Welcome new staff - part 4

Cindy Frost

Cindy is a music teacher with a passion for the Performing Arts. Her background is as a singer/songwriter with extensive experience in touring and recording.  She is fired up about choir, musical production, composition, event management and ukulele. She suspects there will be a uke club kick off at some stage this year.

At Northcote, Cindy is excited about the performance opportunities available for students, both in and out of the classroom. There are many adventures to be had and she is glad to be part of the team.

Tess Legge

Tess has returned to Melbourne to teach English at Northcote High School after three years teaching in Maffra in Gippsland. Teaching English is her dream job because it allows her to share her love of reading with students.

In the past she also taught Indonesian, and she is fascinated by languages. In teaching English Language to her Year 11 students, she has the opportunity to examine English from a linguist’s perspective.

Tess loves to travel, particularly in Asia, and spent 18 months teaching English in Jakarta. This is where she became interested in teaching, after which she returned to Melbourne to study a Masters of Teaching.

She enjoys sport and the outdoors and tries to find time for as many hikes as possible over weekends and holidays.

Lachlan Myers

After graduating in Engineering and coming to understand just how flawed that decision was, given the unprecedented layoffs of engineers then, Lachlan took a range of jobs and travelled a lot. But he then diverted academically to an MBA and found longer term employment. The banking and finance industry had begun to discover analytics, which found him. 

This was enjoyable and rewarding but he lapsed into consulting, travelled a bit more and ended up doing some actual engineering. Then came the anti-science twenty noughties. At a more advanced age, Lachlan decided he could either whinge or take up teaching science. And here he is. He has taught longest at Balwyn High, and The Academy of St Mary, with shorter time served at Melbourne High and Wallan Secondary College

Rachel Malcolm

Rachel hails from Perth, WA and is so excited to embark on a new adventure in Melbourne. She can’t wait to get to know everyone and to learn and grow from this opportunity. She has spent her life exploring  WA beaches and incredible environments, working as a surf coach and travelling throughout her years of study. Her job as a surf coach enabled her to work overseas and live in Sri Lanka, and her curiosity and passion for new experiences are qualities she hopes to pass on to her students.

Rachel spent the majority of the past 2 years on outdoor ed expedition programs, largely in Exmouth (north WA!) and while she is sad to leave living out of a pack and tent behind, she can’t wait to have the opportunity to be a constant in her students lives, to be a part of their progress over time, and to belong to a permanent community at Northcote High School.

With Rachel's first teaching job comes a lot of nerves (her kids will actually be TESTED on what she teaches them… how can she connect best with them… they’re all going to be taller than her…) but already from her  positive interaction with staff, she knows she will be supported and these are healthy fears of the unknown. The Vic landscapes, footy and coffee are also something to be pretty excited about. 

Diana Blyton

After many years spent working in childcare, Diana returned to study and became a Library Technician in 2008. She has worked in university and school libraries, most recently in a large P-12 College in Craigieburn. Having been a Northcote resident for nearly 30 years, she jumped at the chance to work locally when the position here at Northcote High School came up. She now walks to and from work rather than spending time on the Hume Freeway. Bliss!

In the last 6 years in school libraries Diana can honestly say she has never had a day where she didn’t want to be at work and she always gets a buzz helping students and staff in the library. There is always something to learn and share and she looks forward to getting to know everyone and becoming a part of the school community.

When she is not working she will be hanging out at home with her rescue kitty, Primrose – reading or doing cross stitch embroidery. She is also a big op shop addict and usually visits a couple each weekend hunting for books and vintage sewing goods.