as a casual relief teacher for a little over a year since I graduated at the end of 2023 whilst also making time to travel and go on an extended solo trip around China in 2024.

I hope to spark curiosity and ignite passion within students for the Humanities sector, the same way teachers had done for myself when I was at school. I believe that Humanities is the gateway to understanding the world around us. I hope that in my class students can learn from past histories, wisdom and knowledge to make wise decisions for the future generations.

I’m also looking forward to foster language learning in students wishing to study Mandarin, what I consider to be a particularly rewarding language to learn. As an L2 learner I hope that I can incorporate strategies that worked for my own learning within the classroom as well as cater to student needs.

I’m eagerly anticipating the year ahead and can’t wait to meet and discuss more with students, families and the Saltwater community in 2025.

SPECIALIST TEACHERS

KRISTIANNA ECONOMOU

Hi, my name is Kristianna Economou and I have been teaching primary school students since 2012. In that time, I have taught various year levels including Year 1, 2, and 5 and have also had the opportunity to teach Performing Arts, P.E, Music and Art.

I have 2 beautiful daughters with my husband Steve. My eldest is Elena who is 8 and youngest is Celine who is 5. Being their mum and spending time with them is my favourite thing in the world.

In my free time I love to go on adventures with the family as well as enjoy the company of friends. My hobbies include reading, shopping, watching tv, singing, dancing and trying new restaurants.

The way to my heart is definitely with churros and a good Greek family BBQ. I look forward to meeting you all and being a part of the Saltwater community in 2025.

WILL BARNETT

Hi, my name is Will Barnett and I am thrilled to be joining the Physical Education team at Saltwater College in 2025! Sport has always been a huge passion of mine. Growing up on the Mornington Peninsula, I developed a deep love for all things sport-related.

I hold a Bachelor of Sports Science and Physical Education, which has given me a solid foundation in understanding the physical, mental, and social benefits of sport. Before becoming a teacher, I discovered my passion for coaching and had the incredible opportunity to coach a variety of sports at Melbourne Grammar. This year, I’ve been fortunate to work as a Grade 5/6 classroom teacher at Carrum Primary School, where I gained a strong appreciation for the power of connected community and supportive culture in education.

While I’m an all-around sports enthusiast, I’m especially passionate about AFL and the NBA. I’m a die-hard Sydney Swans and Boston Celtics supporter, so if you ever want to chat about sport, I’m your guy!

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