At the heart of the St Catherine’s experience is the relationship between our teachers and students.

Through our consistently strong academic results and focus on developing the ‘whole-child’ the quality of our teaching and the commitment to excellence shown by our staff is evident.

To ensure a continuous culture of learning occurs in every classroom and Co-curricular program, St Catherine’s commits to engaging exceptional staff, aligned with our values in their passion for girls’ education and wellbeing.

It is with great pleasure we welcome the following exemplary staff to St Catherine’s Senior School.

Senior School

Mr Nick Grunden Head of Music

Nick joins St Catherine’s School as Head of Music. With a Bachelor and Masters of Music Performance from University of Melbourne, Nick completed his Diploma of Education at Monash in 2013. His Music Teaching roles at Haileybury and St Kevin’s led him to a Head of Keyboard role at Xavier in 2008 where he remained until this year. In his years at Xavier, Nick has filled a number of roles including Head of Music, Burke Hall, Acting Director of Music and also Head of Operations, Burke Hall.  Nick is also an AMEB assessor, VCE Performance (solo) Assessor and enjoys mentoring students from University of Melbourne Master of Performance Teaching course. 

Ms Clare Haysom Senior School Physics and General Science Teacher

Clare joins our Science Faculty for 2022, teaching Physics and General Science. She comes to us from Scotch College, where she has been teaching Years 10 and 11 Physics, as well as General Science. Clare also has experience at Monash University, where she has worked as a Research Assistant in the School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine.

Ms Roslyn McCulloch Senior School Humanities Teacher

Roslyn, with a Master of Teaching qualification from ACU, is currently teaching at Star of the Sea College, Brighton, where she has been teaching a variety of subjects including VCE Psychology, Humanities, English and Religious Education. Previously, Roslyn taught at St Francis Xavier College. Roslyn has discovered a passion for sustainability and held a leadership role at Star of the Sea in this capacity. 

 

Mr Richard Walker Senior School Mathematics Teacher

Richard brings a wealth of experience in teaching VCE Mathematics to St Catherine’s, with 15 years teaching experience at Loreto, and most recently seven years at Firbank Grammar. Richard’s expertise lies in teaching both Further and Mathematical Methods and he has enjoyed working in Teacher Mentor roles, as well as Acting Head of Faculty positions over the years.

 

Ms Penny Williams Business Management & Accounting Teacher (VCE)

Penny brings valuable industry experience to her new role at St Catherine’s as a VCE Business Management and Accounting teacher, having worked as an accountant in organisations such as KPMG, Coles Myer and the BBC. Since graduating in 2002 with a Bachelor of Education from Deakin University, Penny has developed a passion for teaching both subjects at VCE level, and is renown for helping her students’ achieve their VCE goals. Most recently at Balwyn High School, Penny has also previously taught in the independent school sector.

 

Mr Scott Dacy Senior School VCE Physical Education Teacher

With over 12 years teaching experience, including three years teaching in Germany, Scott’s most recent role was VCE Physical Education Teacher at Peninsula Grammar, as well as filling a leadership role as Head of Boys’ Sport. Scott is committed to applying contemporary pedagogies and innovation in the classroom. At MLC, he also taught VCE Unit 3 &4 Physical Education with outstanding results. To add to this, Scott is an experienced sports coach with Level 2 Hockey coaching qualifications.

 

 

Ms Roxanne James English & Humanities Teacher

Roxanne is a passionate English teacher, most recently teaching at Wesley College, St Kilda Road. Prior to Wesley, Roxanne taught English and Humanities at varying schools, including Methodist Ladies College and Camberwell Grammar. Roxanne has a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching for English and Humanities Methods and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Literature, with minors in Sociology and Media, and is currently completing her Master of Arts (Literature and Writing) at Deakin University. Roxanne is passionate about wide reading, prior to entering the teaching profession her work experience was in libraries. Roxanne also champions differentiation in teaching and believes in the ethos of lifelong learning. 

Mr Michael Hein Business Management & Accounting Teacher (VCE)

We welcome Michael to our Humanities Faculty in the position of Business Management and Accounting Teacher (VCE). Michael originally completed a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) in 2014 and had a few years in the corporate world in Finance Analyst roles before completing a Graduate Diploma in Education at ACU. Immediately after graduating, Michael commenced teaching at Our Lady of Sion College as the VCE Legal Studies and Accounting Teacher.

 

 

Ms Zoe Poulson Careers Practitioner

Zoe taught at Sacre Coeur for 16 years and is passionate about girls’ education. As a Careers Advisor, Zoe believes in focusing the interests and strengths of a student and assisting them to access pathways to achieve their future study and career aspirations. Zoe is absolutely thrilled to be joining St Catherine’s vibrant community.

Ms Georgina Speak Senior School Psychologist

Georgina Speak has extensive experience and a special interest in working with students, and is passionate about providing counselling to support psychological, emotional and physical wellbeing. Her interest in this area has grown from her private practice, where providing support to senior school students and their families is a key part of her work. Georgina has had experience working within a school context as part of OnPsych, providing child and adolescent mental health interventions with a range of presentations including special learning needs, anxiety, depression, ASD, ADHD, grief and self-harm.

 

St Catherine’s Sports Development Academy

Ms Kim Mulhall Head of St Catherine’s Sports Development Academy

Kim Mulhall joins the St Catherine’s staff this year as Head of the Sports Development Academy. Kim is a current Victorian athlete, a talented thrower who represented Australia at two world juniors, two Commonwealth Games and a World University Games. Primarily a throws coach (shot and discus), Kim has broadened her knowledge  at various schools including Wesley, Korowa and Loreto, and since 2019 has been at Caulfield Grammar as Head of Athletics, Cross Country and Strength and Conditioning. Some of her national level athletes include Mia Scerri (throws), Tahlee Fergusson and Abi Bolmat. Since 2020, Kim has been an Athletics Victoria Board Member and is a Level 3 Athletics Australia Accredited Coach and includes a Bachelor of Health/Exercise Science to her qualifications. Sport has been a strong part of the Mulhall family. Her grandfather Ken Mulhall played 150+ games as a ruckman for the St Kilda Football Club and her aunty, Gael Mulhall, is the greatest shot putter in Australian history.

Ms Elizabeth Matthews Head Coach, Distance Running

Elizabeth (Liz) is a mother of three children and a qualified primary school teacher. Liz took up coaching in 2012 and is an Athletics Australia Accredited Coach, who works out of Williamstown and St. Kevin’s Athletics clubs. She has coached athletes of all ages and abilities, and taken individuals to state and national junior championship medals and state, national and World Master’s medals. Her most recent achievement was coaching her son, Luke Mathews, to his third Australian national 800m title and a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. Liz, recently worked as Head Distance Running Coach, alongside Kim Mulhall at Caulfield Grammar. A formidable team already, we look forward to both ladies joining St Catherine’s Sports Development Academy.

 

General Staff

Ms Kathryn Hines Advancement Manager

Kathryn has a wealth of experience working within donor communities, event management, extensive engagement and stewardship processes and team leadership. She has worked in several schools, including Trinity Grammar School, Geelong Grammar, Melbourne Girls Grammar and Lauriston Girls’ School. Kathryn brings great experience to the Advancement role.

 

 

Ms Liz Rowell Human Resources Manager

Over the past six years, Liz has worked as the Director of People and Governance, and the Human Resources and Risk Manager at Shelford Girls’ Grammar, establishing and implementing a service-focused end-to-end human resource and governance function within the school.

Liz has a unique skill set to offer with HR, corporate governance, OHS, and risk management post-graduate qualifications and business partnering experience gained across several industries, interfaced with a physiotherapy background. Liz’s previous role at Shelford Girls’ Grammar encompasses both strategic and operational HR management in the areas of resourcing, recruitment, onboarding, performance development, employment relations, workforce planning, and change management.

With this school experience and Liz’s background in Risk and Governance, we look forward to Liz’s contributions to the HR function and School operations and strategy.

 

Ms Sophie Zeglinas Senior School Campus Administrator

Sophie joins the Administration Team in the Senior School Campus Administrator role. Sophie has worked in a number of schools in similar roles, most recently at Xavier College and MLC, as well as previously at St Leonard’s and St Michael’s. Early in her career, Sophie spent over five years at Korowa Anglican Girls’ School, where she was School Receptionist as well as PR and Events Coordinator.  We welcome Sophie to the St Catherine’s community and look forward to you sharing your expertise with our Administration Team.