Meet our new Staff

Hi, I'm Jamie McDonald, although the students will know me as Mr McDonald.

I am a highly experienced teacher who has spent many years working in a wide variety of educational roles across diverse school settings - rural and suburban, affluent and not so affluent. As a classroom teacher, I have taught every year level except Prep. I have also held numerous specialist roles, all except Music, which - according to anyone who has heard me sing - is probably for the best!

This year, I am teaching Year 6. I particularly enjoy working with students at this stage of their schooling as they are developing greater independence, critical thinking skills, and a stronger sense of who they are as learners. It’s a privilege to help prepare them for the transition to secondary school, both academically and personally.

I wanted to do something that could have an impact, in some shape or form. Teaching has certainly provided that opportunity. Every now and then, I’ll bump into former students or parents, and I am always humbled when they remember me in a positive light (usually!). Those moments are a powerful reminder of why this profession matters.

When I was younger, I loved participating in a wide range of sports. Unfortunately, the legacy of long-forgotten injuries - such as the odd torn cruciate ligament or rotator cuff - has curtailed those pursuits somewhat. These days, I’m just as happy settling down with a good book or getting out the tools and working on my car.

Being a bit older and, hopefully, wiser before applying for the position at IPS, I did my homework - and perhaps a little online “research” - to get a sense of the school’s culture, leadership, and academic outlook. I really liked what I found, and I’m excited to now be part of a community that clearly values learning, students, and staff alike.

Thomas Daniel (Mr Daniel) and I am a Grade 2 Classroom Teacher and Learning Specialist

I have been working in the education field for about 15 years, having taught predominantly in the inner east of Melbourne. In addition, I have extensive international teaching experience from working at a bilingual PYP school in Japan. Over the years, I have taken on a variety of classroom, specialist and leadership roles within my schools and enjoy innovating and developing new approaches and initiatives for student learning.

I enjoy travelling, hiking, movies, dark chocolate, coffee/cafes, programming/robotics, restaurants, Japan and exploring different countries. Whilst teaching, I am currently studying a Master’s in Neuroscience and Educational Leadership. 

 I barrack for Essendon.

Once, while hiking, I slipped and broke my foot at the summit of a mountain. I had to hike the whole way back down before I could rest! I still enjoy hiking today, though.

I am very excited to be a part of the IPS teaching team and school community. I am ready to inspire students to engage their curiosity and also apply their newly developed skills creatively. And I can’t wait to encourage students to further their digital technologies capabilities to program some new and exciting solutions too!

Hi I am Sandra Portaro your new Italian teacher. 

I have worked in many school settings both rural and urban since the 90s as both class teacher and specialist. I come to IPS from an English language school setting. 

I taught refugee students from a variety of cultures and nationalities and found the experience extremely rewarding. 

I enjoy spending time with my family, nature, reading, practicing yoga, going to movies, live music and theatre events.

I have a ten year old  Maremma sheepdog (also Italian!)  named Bea.

I am proud to be sharing my rich cultural heritage and love of language learning with my students at IPS.

Hello IPS, I am Susan Winter (Mrs Winter) and I am teaching Grade 5 this year. I have taught all primary school year levels and love them all for different reasons. 

I used to work in marketing and communications before becoming a teacher in the health and tertiary education sector. I decided to become a primary school teacher as I wanted to be involved at the earlier stage of a child’s education, and I really enjoyed my teaching time abroad. 

As a primary school teacher I have most recently come from Bundoora Primary School and before that I was at Rosanna Golf Links Primary. I have taught all primary school year levels and love the variety and lifelong learning opportunities teaching offers. I have also been a teacher of English as an additional language to students in Japan and England.

I grew up in Adelaide and enjoy going back regularly to visit family and friends, but I love living in Melbourne as there is so much to do! I am married and have three teenage daughters and have 2 dogs called Piper and Dougie. I love reading and always have 2 or 3 books on the go at once. I also enjoy sewing in my spare time.  I support the Adelaide Crows and Melbourne City (with a soft spot for Adelaide United).

I used to play competitive tennis when I was younger – it pretty much was my life growing up. Unfortunately though I haven’t played it in years as life has become too busy. I loved learning languages at university and living overseas. I once met Princess Anne!

I am looking forward to meeting everyone and joining the vibrant IPS community. My daughters go to high school locally and I have always heard such wonderful things about Ivanhoe Primary and am very excited to be sharing my love of life long learning with my class. If you see me around please come and say hello.