Fiona Hill
Educator (Visual Arts)
Hello, my name is Fiona. I am a visual artist and teacher. I am passionate about all things creative. I believe the process of creating is important and rewarding to me. Life is much more fulfilling when we are in regular touch with our creative source. I create because I feel compelled to and love to share this passion with others.
My family and I moved from Jerrabomberra to Melbourne in 2022. My daughter is passionate about dance and goes to the Australian Ballet school. We enjoy going to the theatre to watch musicals and ballet. We also have a little dog named Mako who loves to explore the Royal Botanical Gardens.
When I am not teaching or hanging out with my family I am painting and exploring galleries. I delight in the discovery of new textures and mixed media processes. I also believe our thoughts influence our lives and often combine my art with words of inspiration. I have been teaching for over thirty years. I have observed children are much more spontaneous in their creativity. This fills me with joy. I believe I can use my knowledge and understanding of the arts to help them develop their own artistic voice. I am excited about joining the dedicated team at St Johns and look forward to the opportunity to contribute to this wonderful community.
Helen Gofron
Educator (The Arts)
Hello, my name is Helen, and this is my second year teaching Performing Arts at St. John’s, but I am not new to the school, as this is the school I attended during my own Primary School years.
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I am married with three children, Ben who works as a Civil Engineer, Alice who is a very busy Podiatrist and Daniel who has recently graduated in Applied Science of Surveying. I also have a 12-year-old Spoodle named Sandy whose favourite pastime activities are sleeping and eating!
My spare time is usually filled with music of some sort whether it is attending a musical production or the opera, or just listening to musicals or folk music while doing the mundane housework. My first love is stage musicals. I also sing with a local women’s choir called the Grace Notes Singers.
I have a strong passion for all areas of teaching, especially music education in the primary years as it opens the child’s mind to creative thought and developing their imagination for their own health and wellbeing. I am very enthusiastic in everything I teach and believe in creating a nurturing environment for all to learn, bringing the best out of each child.
Bess Naughtin
Educator (Innovation)
Hi, I’m Bess and I teach Innovation, which is a STEAM specialist subject (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics). I am also the eLearning Leader here at St John’s. I love helping educators transform their teaching using digital technologies!
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I’ve always taught in schools that value play and project-based learning and I’ve always had an interest in design and digital technologies, so this is a dream job for me! I love animating, movie-making, designing, building, tinkering, coding and 3D printing and it brings me so much joy to be able to share these interests and skills with the kids (and educators!) at St John’s.
I’m a WeFo local and feel very lucky to live and work in this amazing community. If I’m not in the Innovation Hub, I’m probably with my boys (1 husband + 3 sons) or working at Inform & Empower with Marty (a familiar face for many). I help Marty design and create all sorts of of things for his Cyber Safety & Wellbeing incursions, which are live-streamed to more than 40,000 primary school kids around Australia, including the children here at St John's!
Abbey Madden
Educator (Sport)
Hi, my name is Abbey. I am a graduate teacher who is super excited and grateful to be starting my teaching career as the ‘Sporting Educator’ here at St. Johns.
I have always loved sport, health and physical activity. Ever since I was a child, I have spent my weekends either playing, coaching or umpiring Netball. Often, I would watch my older three siblings playing a variety of sports as well.
I enjoy spending time with my young family. My partner Josh and I, welcomed our beautiful daughter, Kora into the world in May last year. In my spare time I like to go to the gym and go for long walks. We have only recently moved to Melbourne, from Mildura where both our families live. Over the last couple of years, I have worked with students with additional learning needs, as a Learning Support Officer.
I have a strong belief that all students should have a right to a positive and uplifting education. I am looking forward to meeting the students and parents of St John’s school. I am also keen to contribute to the school community and to follow my passion to teach.
Erin Schembri
Educator
(Engaging with Place)
Hi, I'm Erin and I teach Engaging With Place, which combines learning about the perspectives of our local First Nations People, the Wurundjeri, and growing and caring for our farm space.
Sustainability is a major passion of mine, so I like to create immersive opportunities for children to engage with the land, like: growing our own organic food and reducing our green waste by composting and worm farming.
I will also have the opportunity to join the Four Hub. I’m looking forward to building strong relationships and influencing children’s projects.
When I’m not at St. John’s, I’m exploring every corner of the beautiful parks and lakes that surround Melbourne with my husband and sons, Hunter and Gene. Besides exploring, we love to dance, garden, swim and whip up batches of banana pancakes.
My name is Eileen and I am one of the Co- Educators at St. John’s. I have been part of the St. John’s Family for the past 9 years working in the â…š hub for the majority of that time. This year my role has changed and I am now part of the Specialist Team. My main role now is supporting Erin at our beautiful farm, which I am looking forward to. I am so excited for the coming year as I will get to work with all of the children across the school to make our farm a place of fun and learning.