Our staff

I am the very proud College Principal of the dynamic and diverse learning environment that is Callaghan College. I have been incredibly fortunate to have had a varied range of teaching and leadership positions in Public Education. I was born in Newcastle and spent the majority of my teaching years on the beautiful Mid North Coast.

As a teacher of History, Society and Culture and Drama, I developed a passion for creative, inquiry-based learning and innovation. My early career was in the unique setting of Bulahdelah Central School, a K-12 rural school. After some extensive overseas travel, my career developed and I was appointed Quality Teaching Consultant for the Forster and Taree areas. Later, as Highly Accomplished Teacher at Chatham High School and the Centre for Excellence program, I was accredited at Lead Teacher status by the National Education Standards Authority.

At Hastings Secondary College on the scenic shores of Port Macquarie, was where I developed my deep interest in the College model and the outstanding range of opportunities. As Deputy Principal and then relieving Executive Principal of the College, I was afforded a wonderful professional challenge and an outstanding opportunity to lead a learning community.

It is with enormous Novocastrian pride that I returned to Newcastle as College Principal at Callaghan. I am so very fortunate to lead with my co-principals of Paul Taylor at Wallsend, Melinda Bright at Waratah and Craig Clinton (rel) at Jesmond Campuses. As a leadership team, we are dedicated to empowering every one of the 2600 learners in our care with the highset standard of education.

I hold dear a deep commitment to continuous improvement so that every student is known, valued and cared for. The learning experience that we provide must prepare students for academic and life success. As the only Public Education College in the Hunter, we are unique, we are proud.

It is with great pleasure to introduce myself as Principal of Callaghan College Wallsend Campus. I am a product of, and passionate advocate for, public education. I attended Briar Road Public School and Airds High School in Campbelltown before moving on to Wollongong University where I graduated as an English and History teacher in 1992.

I have been teaching since 1993, beginning my career as an English, History, PDHPE and Careers teacher at Oakland’s Central School in the Riverina. I then spent several years at Vincentia High School on the South Coast before moving to Bulahdelah on the Mid-North Coast as Head Teacher Humanities. I then worked as the Deputy Principal of Vincentia High School on the South Coast for eight years, including relieving as Principal.

I love my role as Principal in such a diverse and dynamic school as Callaghan College Wallsend Campus.

Staff and students continually show me that Callaghan College is a vibrant community of three outstanding comprehensive campuses and that the way of doing things is to constantly strive toward excellence in study, attendance, sport, cultural immersion, caring for others and embracing positive changes.

For me, being a good leader is all about supporting staff and students to be the very best that they can be, not only within the classroom but in all areas of life. It’s important to me to lead a school that can make a difference in our students’ lives, and I work closely with the school and Callaghan College community to ensure we take all the necessary steps to make that difference.

I work closely with the Principals and staff of the Jesmond and Waratah Campuses to ensure the best possible educational experiences for all students in the Callaghan network.

It is with great excitement that I join the Callaghan College Community as principal of Waratah Campus.

I am returning to Newcastle after 37 years teaching in Sydney. I grew up in Newcastle and attended Cooks Hill Public School and Newcastle High School. I completed by education degree at the old Newcastle College of Advanced Education, since merged with the University of Newcastle.

As a passionate and proud supporter of Public Education I commenced my career at Dunheved High School in Western Sydney and went on to be Head Teacher PDHPE and then Head Teacher Teaching and Learning at Cheltenham Girls High School for 16 years before becoming a Deputy Principal at Crestwood High School.

Waratah Campus is my third school as principal having served the communities of Sydney Secondary College Leichhardt Campus (7-10) for 6 years and most recently, Rose Bay Secondary College for the past 3 years. I have served as an executive on the NSW Secondary Principals council for the past two years.

It gives me great pleasure to return home to work in the Callaghan College Waratah Campus. A cherished lesson I learnt in my first year of teaching is one which guides my leadership of teaching, learning and wellbeing. The advice provided to me by an experienced colleague was to ensure that every student achieved some level of success in every lesson. This lesson will be ever present in my mind as I start my journey as principal at Waratah Campus.

I look forward to meeting each of you and embarking on this exciting journey together.

Introduction in development