Welcome New Staff

SMPPS is growing! We would like to introduce to the SMPPS Community our new teachers and support staff for 2023.

My name is Nadia Lindop and I am extremely pleased to be working at South Melbourne Park Primary in 2023. I was born in South Africa and moved to Australia at the age of 18 to study teaching. I have been teaching for over 20 years and have worked at my previous school for ten years, teaching Prep for six years and 3-6’s for four years. Throughout my teaching career I have taught in a variety of schools across Melbourne and in 2005 returned to teach in South Africa for two years. My passion is enabling students to develop a positive self-image, building resilience, developing growth mindsets and a love of learning. This year I will be working in Grade 2, 3/4, 5/6 and teaching STEM to Year 5/6. On Sundays, I volunteer at my church to develop an English curriculum for people new to Australia. This is exciting as I get to meet new people and learn about new cultures, languages, and people from all over the world. I especially love the Spanish and French culture. I look forward to meeting the families at South Melbourne Park this year.

Hello South Melbourne Park Families, my name is Terena Harrison, a new Prep teacher for 2023. I am a local to South Melbourne, so I may bump into you out and about. Most likely you will see me out walking two greyhounds. My teaching career spans over 15 years, with the last four years in Prep at Blackburn Primary School. It is an absolute joy to watch students become so proud of themselves when they achieve their learning goals. This is one of most rewarding aspects of teaching. I am looking forward to getting to know you as the SMPPS community.

Hi! I’m Kara Merrin, I'm the Year 1A teacher and I am so excited to be teaching at SMPPS in 2023! I enjoy performing, reading and creating stories, gardening and birthdays. (I really love birthdays!) Oh, and I must mention I am utterly obsessed with Disney movies! 

Fun facts about me

I am:

• named after Supergirl
• a black belt in taekwondo
• learning to play the ukulele

My name is Keanan Van Hees and I am thrilled to be joining the South Melbourne Park Primary School community as a Grade 3/4 teacher for 2023. 

2023 will be both my first year at South Melbourne Park Primary School and as a classroom teacher after relocating from Geelong to Melbourne.  

At school, my favourite things are seeing students doing what they love, not being afraid to take risks with their learning, being kind and caring class members and sharing their knowledge with others. I believe that schools should be a place that fully supports and facilitates the development of the whole child, which empowers them to become active and informed citizens. I have no doubts that SMPPS’s educational philosophies, cultural values and teaching and learning programs enable this to occur. 

Outside of school, I am an avid lover of all things sport, music and the outdoors. I love to read books, go on walks and bike rides, play the guitar, cook delicious food, play games and see my friends. I also support the mighty Geelong Cats (hopefully another premiership in 2023!). 

 I am very much looking forward to meeting you all throughout the course of the year. 

 Keanan 

Shymasree Bose Education Support

SPECIALIST TEACHERS

LOTE

Hola! I’m Sara Del Rio Garcia. I am originally from Spain, and have been living in Australia for 9 years. Before I became a teacher, I was a professional sign language interpreter and worked closely with the Deaf Community. As a result, I’m highly sensitive and empathetic of students who require specific needs. I enjoy combining sign language and teaching Spanish together. I have 9 years of experience in teaching Spanish both online and offline. There are 4 key points in my teaching philosophy: abandoning traditional language teaching and inspiring curiosity, putting the child as the central axis of the teaching-learning process, situating the student in a larger world, and considering diversity when evaluating students. I enjoy playing music, dancing, and learning languages, so I like to combine my passion with teaching methodologies. Specifically, I like to experiment teaching strategies by incorporating music, arts, dance, and drama to facilitate lessons because I believe it will be highly immersive and motivating for Spanish learners. I’m looking forward to exploring more creative teaching strategies with students and inspiring more students! Hasta pronto!

Hi everyone! My name is Toni Cantó Castelló, and I'm thrilled to be teaching Spanish here at SMPPS on Tuesday and Friday! I come from the beautiful city of Valencia in Spain, and I've been teaching Spanish in Melbourne since 2019. I completed my university and master's studies of teaching in Spain and Portugal before embarking on a journey that took me all the way to Helsinki, Finland, where I worked at a kindergarten learning the foundation of a great pedagogy system. I also spent some time in Italy, helping students with their Spanish before arriving to Australia.

When I'm not teaching, I love to cook, hike, cycle, and observe wildlife. I'm passionate about my culture, and I bring that passion into my lessons, using creative, interactive, and hands-on activities to inspire a curiosity and love of the Spanish language and culture in our students.

I'm so excited to be part of the SMPPS community, and I'm looking forward to getting to know each and every one of you.

Hasta Pronto!

STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths

Hello, 

I’m Kate Cooper and I am the new STEM teacher. I love to travel and have lived and taught in England, America and Australia. When I am not working I enjoy spending time with my family. I have three boys called Archie, Quinn and Lewis and a Labrador called Tinker. STEM is an approach to learning that integrates the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Through STEM, students develop key skills including problem solving, creativity, critical thinking, teamwork, initiative, communication and digital literacy.

I am excited to announce that we will be adding a makerspace to our STEM classroom. A makerspace is a place where students are encouraged to create, tinker, explore, discover, and invent using a variety of tools and materials. In the makerspace students work independently and collaboratively to solve real-world problems through hands-on exploration. Students learn cooperation, problem solving, and perseverance as they explore and dive deeper into their learning.