Eva Bertram
Hello everyone 👋
I’m Eva and excited to be part of the Specialist Team in 2024. I will be teaching our St John’s community Auslan. Since beginning my own Auslan journey, I’ve had lots of fun learning how to communicate in another language. It has become a big part of how I engage with everyone daily and I can already see how it has had a positive influence on the children that I have interacted with. They have shown a keen interest in learning more and I look forward to now having the opportunity to explore this language with them.
When I’m not at school you can find me being active outdoors, enjoying Melbourne’s delicious coffee and food and spending my spare time around family and friends.
Educator: Auslan
Molly Argus
Educator (The Arts)
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Hi, I’m Molly and I am thrilled to continue being part of the beautiful St John’s community in 2024!
I feel privileged to be part of the wonderful specialist team next year, as The Arts educator. Within my teaching philosophy, I strongly believe that children learn best when they feel safe, regulated and have the opportunity of choice through various languages of learning. We will creatively explore art, music and dance.
I am excited to announce that on Mondays and Fridays I will also be fulfilling a new role at St John’s as an educator in Mental Health and Wellbeing for our school community.
I have grown up and live in the local area and am a lover of all things chocolate, plants, sloths and flowers. I enjoy spending time with family and friends, making art and taking lots of photos of the family Greyhound, Pablo. Looking forward to seeing you all again in 2024.
Bess Naughtin
Educator (P, 3-6 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!
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, who is a familiar face for many here at St John's. I design and create all sorts of things for our Cyber Safety & Wellbeing incursions, which are live-streamed to more than 50,000 primary school kids around Australia, including the children here at St John's!
Jessie Knott
Educator (1/2 Innovation)
Hello! My name is Jessie. I teach Innovation with Bess, which is a STEAM specialist subject (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics). I joined the lovely St John’s community midway through 2022. I have been an educator for a couple of years, but before completing my Masters in teaching, I worked as a botanist.
I’m looking forward to continuing to build strong relationships with all our children and their families. I’m passionate about creating a safe, kind and supportive environment for learning where all children feel that their interests and unique perspectives are valued.
When I’m not at school, you’ll find me spending time with my husband Jonny and boys Bede, Charlie and Luka. We love playing music together, completing DIY projects and doing plenty of gardening on our block of land near Daylesford.
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 ⅚ 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.