Meet The Teachers

We’re excited to meet you!

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. St Paul’s is beyond fortunate to have a team of teachers truly dedicated to positive outcomes for all children.

Meet our teachers below!

Leadership & Administration

Nick Frederiksen

Nick Frederiksen

Principal

It is a privilege to be Principal at this amazing school.  There is a true sense of shared responsibility at St Paul’s where we work in partnership with families in order to help each child reach their full potential. Our staff truly put students and families first in everything we do.

Carolynne

Carolynne

Religious Education Leader, Administration Leader & Year 3/4 Teacher

Since starting at St Paul’s in 2001, I have felt I have been a part of a warm, welcoming community. It has always amazed me just how supportive and accepting the students at St Paul’s are of each other.  I consider building relationships with the students and parents vital in my role as an educator and believe the social and emotional wellbeing of students is an area of focus that helps develop the whole person – mentally, academically and spiritually. 

Kelly Geoghegan

Kelly Geoghegan

Learning and Teaching Leader; Leading Teacher - Numeracy; Prep Teacher

St Paul’s has a great community feel with staff, students and families all working together to reach the same goal … the safety and happiness of our students!
I enjoy working with a variety of students across my two roles and helping them develop their whole self:  Aacademic, social/emotional and spiritual.

I leave St Paul’s each day with a smile and a feeling of happiness as it is a lovely place to work.

Sarah Kleverkamp

Sarah Kleverkamp

Student Wellbeing Leader; Learning Diversity Leader

I thoroughly enjoy working with the wonderful families at St Paul’s Primary. In my role I’m lucky to experience relationships through all levels of the school and watch those with diverse needs grow and flourish over time. We have an amazing Wellbeing team that I can rely on to support me in my role and the students within our school. It is so important for everyone to feel valued and connected to school, and I believe that we are fortunate to be able to really ‘know’ every child (and family).

Stephenie Peels

Stephenie Peels

Literacy Leading Teacher; Intervention Teacher

I love finding great ways to engage students in the curriculum in fun and active ways through hands on learning.  I also like the opportunity to work with students across the school finding out what they are learning.

Helen Hermann

Helen Hermann

Office Manager

I joined the St Paul’s team in 2006 and really enjoy the diversity of my role.  My day includes anything from welcoming families and visitors, putting band aids on grazed knees or supporting our wonderful staff and students in a variety of ways.  I look after many of the finance and admin tasks required to maintain the smooth running of our school on a daily basis. St Paul’s is a fabulous community to be a part of!
Jacqui Kerr

Jacqui Kerr

Prep Teacher

I have a strong belief that the journey is just as important as the outcome. In the junior levels, each child’s seed, that is planted in Prep, is able to grow tiny shoots, blooming into new learning.  Every day the students make you feel special and like you are a rock star! What other job makes you feel like that?

I enjoy special times with my family and friends, camping, running, cycling, baking and colouring in.

Emma Dinkgreve

Emma Dinkgreve

Year 1/2 Teacher

I’m delighted to be part of the St Paul’s community and teaching team.  My passion lies in nurturing creativity, curiosity, and wonder in every student and fostering a love of lifelong learning. Witnessing students’ holistic growth and their many magical ‘Ah-Ha!’ moments along their learning journey is a highlight, as are the relationships built with students, and their families. Beyond school, I treasure sharing coffee with family and friends and outdoor adventures that connect me to the beauty of our world.

Katherine Mirabella

Katherine Mirabella

Year 1/2 Teacher

I enjoy inspiring children to investigate and learn from their passions. I strive to instill a love of learning, creativity, self-expression and open thinking.  I endeavor to make learning exciting, appropriate, fun, interesting and holistic. I am looking forward to the opportunity of being able to contribute to the St Paul’s community.

Jo McIntosh

Jo McIntosh

Year 3/4 Teacher

Working at St Paul’s means being part of a close-knit community of students, parents and staff. When I started teaching Art and PE in 2019 I enjoyed the strong relationships initially developed with students and now cherish the continued connections formed with the students in my class – it’s wonderful to see their knowledge and confidence grow with real-world tasks and hands-on learning activities. Outside of school I love watching my three sons play their myriad of sports and I volunteer with many local sporting clubs and committees.

Maria Cook

Maria Cook

Year 3/4 Teacher

What I love the most about teaching at St Paul’s is that the students have a passion and eagerness for learning and discovering. It is so rewarding seeing them develop socially and academically throughout the year.
When I’m not at work what I enjoy doing is gardening, shopping, going on long walks with my dogs and going to the footy to watch the mighty Tigers play.

Julie Dietrich

Julie Dietrich

Year 3/4 Teacher

I joined St Paul’s in 2013 and during these years I have had many opportunities.  I have been a classroom teacher and also supported children in maths and literacy. I love being a part of the staff, learning with others and building relationships. I also enjoy getting to know the families of the children I teach. I feel lucky to meet so many lovely people from little brothers and sisters to grandparents. We learn in such a beautiful environment and every day I look out and see the trees and mountains of the Dandenong Ranges. Outside of school I enjoy walking my dogs and taking trips away in my camper with my family. 

Daniel Salan

Daniel Salan

Year 5/6 Teacher

I absolutely love being a part of the St Paul’s Community and having the opportunity to play a small part in each student’s learning journey. I believe creating an environment that allows each student to be happy and enjoy coming to school each and every day is the most important thing, especially in the Senior grades. I centre my approach around aiming to make each task as engaging as possible for my students.

Outside of school I love to play cricket and watch every game of AFL that Collingwood plays in (especially the premiership!)

 

Specialist Staff

Specialist Programs at St Paul's

At St Paul’s we offer:

  • Visual Arts
  • Music – Performing Arts
  • Languages – Italian
  • Physical Education

 

Emma-lee Curwood

Emma-lee Curwood

Physical Education Specialist; Visual Arts Specialist

When I teach Art, I love seeing all of the students creativity and passion coming through their masterpieces. Through a range of mediums, students get hands-on making and creating, expressing their own ideas. I also enjoy Thursdays and Fridays when I am teaching PE.

Teresa Fraraccio

Teresa Fraraccio

Music/Performing Arts Specialist Teacher

Learning music has been proven to have a huge influence on brain development in the areas of language, maths, problem solving, and social and emotional growth. Singing, movement to music and playing instruments with others also helps create a sense of belonging. It is also a LOT of fun!

St Paul’s is a great school! Our students are known and their uniqueness valued. I have the great privilege of helping them feel empowered to be creative and express themselves through music whether they are using their voice, keyboards, xylophones or drums and hopefully it awakens an appreciation for music that goes with them beyond primary school.

When I am not playing music, you will probably find me in the veggie garden playing with my grandchildren.

Isabella Lepore

Isabella Lepore

Languages - Italian Teacher

I have been very privileged to be part of such an extraordinary and compassionate community of teachers, families, and students at St Paul’s. Hopefully, my love of teaching has inspired our students at St Paul’s a passion for learning any subject and enabling them to make a difference.

Learning Support Officers

Paula

Paula

School Counsellor; Youth Worker; Learning Support Officer

I am very lucky in my role to be able to build such strong relationships with our students’ school through counselling and students’ social justice groups. I feel privileged to be able to make a difference and value the opportunity to be there for students/parents, even just to be a listening ear. This may sound simple, but feeling heard and being validated can be very powerful and is important to a child’s mental health and mindset. As a Monbulk local I am also involved in MADCOW (Monbulk & District Community Opportunities Workingroup) Youth Services and being the Trainer for the Under 18s at Monbulk Footy Club).

Greg McCourt

Greg McCourt

Learning Support Officer; Casual Relief Teacher

After previously teaching English in Japan and working as a CRT in Melbourne, I am very excited to be working at St Paul’s.  My main role is in Learning Support, and I also teach in classrooms on a casual basis. 

 

Rick Ramsay

Rick Ramsay

Learning Support Officer

I have recently joined the St Paul’s community as a Learning Support Officer and I’m looking forward to every moment it has to offer. I am in my final year of studying a Bachelor of Education, Primary at the Australian Catholic University and aim to apply the knowledge of past experiences in the St Paul’s community and continue to build upon and create new strengths for the future. 

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