Goodbye & Good Luck

Please look out for staff contributions for our retirees in our following editions of the Cheltonian

Goodbye Ms Caleo nee Miss Kirchner after 38 Years

Sue is a dedicated, inspiring and dynamic teacher who arrived at what was then Cheltenham High School in 1982. She has taught English, History, Humanities, Social Studies and Australian Studies. Older past students may remember her as their Year 12 Australian History teacher which she taught with great passion, enthusiasm and commitment. They knew her as Miss Kirchner.

Sue worked closely with her colleagues over the years in both the English and Humanities Faculties, always keeping in mind the best interests of students as courses were written and rewritten. She has been both History Faculty Co-ordinator and Humanities Co-ordinator. When the Victorian Certificate of Education was first introduced, Sue was put in charge of working out all of the details involved in teaching the new subject, Australian Studies, at Cheltenham Secondary College. Sue was also in charge of the Students Representative Council, working closely with students to organize events such as Socials which were very popular with students. Sue also took on a Year 7 Pastoral Care and Year Level Co-ordination role, working closely with parents, teachers and students in order to achieve the best outcomes for students in her care. In recent years she has also played an important role in the organization and presentation of the Year 7 Enhancement and Sustainability Programme.

Sue worked tirelessly with several generations of students in the Cheltenham community. She has worked for six Principals, numerous Acting Principals and Assistant Principals. Throughout the years and many changes she has remained steadfast in her commitment to her students and her concern for their wellbeing. Sue will be missed by students past and present for her work both in and out of the classroom. A hardworking member of the teaching staff, her good humour and smiling face will be missed at Cheltenham. I would like to take the opportunity to wish Sue all the very best as she embarks upon her long service leave with a view to retirement from teaching.

Thank you Ms Coughlin 14 Years

After 37 years of teaching, Ms Nicky Coughlin has decided to take leave for all of 2021.

Nicky was appointed to Collingwood Educational Centre in 1983. The students here were mainly from ethnic and disadvantaged backgrounds, many living in high rise apartment blocks. She ran some fantastic camps for her students, giving them opportunities to experience things they otherwise never would have.

One of her favourites was taking a group of students to Lake Eppalock, where she introduced them to water skiing using her Dad’s boat. Many of the students could not swim but that didn't stop them from full involvement and learning lots of new skills.

Her favourite activity in PE was introducing Badminton to an all boys class, who by the way had little interest in playing this activity. Her motto to the students was simple, “When you can beat me we can do something else!” This led to the students working really hard in the vain attempt to beat the teacher and as a consequence they grew to love the sport as well as becoming accomplished players.

Nicky arrived at Cheltenham in 2008 after low student numbers forced Collingwood staff to be reduced. Since being at Cheltenham, she has run the annual First Aid course for staff, been a regular coach of sporting teams, a Windsor Gardens coach, taught VET and VCAL courses, been a regular Year 12 Legal and Business Studies teacher, Staff OHS representative, member of PCC,  as well as, organising swimming and athletic carnivals.

Nicky has always been characterised by her willingness to get involved and by her extra dedication with her Year 12 students.

Cheltenham Secondary College wishes to thank Nicky for all her hard work and wish her all the best for a well deserved break! 

Good Luck Mr Hoban, thanks for 11 Years

Ben Hoban came to Cheltenham Secondary College as a graduate teacher 11 years ago. In his time at the college, Ben has moved from a fresh faced and eager young teacher to a highly skilled and motivated educator. As a leading teacher, Ben was initially responsible for staff professional development and performance development. Moving into the E-Learning leadership position, he was a driving force behind Cheltenham’s rollout of the one to one laptop program and helped lay the groundwork for what would become Cheltenham’s and education’s most important feature; Google Classrooms and online learning.

Ben is also an important voice in his two teaching areas: History and Media, co-authoring the much used VCE texts, Modern History Transformed Year 12 and Media Reframed among the 6 educational publications on which he has contributed. Ben is also called upon regularly to edit and peer review publications in this field. After having battled the daily commute from Mt Martha to Cheltenham for the past 8 years, Ben has accepted a position at Balcombe Grammar so he can enjoy more time with family. Ben’s easy going nature, diligent work ethic and keen sense of humour will be greatly missed by both staff and students. We wish him well.