Staff News
Staff Spotlight
This month I would like to introduce to you Mrs Melanie Williams – Food Technology and Humanities Teacher. Melanie commenced with us July 2024.
Where was I born and where did I grow up?
Born in Mordialloc, lived in Greensborough, Ballarat and then out the back of Tyres – on the foothills north of Traralgon from 10 years old until 19. Then I went to the UK. Dad was traveling from Ballarat to Traralgon for work on the power stations and the Thompson Dam.
What is a unique/interesting part of my childhood?
I remember walking to school in the snow one morning in Ballarat. Every time someone came to visit, we went to Sovereign Hill.
Living out in the bush we lived with the constant fear of snakes and bushfires. I am still petrified of snakes. There was a wallaby that used to eat all of my Mum’s zinnias. There was the odd wombat, goanna, and plenty of kangaroos.
Our dog would find echidnas and then lead us to them. She never hurt them. She was a golden retriever Dad rescued from the pound in Ballarat. The ranger couldn’t put her down and had had her for 8 months. She had a bad heart and said she wouldn’t last long, but she survived for 15 years!
One night I was in bed reading Wuthering Heights for school when a pair of possums started fighting on the roof at the moment when Cathy’s ghost screams across the moors.
My favourite food combo is…
Pizza! It’s up-market cheese on toast!
What I love most about my career is...
Spending time with students as who they are now and seeing them in the future as the adults they become.
If I was stranded on a desert island, the 2 people I would want with me are…
My husband and Sue Rankin, we’d have a great old laugh!
When I want to unwind and do some self-care I…
Go to the football. When you’re there, nothing else matters and you’re in that moment. It’s such a spectacle. Otherwise, I read, cook, embroider, knit, crochet, macramé, anything with my hands. My husband still complains I always have to be doing something; I can’t just sit still.
I am most inspired by…
The Paralympians and the people of Timor Leste. They’ve made the most of what they have, not what they don’t have.
Professional Learning and Development
On Friday 7 March we held a Staff Professional Learning Day with a focus on Teaching and Learning. We were honoured to have data expert and university lecturer Mrs Carmel Richardson work with our teachers and Learning Support Officers all day unpacking our VCE data from 2024, but also looking ahead to what changes we need to make in our pedagogy that will support our students to achieve better results.
Carmel has had over 30 years’ experience in understanding how the VCE works, the importance of the GAT (General Achievement Test) and what story the data tells us in terms of our student’s approach to their studies, but also what we can do as teachers to help them in their journey to success.
The other part of the day involved teachers and Learning Support Officers working in their faculty teams focusing on “Curriculum Threads”. These “threads” link the major concepts in the curriculum from Years 7 to 12 and are the foundational concepts that students need to know so they can build on their knowledge if they choose to continue with the subject through the senior years. It is always wonderful to witness our teams collaborating and being innovative in their curriculum designs and we look forward to continuing this work through the course of this year.
Staffing and Recruitment
We continue to recruit for leave replacements this year. We have a few staff who are taking some significant periods of leave sometime in 2025. If you know of anyone who may be interested in some short contract work, we have both full time and part time positions available commencing Term 2 in the following areas:
- English
- Humanities
- Mathematics
- Science
Professional Culture and Growth
Last year I worked on creating a Marist-Sion College Staff Wellbeing Strategy, based on the Thrive At Work framework. This was a key piece of work highlighting the need for all employees to have strategies in place to support the wellbeing of all staff.
This year we have a team of volunteer staff who are passionate about staff wellbeing to form our Staff Wellbeing Champions. The objectives of this team are to:
- Provide more staff resources to be equipped with the strategies for staff wellbeing.
- Support the embedding of the Thrive At Work framework as outlined in the Staff Wellbeing Strategy.
- Support embedding a culture of wellbeing within the staff.
- Design structures and practices that enable staff to thrive personally and professionally.
- Provide initiatives for staff to support their wellbeing toolkits.
The team of Staff Wellbeing Champions are:
- Georgie Beekhof – Deputy Principal - Professional Culture and Growth
- Kate Davine – Classroom Teacher
- Bradley Cavalot – Sports Leader
- Melanie Williams – Classroom Teacher
- Louise Haley – Learning Leader – Music Performance
- Chantelle Baxter – Classroom Teacher
- Sharryn Marshall – Learning Leader – Performing Arts
- Leanne Dunsmuir - Compliance and Human Resources Coordinator
Mrs Georgie Beekhof
Deputy Principal – Professional Culture and Growth