In the next few weeks the final details of staffing for 2020 are going to be concluded and communicated to the school community.
I am appreciative of your patience as we work to bring about the best arrangements for next year. The recruitment of the best teachers and their placement within the school are responsibilities that we take seriously. Sometimes, making the final detailed arrangements takes time. While this is one of those years, you can be assured that we are very active in the process of finalising arrangements. In that regard, I do have some progress reports for you.
I am grateful for the contribution by Virginie von Savageri to the Calvin Christian School community in both mathematics and the broader life of the school. I am announcing that Virginie has tendered her resignation and will be commencing work next year at the school that her daughter attends. The best words to describe Virginie’s commitment to the progress of her students is ‘above and beyond’. It seems that nothing has been too difficult to undertake if it has been an advantage to her students’ active progress. This is, of course, exactly why Virginie was a great cultural fit for Calvin. I am well aware of the regard that she is accorded by students. We will miss her contribution at Calvin and know that she will be a blessing in God’s plan for students in her new school. I wish Virginie well in this new chapter of her life. Ms von Savageri’s teaching load will be largely taught by Ms Annalé van Heerden, the new Head of Year 7. Ms van Heerden is a Mathematics teacher very much in the student-centred mould of Virginie.
“I am appreciative of your patience as we work to bring about the best arrangements for next year”
I am delighted to announce the appointment of Mr Shayne Hull as an English and Humanities teacher. Mr Hull comes to us from Queensland where he has taught senior English and History for a number of years. Shayne grew in his faith through his university years and was mentored by the pastor at the church he attended in Baradine, New South Wales. He has subsequently attended the Mitchelton Presbyterian Church, where he is a congregational prayer leader, youth leader (previously), and where he occasionally preaches. He has a well-developed ability to articulate a worldview and has encountered Christ in a genuine and authentic experience. He reveals that he has been disciplined by the word and guided through life by the Spirit. Shayne’s formal qualifications are a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education (Southern Cross University). He has a sophisticated understanding of curriculum and pedagogy, has been a panel member in both Ancient History and Modern History, a subject coordinator of History, and has had pastoral leadership roles with Year 7 and 8 year groups.
I am also delighted to announce the appointments of Ms Katrina Harley as the new teacher of Kindergarten and Ms Jasmine Blachford as her assistant. Our expanding kindergarten enrolments will be well served by the skills, experience and attributes of these ladies. The detailed biographies of Katrina and Jasmine are listed separately in a letter communicating their appointment to new Kindergarten families. I am sure that they will each make an excellent contribution to the exceptional start in education for which Calvin has such a well-deserved reputation.
I will bring you further details in the coming days.
Iain Belôt – Principal