Joining our community : Part 1

We are delighted to have a significant number of new staff join our community this year, with a great breadth of experience from teaching and beyond. Over the next couple of newsletters we will bring you a short introduction to each of them.

Please say hello when you see them around.

Michael Collet

Dr Michael Collett is an experienced educational leader, teacher and former biochemist. He is passionate about the development of staff and students to achieve outstanding growth and achievement. Michael’s doctoral thesis detailed biochemical, computational and mathematical analyses to model the reaction kinetics of a class of brain enzymes involved in the development of epilepsy and other neurological disorders. During his research career Michael developed a passion for science communication, education and staff development that rivalled his love for the experimental sciences. This new passion led Michael to become a teacher in 2016 via the Teach for Australia program. Michael always wanted to make a positive impact, and believes that teaching is the most effective way for him to maximise this impact.

As a teacher, Michael enjoys sharing his love for maths and science and seeing his students develop the skills, knowledge and capabilities for success. Michael has taught a variety of VCE subjects and has spent his career teaching at a Senior (10-12) campus. Michael has held a range of leadership, coaching and staff development roles and enjoys working collaboratively with teachers to build sustainable practices that are supported by research, and meet the needs of students and teachers. He is most looking forward to new challenges and learning opportunities. and is excited to teach Year 7 for the first time.

Dominic Huntley

I have been teaching for five years, with my first teaching job being in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. I entered teaching through the 'Teach for Australia' program after completing my undergraduate degree in Canberra and deciding that I did not want to work for the Commonwealth government. In Kalgoorlie I worked with a diverse range of students, including a large indigenous cohort, and I developed the fundamental skills needed to practice effective teaching in the classroom there.

In 2020 I returned to Melbourne where I took a job working at a new school in the outer Western Suburbs – Springside West Secondary College. Being a new school, I participated in the development of the curriculum, including in 2020 the year 9 Humanities curriculum, and the year 12 Legal Studies curriculum which I was proud to develop from scratch during the pandemic. In 2022 I again established a new VCE subject, Economics. In 2022 I also worked for the first time in student coordinating with the Middle Sub School.

At Northcote High I am looking forward to teaching students in a high-performing academic context, in particular in subjects that I am passionate about such as Economics. I also am looking forward to further developing myself as a student coordinator, and more generally further honing my teaching practice.

Louisa Paterson

My name is Louisa and I recently moved to Melbourne from Perth, where I studied Exercise and Sports science at University with the idea that I would become a physiotherapist. During my studies I realised that actually teaching was for me, it was from there I went on to complete my Masters in Secondary Education. During University I worked at Claremont Football Club as the Head Sports Trainer as well as Fremantle Football Club for two years. I also completed my reformer Pilates instructor certificate. I have a passion for all sports, playing a variety of sports growing up, and most recently playing AFL last year. I am most looking forward to getting to know all the staff and students at Northcote High School and growing as a teacher. I am only in my second year of teaching so I hope I can learn new ideas and teaching strategies from those around me to help me as teacher in the future.

Mitchell Neto

I’m a newbie, having just completed my Masters of Teaching this year with learning areas in Economics and Environmental Science. I’m excited to be joining the Northcote High community and being part of a collective effort to empower students to make positive change in the world. Prior to becoming a teacher I worked in the Federal and Victorian public services. I'm really proud of the work I did in climate change adaptation planning, environmental impact assessments, and stakeholder communications. Although, I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into those roles so fingers crossed that my experiences will, in some way, be useful to others. If I say something unfamiliar, it’s probably because I lived most of my life in Wollongong and I haven’t mastered the Melbourne way of doing things… yet. I’m Portuguese-Australian (or Australian-Portuguese, depending on the sport) so whenever I get the chance I head to Portugal to brush up on my language skills and sample the pastéis de nata (custard tarts). I also enjoy cooking and gardening and looking forward to sharing recipes and gardening tips with others.

Johanna Santarossa

I started my career in education in Singapore in 2013, full of passion and energy for teaching. The years since have only solidified my enthusiasm and belief in the power of education. As a teacher, my approach to student management and education has always been centred around giving students autonomy and the support to pursue excellence on their own terms. As an educator, I have spent my foundational years helping underprivileged students and students who do struggle to learn in a typical classroom environment. I have championed mutual respect, care and compassion within my classroom. Most recently, I have grown into my role as a curriculum developer as Subject Head ICT in Singapore. I helped shape the professional development of my peers and built platforms for students to discover and develop their digital literacy. In Northcote High, I am excited to learn from the new system I will be immersing myself in while also bringing a different perspective to the table. As a leader for Digital Literacy, I want to ensure that all staff and students feel empowered to try new digital technologies and find their niches in this ever-changing online-landscape. The aim is to build a seamless blended learning experience, where offline and online worlds meld together in support of learning.

Chris McKay

Hello! My name is Chris and I am excited to be teaching English and Humanities. Since completing my teaching degree, I have been able to spend the last five years teaching in a variety of different settings. This has included a year in my hometown of Colac, two rewarding years in London schools before moving across from the Catholic sector. Outside of the rigours of teaching I enjoy catching local live music, watching British comedy, trying and failing to reach my Goodreads goal, dreaming of an Arsenal League title and entertaining the thought of making an unsuccessful footballing comeback. I am very much looking forward to immersing myself in the local school community - most importantly building strong relationships with both students and staff.

Communication at NHS

Partnering in Learning : Ways to stay in touch