2026 Staffing & Classes

2026 Staffing

I am pleased to confirm our staffing for 2026. 

Farewells

It is not only students that we say farewell to at the end of the year, there are some staff leaving FPS too.

• Daniel Arnavas is moving to Research Primary School. Thank you to Daniel for all his contributions as both classroom teacher and Numeracy Learning Specialist.
• Kelly Cox has been appointed as Learning Specialist at Beveridge Primary School. Thank you to Kelly for all her work, including her many years as a Foundation teacher.
• Clint Wilson joined FPS halfway through the year to teach 3C. Clint is planning some exciting travel next year. We thank Clint for his work.
• Ginger Halbert has been our tutor teacher this year. Before taking on the tutor role, Ginger taught across many year levels at FPS. Ginger is taking some time away from teaching to enable her to spend more time with her family. We wish Ginger well.
• Ellie Bailie replaced Jade O’Grady in 4B halfway through the year when Jade went on family leave. We wish Ellie the best as she continues her travelling journey.
• Chiara Vaiani Minchinton has commenced family leave. Best wishes to Chiara and at this exciting time.

Welcome back

• We welcome back Lauren Withers from 12 months leave. 

Changes

• Brendan Nick, Emilia McDonald and Sophie Ratcliffe will be increasing their number of days teaching next year.

Staff Roles

Principal Team

• Principal: Paul Wallace
• Assistant Principal: Nicole Rettke

Learning Specialists

• Literacy: Binh Hoang
• Numeracy: Sophie Ratcliffe

Wellbeing & Inclusion Leading Teachers

• Grace Clark
• Cathy Turner 

Foundation (3 classes) Classrooms are located around the Old Hall.

• Foundation A:  Lucy Papaioannou
• Foundation B: Jayde Brownhill
• Foundation C: Katie Hickey

Year 1 (3 classes) Classrooms are in the double-storey building by Langridge Street.

• 1A: Faye Söderström
• 1B: Lauren Withers 
• 1C: Anneliese Staubli

Year 2 (4 classes) Classrooms are located in the single-storey portables.

• 2A: Michele Fraser
• 2B: Elise Dowell
• 2C: Brendan Nick
• 2D: Emily Grant

Year 3 (4 classes) Two rooms are in the administration wing, between the school office and library. The other two classes are on the ground floor of the Fairfield Road Building.

• 3A: Millie Pinney Gvozdic
• 3B: Jack Dillon
• 3C: James Nash
• 3D: Sophie Ratcliffe (4 days) / TBC (1 day) 

Year 4 (3 classes) Classes are located on the ground and first/top floor of the Fairfield Road Building. 

• 4A: Binh Hoang
• 4B: Prue Middleton
• 4C: Emilia McDonald

Year 5 (4 classes) Classrooms are located on the ground floor of the Wingrove Street Campus.

• 5A: Naomi Reynolds
• 5B: Blake Herreen
• 5C: Anne Killick (4 days) / TBC (1 day)
• 5D: Tom Edwards

Year 6 (3 classes) Classrooms are located on the first/top floor of the Wingrove Street Campus.

• 6A: Anna Moore
• 6B: Conor Markey
• 6C: Jourdan Murray (3 days) / Emily Lindsay-Smith (2 days)

Specialist Teachers

• French: Laurence Barré
• Performing Arts: Olivia Li (3 days) / Keri Spence (3 days)
• PE: Geoff McShane
• Science: Mariah Moshis
• Visual Arts: Marjie Tkatchenko

Additional Programs

• Literacy Support: Rebecca Creswick (4 days)
• Librarian: Paula Stafford

Education Support/Integration Aides

• Nicola Collie
• Joe Coveney
• Gabby De Jong
• Andres Guerra
• Callum McCracken
• Katherine Meng
• Prue Romeo
• Gabi Scott
• Teri Tharapos
• Filipa Valente

Administration

• Business Manager: Nia Syrbopoulos 
• HR & Facilities: Elena Paladino
• Communications: Sarah Moody
• Administration: Leisa Chambeyron & Kitty McDonald
• Maintenance: Graham Keen
• IT: Arthur Ho

Nurses

• Carolyn Ridley
• Dianna Prior

2026 Class Lists

Class lists for next year are finalised, and students will meet their 2026 teachers and classmates in their new classrooms on  Monday 15th December, from 9:45 – 10:30am.

If your children will not be at school on this day, send the office an email so that we can respond with your child's teacher/class information.