Assistant Principal Carmen Sacco (Prep & Year 1)
Carmen Sacco came to Alamanda College as a Reading Recovery/ Support teacher in its second year of operation and became an Assistant Principal later in the year.
Before coming to Alamanda P-9 College, Carmen’s teaching career began in Traralgon Gippsland, as a Grade One Teacher of thirty-five students before moving back to the west where she worked at St Albans Heights Primary School having the experience of working as a Grade Five, Prep and Art teacher. From there Carmen moved to Altona Meadows Primary School where she taught Prep, Grade One and Two before going on family leave. Carmen returned to teaching having attained a position at Seabrook Primary School. Her teaching commitments were setting up the Library and taking Library lessons for children in Prep -Two and then working as a Prep and Grade One Teacher holding various leadership positions such as Unit Leader for Grade Prep and One.
Carmen then obtained a Leading Teacher position with the Western Metropolitan Region working as a Numeracy Coach with various Melton Schools to improve the teaching and learning of numeracy in schools. When her position came to a close, she then returned to Seabrook Primary School as the Head of the Junior School and then taking up the position of the Grade Two and Three Learning Community Leader before becoming an Assistant Principal and coordinating the grade Two/Three team and Numeracy across the school.
Carmen’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts in Education at Deakin University Geelong, Bachelor of Education at Victorian University Footscray and Masters in Education- International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme at Melbourne University with various subjects based on improving the Teaching and Learning in Numeracy.
Carmen’s belief as an Assistant Principal and educator is to create a positive team culture to challenge and support teaching and learning enabling effective teaching that promotes enthusiastic, independent learners, committed to lifelong learning. Her key responsibility is to develop a team culture of effective teaching, for leading, designing and managing the quality of teaching and learning, for students’ achievement in all aspects of their development encouraging active engagement and a strong student voice.
Assistant Principal Helen Welsh (Years 2 & 3)
Helen Welsh commenced her teaching career at St Kilda Primary School. She then moved to the Western District to teach in rural and regional schools of various sizes. This experience confirmed her commitment to teaching as a career.
Her love of travel led to living and working in Penang, Malaysia for three years and later twelve months living near Palmerston North, New Zealand. Living overseas provided her with the opportunity to experience other cultures and perspectives on education. A few more twists and turns, lots of study, and a passion for improving her understanding of how children learn led to a secondment to Barwon South-Western Region as a Teaching and Learning Consultant. As a teaching and learning consultant, she trained literacy and numeracy school-based coordinators, developed LOTE networks and implemented state-wide curriculum initiatives in P- 10 schools.
In 2007, an appointment to Western Metropolitan Region saw her training and supporting Reading Recovery Teachers, facilitating literacy and numeracy workshops for classroom teachers and supporting English As a Second Language coordinators and teachers with professional learning.
As a founding staff member of Alamanda College, it has been rewarding for Mrs. Welsh to see Principal Lynette Jobson’s vision develop from a few portable classrooms, a group of young teachers and a few hundred students, into a modern educational facility offering the International Baccalaureate program to many enthusiastic P-9 students.
“It is a pleasure to be working in a dynamic environment with a principal who has a courageous vision, with enthusiastic teachers who are eager to improve their craft and make a difference to the lives of their students in a community keen for their children to be educated to become lifelong learners,” she says.
Assistant Principal Jackie Daniali (Years 4,5 & 6)
Jackie Daniali became an Assistant Principal at Alamanda College in its inaugural Year in 2013.
Before coming to Alamanda College, she had the position of Acting Principal of Wembley Primary School, and prior to that was the Assistant Principal in charge of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment.
Jackie’s teaching career began at Seabrook Primary School as a classroom teacher and Head of School, leading the development of Personalized and Differentiated Learning through goal setting. Other duties included: coaching and mentoring of graduate and new teachers, In-school Literacy Coach with Western Metropolitan Region.
Jackie obtained a postgraduate certificate in Educational Studies- International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme at University of Melbourne, and began to explore a passion in Inquiry Based Learning and Curriculum development in the PYP. Jackie eventually became the Assistant Principal at Seabrook Primary school.
Jackie’s teaching and learning philosophy is based on building relationships with students, staff and the wider community. Her leadership philosophy is centered on building the capacity of the staff she works with. She believes that when teachers are provided with professional learning and dialogue, and continually asked to reflect on their current practice, they develop their capacity as educators. This in turn provides an inclusive, personalised curriculum that enables learners to understand, participate and to make a difference in our world.
