Staff in the Spotlight
With so many staff joining our team this year, we would like to give our school community the opportunity to get to know our new teachers in a fun way. Each week we will be spotlighting a new staff member and sharing with you all sorts of fun and interesting stories about who they are and most importantly, why they became a teacher and what they love most about teaching!
This week we are spotlighting Lucy McLennan.
Lucy joined our staff at the beginning of the term and has settled into the PE team with ease. Lucy is yet another one of our current staff members who used to be a student here and has come back…a testament to the culture of our school and the dedication of so many of our talented and committed staff! Lucy attended Wantirna College as a student and then took on the AFL traineeship position.
How long have you been teaching?
A whole of 8 weeks!
What school/university or organisation have you come from?
Victoria University
Why did you decide to become a teacher?
This is always a difficult question to answer. I always enjoyed school, specifically P.E! I thrived off developing relationships with my peers and teachers, while learning everyday. I wanted to have the same impact on students that my teachers had on me... therefore I thought being a P.E teacher is the perfect fit!
What do you love most about teaching?
There are several pros to the profession! Building the endless relationships with students, parents and colleagues is one of the best things about teaching. Additionally, watching students challenge themselves and develop over time is a very rewarding part of my job.
What are three things you would like your students to know about you?
An easy one is that I was the AFL Trainee at the college back in 2017 before I started my teaching degree (you could say I've done a full circle!). Secondly, I'm a big sporting fan, so I love watching the AFL, NBL and NBL1 in my free time. Lastly, I think all my students are amazing in their own ways and can achieve anything they put their minds to!
What has been one of your best teaching moments?
This is hard to identify as I haven't been teaching for too long, however definitely seeing my students master something they have been working on over several lessons is a pretty awesome feeling!!
Where's your favourite holiday destination?
Anywhere that is warm and has a beach to relax on! Bali is definitely at the higher end of my list.
What are tv show/series did you last binge watch?
How I Met Your Mother.. for the third time.. whoops!
If you could wear Harry's invisibility cloak for one day, where would you go and what would you do?
I would take a free plane ride to the Gold Coast to sit on the warm beach, and repeatedly ride the superman escape at Movie World!
What is the one piece of 'advice' or the one thing that you always say to your students?
Out of the many words of wisdom I can give, my favourite is to focus on progress, not perfection.
A lot of people (staff and students!) focus far too much on an end goal, rather than appreciating their journey along the way. It makes a difference when you step back and look at how far you've come, rather than how far you've still got.