Meet The Teachers

The wonderful bunch here at Holy Spirit would love to say hello!

Meet Our Teachers

At the top of the list when measuring the quality of a school has to be the quality of the teaching staff. We are beyond fortunate to have a team of teachers truly dedicated to positive outcomes for all children.

Meet our teachers below!

Leadership & Administration

Duncan Arendse

Duncan Arendse

Principal

I love working at our school because I have the opportunity to be involved in the teaching and learning of our students. I am also in a privileged position to empower both staff and parents to act in the best interest of our students.

Rachel Hamilton Smith

Rachel Hamilton Smith

Deputy Principal and Learning Diversity

I am very excited to join the Holy Spirit Community and am grateful to the warm and friendly welcome I have already received. I am excited about getting to know the children and their families and working with a great team of dedicated and caring staff. I love spending time with my family and walking my dog. I have two primary school aged and am grateful I get to support and contribute to the lives of young people each day.

Kayla Flindt-Petersen

Kayla Flindt-Petersen

Deputy Principal & Learning & Teaching Leader

I am a lifelong learner and love learning with my students. I love the challenge of inspiring and making learning fun. My favourite thing is seeing students showcase their learning and watching them grow. Teaching is a superpower! I also love to travel and explore the world we live in.

Ben Lannen

Ben Lannen

Wellbeing Leader and Maths Leader

I love the buzz of teaching at HS, the thrill of seeing kids ‘get’ something for the first time and empowering staff in the areas of wellbeing and contemporary digital learning.
I also love playing cricket, watching the mighty Tigers and spending time with my family.

Corinne Davis

Corinne Davis

Education in Faith Leader and Literacy Leader

I have had experience teaching all year levels as well as being a specialist teacher of library and visual arts. I work hard to get to know my students and how they learn best. Art and children’s literature continue to be a particular passion of mine.

Kate Ryan

Kate Ryan

Office/Admin

I’m so excited to be working at Holy Spirit and am looking forward to the challenge of learning all the students names! Outside of work, I love reading, eating out and spending time with my family. Oh, and online shopping!

Donna Gagnon

Donna Gagnon

Office/Admin

Even though I haven’t been at Holy Spirit for that long, I feel like I am well and truly part of the family.  Being in the front office gives me the unique opportunity to have contact with lots of members of our Holy Spirit community.  Outside of school I love spending time with my two boys and our new puppy.

Melissa Barrett

Melissa Barrett

Bursar

I am the Bursar at Holy Spirit and I am responsible for all matters of a financial nature.
I love the Community feel of the School and enjoy engaging with students, their families and staff.

Grade Prep Teachers

Jess O'Reilly

Jess O'Reilly

Prep Teacher

I am grateful to be able to work with the many people of the Holy Spirit Community. I enjoy the opportunity to see students challenge themselves in all areas of learning and watching their confidence grow as the year progresses. When I am not at school I enjoy spending time with family and friends.

Michelle Turpin

Michelle Turpin

Prep Classroom Teacher

I’m so excited to be part of this vibrant learning community. I love getting to know each of the little treasures in my class and feel privileged to be part of their life journey. My favourite thing to do out of school is to relax at the river, camping with my family.

Micaela Wood

Micaela Wood

Prep Teacher

My favourite thing about being a prep teacher is building and teaching the students’ learning foundations and watching the students use these foundations to ‘take off’ in their learning. Prep is a fun, enthusiastic and exciting environment that I am so lucky to be a part of.  I enjoy teaching at Holy Spirit because of the beautiful inclusive community and the passion and love for teaching and learning. 

Grade 1 Teachers

Ruby Harris

Ruby Harris

Grade 1 Teacher

I am very excited and grateful to be welcomed into the Holy Spirit community. I have a passion for working alongside students to foster their strengths and interests and providing a welcoming environment for them to come to each day. I love spending time in Phillip Island with my partner Cory, my family and my dog Joey.

Julie Brown

Julie Brown

Grade 1 Teacher

I have been a teacher for over 20 years. I enjoy making connections with my students and their families.  I especially like getting to know the students and I love to have fun in the classroom. I have 4 boys of my own and understand the challenges of raising young people today.

Grade 2 Teachers

Katherine D'Aloisio

Katherine D'Aloisio

Junior School Leader and Grade 2 Teacher

I love teaching in Prep, it’s such a special year. I love seeing the student’s have that ‘aha!’ moment with their learning as it makes me love my job and love teaching in Prep.

Joanna Major

Joanna Major

Grade 2 Teacher

I love teaching at Holy Spirit, the relationships formed with our students and seeing them grow in all unique ways. In my spare time, I love spending time at the beach and out with friends and family.

Jacinta Tillack

Jacinta Tillack

Grade 2 Teacher

I feel incredibly privileged to be a part of the Holy Spirit Community.
I love getting to know my students and how they learn best. I enjoy creating engaging learning opportunities within which everyone can thrive.
My family, The Arts and nature are what inspires me the most in life.
Etta D'Souza

Etta D'Souza

Grade 2 Teacher

I have had a long and engaging journey in various roles at Holy Spirit since my eldest ‘baby’ started prep in 2005. I absolutely love teaching and getting the chance to inspire and nurture the students in my care. Outside of school I love spending time with and going on holidays with my family and friends. I love cooking and entertaining, music and netflix!

Liz Bell

Liz Bell

Junior Literacy Intervention Teacher

I absolutely love being a teacher and encouraging the young minds at Holy Spirit. One of my favourite things to do on the weekend is spending time in the great outdoors with my husband and two daughters. I also enjoy photography and genealogy!

Grade 3 Teachers

Alison Laurence

Alison Laurence

Grade 3 Teacher

I love teaching at Holy Spirit because I get to inspire, encourage, support and nurture my students. I also really enjoy leading the Holy Spirit Choir!  Outside of school I love spending time with my family by going to the movies, bike riding, watching my childrens sports games and travelling.

Britt Correia

Britt Correia

Grade 3 Teacher

To be added

Diane Lewis

Diane Lewis

Grade 3 Teacher

To be added

Maddy Cadzow

Maddy Cadzow

Grade 3 Teacher

I am very excited to be part of the Holy Spirit community again as a teacher, as I am a past student. I am enthusiastic to be in the classroom and enjoy watching my students grow. The Holy Spirit community is a warm, welcoming, fun and friendly environment that I enjoy being a part of. I am passionate about football, enjoy reading and going camping with my family.
Danni Fidge

Danni Fidge

Grade 4 Teacher

I love teaching at Holy Spirit. I have a passion for seeing students enjoy their learning and improve on their knowledge and confidence everyday.
When I’m not at school I coach and play basketball for Camberwell Dragons. I also enjoy going the movies, gym and playing with my dog, Fraser.

Kylie Roberts

Kylie Roberts

Grade 4 Teacher

To be added

Grade 5 Teachers

Andrea Jackson

Andrea Jackson

Grade 5 Teacher

Hi I’m Andrea. I feel very privileged to work here at Holy Spirit. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly.
I am very blessed to be teaching my students, who I think are just awesome. Such lovely, happy and well mannered children. I love my job and my classroom is my kingdom.
I am a mum to two beautiful boys. They keep me busy. I love to walk my dog and I do yoga. I am a music lover and enjoy listening and singing along to different songs. I am looking forward to all  new experiences and fun times at Holy Spirit.

Kellie Grace

Kellie Grace

Grade 5 Teacher

To be added

Grade 6 Teachers

Chris Williams

Chris Williams

Grade 6 Teacher

I absolutely love teaching at Holy Spirit. Having the opportunity to help students reach their full potential is something I highly value. I always ensure that my students are in an environment that is welcoming, safe and inclusive. I am a passionate fan of all sports, particularly basketball.

Antoinette Galioto

Antoinette Galioto

Grade 6 Teacher

After a 30 year teaching career I feel very privileged to be a part of the Holy Spirit community. I take pride in being a part of our students’ learning journey, especially in helping them to achieve their goals. 
I also love Arts and Crafts and I try to learn a new skill every year. Knitting kept me occupied during lockdown, now I’m looking forward to learning something new.
Andy McKellar

Andy McKellar

Grade 6 Teacher

I love making a difference in children’s lives and seeing them grow and change over the year. It’s wonderful to see children become confident in who they are what they can achieve. Outside of school, it’s all about my family, friends and being the best person I can be.

Specialised Teachers

Caeleigh Osborne

Caeleigh Osborne

PE Teacher/Sport Coordinator/Senior School Leader

I love being able to give my students the skills, confidence and opportunities to participate in Sport and Physical Activities for lifelong health. I get to see them grow and develop their teamwork and leadership through sporting experiences. Sport is a passion of mine both in and outside of school!

Sherree Vulling

Sherree Vulling

Performing Arts Teacher

I am extremely passionate about Performing Arts and I am so excited to be able to share this passion with the Holy Spirit Community. I love being able to have fun with my students, while helping them develop their confidence and the ability to express themselves creatively through dance, drama and music. Outside of school, I enjoy exercising at the gym, going to the footy with my family to watch the Tigers and dancing whenever I get the chanc.

Sarah De Jong

Sarah De Jong

Visual Arts

To be added

Gina Michieli

Gina Michieli

Italian Teacher

To be added

Rosario Lobo

Rosario Lobo

School Counsellor

Coming Soon..

Kharlea Teo

Kharlea Teo

Speech Pathologist

Holy Spirit has engaged with Speech Pathology for Schools (SPS) to provide holistic school based speech pathology support. Kharlea is an engaging and dynamic speech pathologist who enjoys working alongside school-aged students to find their learning potential in the areas of language and literacy. She works collaboratively with students and staff to assess and target individual needs in the areas of Oral Language and Phonological Awareness. Kharlea’s sessions run on Mondays and Fridays and consist of either 1:1 or small group learning.  An LSO is present during the session to further support students with follow up activities during class time. 

Bernadette Dinneen

Bernadette Dinneen

Maths Intervention

Coming Soon..

Trish Ryan

Trish Ryan

Library Technician

I love working in our Library and being able to share our wonderful books with the students and seeing the smiles on their faces is so rewarding.
Outside of school I enjoy going on holidays by the beach and of course putting my feet up and reading a good book.

Learning Support Officers

Cathy Wendt

Cathy Wendt

Learning Support Officer

I am grateful to be a part of the Holy Spirit family. I love seeing the students grow and shine in their own unique way and I learn as much from them as they would from me.  They inspire me everyday to be the best person that I can be.

Melanie Bicknell

Melanie Bicknell

Learning Support Officer

I love to help children to achieve their best and seeing their growth over the year.  I enjoy travelling, learning new things and spending time with my family and friends.

Fatima Da Silva

Fatima Da Silva

Learning Support Officer

I love working at Holy Spirit and working with the students to help them in any way I can. It’s a rewarding job to see the students achieve their goals. I am married and have 3 busy boys. I love going on long drives with my family seeing new places.

Vicki Denelzen

Vicki Denelzen

Learning Support Officer

When my kids were at Holy Spirit,I loved working in the classroom. This gave me the incentive to become an LSO. I love talking and listening to the children and building relationships with them. I get a lot of satisfaction helping and working out stratigies.

Kira Witnish

Kira Witnish

Learning Support Officer

I’ve worked at Holy Spirit for many years and it is like a big family.  The children I work with are like my own and we form a very close bond.  It gives me great pleasure to see them blossom and grow.  

I enjoy Football and Calisthenics.

Margeret Carmani

Margeret Carmani

Learning Support Officer

I enjoy working at HS because of it’s strong sense of community due to the amazing staff and great families that I interact with everyday. The things I enjoy most in life are spending time with family and friends.

Christie Ross

Christie Ross

Learning Support Officer

I am truly grateful to be a part of such a wonderful community at Holy Spirit where all of the staff are extremely supportive and caring and the students are a true joy to work with. It’s not without its challenges but together we succeed.

Leah Pinney

Leah Pinney

Learning Support Officer

I’m married and have 2 children and 2 dogs. I completed my Certificate III in Education Support in 2018 as I was after a more rewarding job. What I love most about my role is being able to assist the students and to watch them grow and achieve their goals.

Ally Ridley

Ally Ridley

Learning Support Officer

Coming Soon…

Megan Price

Megan Price

Learning Support Officer

I became a Learning Support Officer eighteen years ago to make a difference in a child’s life and help them to reach their potential within a school environment. When I’m not working,I look forward to spending time with my family, walking my dog, exercising and gardening.

Lyn Hunt

Lyn Hunt

Learning Support Officer

I enjoy helping students achieve their best and listening to their ideas by making a personal connection. My job is never boring and I am privileged to be able to listen to their ideas and to see the way their minds work.

Sue Elliott

Sue Elliott

Learning Support Officer

My days at school are really busy but at the end of the day I always feel a sense of achievement and making a difference. The staff are supportive which makes what I do so rewarding.  In my spare time I love gardening and hiking.

Tamara Augustin

Tamara Augustin

Learning Support Officer

It is a pleasure to work in an environment that not only accept everyone’s differences but also values them. The kids quite simply make it a joy to be here every day.
Outside of work I love to spend my time gardening.

Kate Hopkins

Kate Hopkins

Learning Support Officer

I have worked at Holy Spirit for many years as an LSO across all year levels. I love being involved in education and working together with students and seeing them flourish. One of my favourite things to do is to go camping with my family and explore new places.

Jess Millmow

Jess Millmow

Learning Support Officer

After working for 10+ years as a medical scientist in a busy laboratory environment I felt the need for a career change. Firstly with bookkeeping and then onto School Based Education Support. I have thoroughly enjoyed working across all year levels including high school. It is so thrilling to learn and work amongst students’ diverse learning styles, especially creating strong bonds with them. They all bring me so much joy. My goal is to support their wellbeing, build self-esteem, focus on their strengths and create a supportive environment where all students can be successful learners. 

Ann Janssen

Ann Janssen

Learning Support Officer

Coming soon.

Jenny Mangan

Jenny Mangan

Learning Support Officer

I am so grateful to be a part of the wonderful Holy Spirit community. In my role as a LSO it is so rewarding seeing students grow and achieve their potential.
When I am not working I love spending time with my family and taking long walks along the beach
Sarah Rosel

Sarah Rosel

Learning Support Officer

After working for many years in the early childhood field I decided to study education support and make the jump to primary school.  I love learning about the students and working alongside them whilst they achieve their goals. 

When I’m not working I love going to the beach and spending time with my family. 

Melinda Peatling

Melinda Peatling

Learning Support Officer

It has always been my dream to work with children and I am so happy that it has come true!  I love helping the children, listening to their stories and forming a connection throughout the year.  Being an LSO at Holy Spirit is so rewarding, seeing the children thrive in such a happy and supportive environment.  
When I’m not working, I love listening to music, baking and spending time with family and friends.
Jared Foster

Jared Foster

Learning Support Officer

Coming soon.

Donna Dunne

Donna Dunne

Learning Support Officer

Coming soon.

Gabby Coco

Gabby Coco

Learning Support Officer

Coming soon.

Jess Rees

Jess Rees

Learning Support Officer

Coming soon.

Mel Motteram

Mel Motteram

Learning Support Officer

Coming soon.

Marisa Stride

Marisa Stride

Learning Support Officer

Coming soon.

Melissa Manthey

Melissa Manthey

Learning Support Officer

Coming soon.

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