Staff Stars
³ÉÈ˶ÌƬ's teachers are not only great at the job, but many are also professionals in their own right in their speciality areas. That means that students have access to the skills and experiences of people who are leaders in their field. In today's ³ÉÈ˶ÌƬ's Stars section, we feature some of those staff members who have been recognised for their talents outside of the ³ÉÈ˶ÌƬ's community.
On Stage at the Fringe Festival
Our very own Music Teacher, Miss Leah Guelfi, started the Fringe Festival off with a BANG, performing in a trio of fantastic singers for the 2021 Festival in a show called 'Let's Misbehave!' with Opera Divas. All three members of Opera Divas went home to where it all began, at WAAPA studying classical voice. The show included a pastiche of jazz standards and other favourites and was a sold out hit as well as an award winner! She also performed to a sold out crowd at the Ellington Jazz Club with the Perth Cabaret Collective in 'Brassy Broads 2.0'.
Public Art Success
Transport Minister, Rita Saffioti, recently announced that Visual Arts Teacher and renowned Mural Artist, Ms Kerise Delcoure, has been chosen by the public to have her mural as the new artwork at the Cockburn Train Station. Her work replaces the infamous Cockburn Train Station 'Faces'.
"I'm beyond excited to learn that my artworks will soon be installed on the Public Transport Authority's Cockburn Station Tower,' said Ms Delcoure.
She explained that the designs feature Western Australia's endangered Carnaby's Cockatoos, a reminder to celebrate, protect, and nurture the fragile world of nature around us. Ms Delcoure thanked BirdLife Photographers, Philip Karstadt, Jim Schultz, and Rodney Appleby for graciously allowing her to use their beautiful photographs as reference for the project.
Kerise painted the seagull mural outside ³ÉÈ˶ÌƬ's Busselton Building, and has also previously been commissioned to paint a 27sqm mural at the Carine Open Space, along with brightening Sorrento Park with her design for ping pong tables, and recently also created a playful artwork featuring a pack of local pooches at Scarborough's Abbott Park dog park, amongst many more wonderful projects!
The Boy from Oz
³ÉÈ˶ÌƬ's has been a core part of the fantastic production of 'The Boy from Oz', currently showing at Crown. But you might be hard pressed to find 'us' on stage... The industry connections of another of our Music Specialists, Mrs Kristy Raymond, has lead to ³ÉÈ˶ÌƬ's featuring in the program, and in much of the music that is such an intrinsic part of the show.
It came about after the producers of 'The Boy from Oz' were unhappy with the quality of the musical instruments available to performers in the show. After having worked with Mrs Raymond in a different production at His Majesty's Theatre, one of the producers reached out to her, and asked if the School had any musical instruments and equipment of a suitable standard. Mrs Raymond was quick to confirm that we did, and it wasn't long before ³ÉÈ˶ÌƬ's was on stage - albeit in a less obvious (but very important) role! This interesting opportunity was due to of the excellent industry connections Mrs Raymond has, and is also confirmation that not only do our students have access to leading industry professionals, but also have access to quality resources and equipment.
Digital Technology Whiz
We are delighted to share the news that Old Scholar and current Digital Technologies teacher, Mrs Michelle Chomiak, has been granted a Commonwealth Support Place towards completing her studies for her MEd (DigiTech). Her studies are going well, achieving High Distinctions in her both her units so far. Mrs Chomiak credits the Head of Digital Technologies, Mr Rob Blair, and her family, as contributing towards her success.
Mrs Chomiak has also recently taken on a position with the National ICT Educators Committee at the Australian Computing Society, which is part of their Professional Advisory Board. Among her other achievements are:
- Awarded ECAWA’s Digital Technologies Teacher of the Year 2018
- Presented at 2019 National FutureSchools Conference in Melbourne
- Attended 10-day National Computer Science School - Summer School in 2019 & 2020
- 3 years Primary teaching experience as a DT specialist (PP-Y6), and 2 years teaching Secondary DT
- 15+ years experience in the IT industry as a programmer and IT project manager, in Perth and London.