Teachers Mutual Bank Principals Scholarship

Ann Turner-Calleri is the Principal of Edgars Creek Primary School in Victoria. Edgars Creek Primary School opened in 2021 during the COVID pandemic. Prior to the school opening, the student population climbed from 60 students in August to 398 on day one in 2021. Growth of this sort proved challenging with the employment of staff, provision of resources and the ability to link with families – all of which had to be completed online due to the lockdown restrictions. “From these challenging times, I learnt the self-satisfaction of creating a vision and defining it with the school community. I embraced the value of symbolic leadership and modelled my philosophy of ‘People before paperwork’.”

Daniel Rattigan is Principal at the Finigan School of Distance Education and manages a range of unique educational challenges, providing both in-class and remote learning for a diverse student body ranging from K through Y12. 

Watch the video to hear what Daniel is looking forward to learning when he attends the leadership program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

Belinda Giudice is the Principal of Prairiewood High School, located in Western Sydney. An experienced Principal with high credibility at a local and system leadership level, under her guidance the school can boast significant improvements in 7-12 student outcomes, attendance and HSC retention. These achievements have been shaped through a coordinated School Plan led by Belinda. The plan supports varied student needs through curriculum differentiation, HSC High Leverage Strategy integration, and pedagogy. It has raised the literacy and numeracy achievement of EAL/D learners and enhanced wellbeing support for students. This includes the addition of a Wellbeing Hub with support from external partners.

Damien Keel is Principal of Yarrawonga College P-12 in Victoria. He is passionate about rural education and an advocate for life-long learning. Damien is an active member of many educational  organisations including the Victorian Principals Association, Rural Expert Principal Advisory Group, Moira Strathbogie Network of Principals and many more. Attending the leadership program for principals at Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2023, Damien looks forward to sharing his learnings with this extended network and with his own school team and community.

Tracey Breese is the Principal of Kurri Kurri High School, NSW. Tracey is also the creator and Director of ProjectNEST, a professional learning network that nurtures excellence in students and teachers through a learning HUB experience. As a transformational and instructional leader, Tracey has led pedagogical change at Kurri Kurri High School, immersing and engaging both students and teachers in future-focused learning through rigorous and authentic project- based learning.

Karen Duncan is principal of Harrisdale Primary School in Western Australia. With a rapid rate of growth and a diverse school community with 37 different nationalities and over 50 languages or dialects represented, the school works to personalise learning for every student. Karen believes that an explicit focus on effective teaching and social and emotional well-being creates the right conditions for students to achieve their potential in both academic and non-academic pursuits. Her classroom practice exemplifies the school’s beliefs about teaching and learning and puts students first.

Jennifer Parrett is the Principal of James Fallon High School, a co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located in North Albury, in the Riverina region of NSW. With substantial diversity within the school community, the school’s distinctive approach to personalised learning is embodied in their motto: Together we succeed. 

The school aims to foster passionate, committed, and engaged students, staff, parents and carers by empowering learning and creating a culture of belonging and inclusion within their diverse and strong community.

Melissa Proctor was the Principal of Bass Hill Public School when she was awarded her scholarship in 2017. For the past five years she has been Principal of Greenacre Public School where she works closely with her staff and community to drill down and narrow the focus ensuring they all work together to achieve better outcomes for their students.

Melissa also loves working with other principals and aspiring leaders, using her learnings from the Principals Scholarship to support them in their practice. 

Clayton Reedie, Director of Educational Leadership at the Campbelltown Education Office was previously the Principal of Dalmeny Public School, Prestons, NSW. Leading one of the largest primary schools in the state and as a principal for 13 years, Clayton is passionate about promoting a positive climate for learning, quality teaching, caring and communication within the schools he has served. He’s also an advocate for life-long learning and has a wide network where knowledge can be shared and celebrated. 

Beyond the classroom, he has held many leadership positions in educational organisations including President of the Liverpool Primary Principals Council. In 2015, Clayton ran a student wellbeing program at Dalmeny to help reduce bad behaviour and improve learning outcomes.  

Scott Davidson, Director and Strategic Liaison for the Department of Education has worked in NSW Public Schools as a classroom teacher and in leadership positions, including Executive Teacher, Assistant Principal, Deputy Principal, Principal, Director Public Schools and Director Educational Leadership. All of Scott’s 29 years in NSW Public Education have been spent working in schools across South-Western Sydney. The Principals Scholarship enabled him to make global connections, Scott has seen first-hand how education has the power to transform lives. 

John Goh, Principal of Merrylands East Public School, NSW since 2005 is an innovator in education perhaps  best known for the introduction of new school hours in 2013. The student enrolment comprises a high percentage of students  from socio-culturally diverse and non-English speaking backgrounds, including refugees. Having attended public schools as part of his own education, on being awarded the scholarship, John reflected that “Being the son of a World War II refugee, going to Harvard Graduate School seemed like an impossible dream. This just shows what public education can achieve – supporting students to fulfil their dreams and aspirations.”