Our Excited New Staff

Tuesday January 27 was an historic day for our school being the first day all 17 staff members (and Fr Peter) were able to spend the day planning, working and learning together. We were all very excited and looking forward to welcoming our students for their first day next week.

New Year New Staff

As we prepare to commence our first school year we welcome some new staff members to St Aloysius.

Sadly our temporary part time Teacher Librarian accepted a full time position at another school and we have had to replace him. We are looking forward to now working with Samantha Berry in this role.

Hello everyone,

My name is Samantha Berry and I am so happy and excited to be joining the wonderful team at St Aloysius.

I grew up in Brandy Hill and attended San Clemente High School and St Francis Xavier College.

I completed my Bachelor of Teaching/Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies at the University of Newcastle in 2010.

From 2011-2013 I worked at Stanford Merthyr Infants School as the school library teacher and also the year 2 classroom teacher.

In 2011 my husband Scott and I were married at Peppers Creek Vineyard and last year on the 2^nd of January we welcomed our son Benjamin.

I love being active and I am currently part of the Raymond Terrace Waterpolo Club and the Newcastle Netball Association.

I am looking forward to 2015 and I can’t wait to be a part of the St Aloysius Community.

We have also employed a temporary part time Learning Support Teacher and welcome Jade Scott to this role.

Hi everyone, my name is Jade Scott and I am excited and blessed to be taking on the role of Learning Support Teacher at St Aloysius. I am passionate about creating an inclusive environment for all students and seeing all students reach their full potential.

 I completed my Bachelor of Teaching / Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in Primary Teaching and Special Education at the University of Newcastle in 2008. Since then I have worked across many different regions including Dubbo, Sydney and the Central Coast in both Department and Independent Schools.

 

I am originally from Newcastle and live here with my husband Peter, and our two children, Chloe and Brax (who are four and two years old). We are all very ecstatic that I will be back teaching in the Newcastle area after many years living away from our immediate families.

I am looking forward to meeting and working in partnership with the families at St Aloysius and seeing the school build and grow in 2015.  

To support Jade and our students we welcome two Learning Support Assistants - Connie Flack and Alexis Morgan.

Hello everyone, my name is Connie Flack and I am very excited to be joining the team at St Aloysius as School Officer - Learning Support.

 I have worked in the Catholic Schools system for over 10 years, firstly in Sydney and more recently in New Lambton.

I was born and raised in Sydney and moved to the Hunter region 3 years ago with my husband, Matthew and our 3 daughters, Anna, Rachel and Georgia. I enjoy reading and spending time with family and friends as well as camping and bush walking.

I am very excited to begin working with the teachers and students and cannot wait to meet everyone in the St Aloysius community.

My name is Alexis Morgan and I'm a mother to two beautiful girls. I was born and raised in Muswellbrook, have lived in various other locations before settling in Chisholm 3 years ago.

I completed my Certificate III in Learning Support nearly 2 years ago, since then I have been employed casually at Our Lady of Lourdes, Tarro and East Maitland Public School. 

I am so excited to be a part of the St Aloysius staff for 2015 and look forward to getting to know many new faces throughout the year! 

 

Finally we also welcome Tricia Kelly as our Kindergarten Assistant to work with both Kindergarten classes.

 

 

Hi! My name is Tricia Kelly and I am delighted to be working as the Kindergarten Aide at St Aloysius, Chisholm. 

I am originally from the UK, born and brought up in North London. I moved to Australia in 2004, along with my family, and have loved living 'Down Under' ever since, becoming an Australian resident in 2006.  I have been married to Paul for nearly 34 years and have two grown up children, Nick and Laura.

 

I have been working in education since 1978, mostly in the UK, and have held various roles in the world of teaching children.  Most recently I have been the Kindergarten Aide at St Paul's Primary School, Rutherford, a post that I have held for the last 9 years.  I particularly enjoy working with small children and I find helping them during their first year at school is both a joy and a privilege. 

I enjoy keeping fit and am a member of my local gym, but my main passion is golf and I play at East Maitland as often as I can.  Travel is another love and I have been fortunate to have seen a lot of Australia I never thought I would have been able to visit.  I am now looking forward to starting on my next big adventure - working at St Aloysius, an exciting and new chapter in my life.

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas

Official Site Visit

Last Friday a team of 14 from the Catholic Schools Office including the Director, Ray Collins, visited our school and were pleased to see it so close to completion. Ray was joined by the four Assistant Directors, staff from the Director's Office and Heads or representatives of RE & Spirituality Services, Financial Services and Employee Services. There were also representatives from the Primary and Secondary Principals Associations.

The landscaping is almost complete. We even have some garden beds! We will be looking for some interested parents or grandparents to help us set up a Gardening Club in the new year!

 

The timber flooring has been laid in three of the buildings and has made a big difference to the appearance and feel of these buildings.

 

 

Fixtures and fittings are being added to the classroom learning spaces as well.

 

 

Kinder 2015 Christmas Party!

Great fun was had by all when our special surprise visitor arrived at the 2015 Kinder Afternoon Tea at Whitewater Park Chisholm.

Introducing some more new staff members

Welcome to our Year 4 teacher - Miss Larissa Quigley

Hi everyone, my name is Larissa Quigley and I am feeling very blessed and excited to be beginning this new adventure with you all at St Aloysius.

I grew up in Maitland, attending All Saints College, before studying and completing my Bachelor’s degree of primary teaching at the University of Newcastle in 2012.

I have had the pleasure of teaching at Rosary Park Catholic School in Branxton for the past 18 months where I have taught Year 4 and Year 6.

I am an active member of the East Maitland parish and am looking forward to seeing many members of our school community there.

I have a passion for dance, visual arts and sports and I look forward to being able to share my love of these areas with you all.

I am excited for what 2015 holds and cannot wait to meet the St Aloysius community of parents and students.

We have also employed our part time Teacher Librarian - Mr Stewart Ison

Hi everyone. My name is Stewart Ison and I am honoured to be a member of the teaching team at St Aloysius. I am an enthusiastic and energetic person and look forward to being strongly involved in the St Aloysius Catholic School community.

I am a country boy at heart being born and bred in Dubbo, however I have studied, worked and lived in Sydney prior to moving to the Hunter Valley.
My wife Kristin and I have two children, Ben aged 8 and Alex aged 7, and we have lived in the Branxton community for over 10 years.

Prior to entering into Education, I was awarded a Bachelor of Business majoring in Land Economics at UWS and worked in the commerical property sector and in the telecommunications sector in research and IT roles.

I completed my Post Graduate Master of Teaching Degree whilst managing the Wine Clubs at McGuigan Wines, and this year I have been working as Teacher/Librarian at Rosary Park Catholic School in Branxton.

Tennis is one of my passions, and I am President of our local tennis club and coach our junior players. I also coach our local Under 10’s Cricket Team and Soccer Team.

Music is also a passion of mine and I have been playing the guitar since I was 7 years of age. I have tutored guitar and vocal lessons to students of all ages as well as played in bands, composed music, recorded and produced music and last year was audio engineer for our local school performance. I am part of the music ministry in our local parish and school, and encourage students to participate in mass through music.

These are exciting times in education, and I am looking forward to being a member of the St Aloysius Teaching Team and meeting all the families of the St Aloysius Catholic Community, as we embark on this journey together.

To assist Stewart and the school in many ways we have also employed a part time School Officer - Library. Her name is Mrs Nadine Leighton

Hi, my name is Nadine Leighton and I am thrilled to be joining the St Aloysius team as School Officer - Library.

I have previously held senior human resources roles, as well as positions in finance, administration and event management. I currently work as a casual Support Officer for schools in the Diocese of Maitland/Newcastle. In keeping with my philosophy of lifelong learning and my love of books I returned to study last year with a view to gaining employment in a school library.

I am married with two young daughters, we are part of the Warners Bay Parish community.

 

I've been lucky to have travelled extensively for both business and pleasure and enjoy meeting people from all walks of life. I look forward to getting to know everyone in the St Aloysius community in 2015.

Proud students

Thank you to Grace (Year 3 2015) and Thomas (Year 1 2015) who modelled the St Aloysius school uniforms for a photo shoot for Waterford County last week. Can't wait to see their photos on the billboards in the estate!