Meet our staff

Hello and welcome to Josh Sawyer, Grade 2 teacher

What was your previous life before becoming a teacher/working in education?

I was a snowboard instructor for five years, working between Big White in Canada and Mount Hotham in Australia. I then took a job in Melbourne working in a gymnastics studio which did off-season snow sports training.   

Do you have a nickname?

Yes, Sauce. 

If money was no object, what would you do all day?

Play and teach football, basketball, tennis, rock climbing, and snowboarding. I would also open my own school up near one of the mountains in Victoria.   

What is one thing that you could not go a day without?

Exercise. 

What made you want to become a teacher/ work in education?

I loved working with kids on the mountains and in the gymnastics studio. I wanted a closer relationship to my students rather than just a 1 hour session once a week. I loved the idea of having my own class and growing together throughout the year as a cohesive unit. 

What do you like the most about teaching?

That I have a great deal of responsibility in ensuring every student in my class wants to come to school. Seeing evidence that I’m upholding that responsibility is what gives me the most enjoyment in the job.  

Are you a Melbourne local or from somewhere else?

Melbourne born and bred. 

Meet our Grade 1 Team Leader - Penny Webb

How long have you been at CHPS and what are the different roles you have had?

I started at CHPS at the beginning of 2012, so I’ve been teaching here for just over ten years. For most of that time I was one of the fabulous team of French teachers and as part of that role I taught French to Prep students all the way up to Grade 6. I loved getting to know students across all year levels, especially when I got to follow students from Prep all the way to the end of their Primary schooling. It was an honour and a pleasure to see their progress over 7 years.

In 2021 I moved across to the Grade 1 teaching team. It was the challenge I had been looking for and I found that I loved having the opportunity to spend more time with one class over the course of a (very interrupted!) year. This year, I have the privilege of leading that team. The Grade 1 team is a group of superstars and I can’t wait to see what we can achieve in 2022.

Tell us about your family (pets included)

My family consists of Graham (my husband), Daniel and Chloe (my children), Phoebe (our dog), and the very recent arrival – Mango the bearded dragon lizard. I love them all to bits (though I’m not crazy about the live crickets that are Mango’s main diet…). Daniel is in Year 9 and Chloe in Grade 6.

What was your first job?

My first real paid job was working behind the deli counter at my local supermarket when I was 15. It was a tiring job, being on my feet all day. My pet cat LOVED it when I would come home smelling of ham, salami and fresh roast chicken!

My first teaching job was back in 1997! I was fresh out of university and asked to replace a teacher who had badly broken their arm. I was plonked in at the deep end teaching French across Primary and Secondary levels, Latin to Year 7 and a Year 12 subject called General Studies (which I liked to call ‘Dinner Party Conversation’). Much to my amazement, I adored it, and never really looked back!

Would you rather have a personal chef or a personal butler and why?

That’s an easy one – a personal butler! I really do love to cook and bake. I do not, on the other hand, love to vacuum, dust or scrub showers. My personal butler would have the joy of all the housework and I would swan around the kitchen, cooking up a storm.

Have you won any awards?

Yes! In Grade 6 I won the Art Prize. This still brings me great joy, though my family find it hard to believe that there wasn’t another child at my school who was more artistically gifted than me…

If you could master any sport or language overnight, what would the sport or language be?

This is a tough one. I love language so there are so many I would love to master. I’m not sure I could choose. I am not athletically gifted. If I could wake up one morning and have mastered the art of running, I would be a very happy lady.