Meet the
Teachers 

Welcome to 2024 at MPPS!

I am thrilled to be entering my 6th year as Principal at Mount Pleasant Primary School. This year I will be in my Principal role Monday to Thursday. Anna Johnson will be Acting Principal on Fridays during Term 1.

I  have two children, both are in primary school. We love spending time going away on trips together, reading and on Friday’s we enjoy having a Movie Night!

My favourite book when I was little was Where The Wild Things Are and it’s still my favourite book to read with children. I have a love of learning and consider myself a life long learner – so many things, so little time!

The best part about our school is the wonderful community – families, teachers and education support staff who all work together to support our students. I’m proud of the team we have at MPPS and the commitment we make to being an evidence led learning community.

We really are like a small country school in the heart of Ballarat.

Book in a tour and say hello!

Hi, my name is Kylie and I am excited to be with Mount Pleasant Primary this year working in the office and being part of the school administration team. I look forward to getting to know our families and being able to help our Mount Pleasant school community in any way possible.  I find this such a rewarding and satisfying job and love working with the fantastic staff and families at the school.

I am married and have two children. We have a dog called Atticus, who we saved from the pound. We love to get away in our caravan whenever we can.

In my spare time I love to play tennis, gardening, do jigsaws, knitting for charities and East Timor, anything crafty and scrapbooking.

If you require any help, please do not hesitate to come to the office and I will see what I can do.

I have been working at MPPS since April 2023 as the Inclusion and Wellbeing leader. MPPS is a great school and I love working with the students, staff, and families. In my role I support the staff to provide a space that is safe and inclusive for all people. This includes facilitating Student Support Group (SSG) meetings each term, organising funding for students through the Disability Inclusion Profile (DIP), and spending time with students who may need some extra support. My degrees in Education and Counselling as well as my experience working with children and families who have experienced trauma means I bring a wealth of knowledge and skill to inclusion and wellbeing at MPPS. 

 My work days at MPPS are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On Monday and Wednesday I work at another primary school as a school chaplain. 

 When I’m not at school I like to spend time with my husband, two adult children, and our dog Eddie. I enjoy crafty things like crochet, cross-stitch and sewing. I like doing jigsaw puzzles and watching tv shows, particularly true crime documentaries and British dramas. 

My name is Suzie Parkinson. This year I have the privilege of teaching Foundation where I love building strong relationships with students and families, as well as nurturing a love of learning in the first years of school. I enjoy being a part of each student’s journey, seeing them take risks, challenge themselves and enjoy new learning experiences.

 Outside of school, I enjoy staying active, going out for breakfast, reading and spending time with friends and family. I live out on a farm in Rokewood with my husband Andrew, our dog Bob, and around 1500 sheep.

Hi, my name is Teresa Murray.

When I started primary school, I loved it so much that I decided to become a teacher. I have now been a passionate educator for 24 years.
During this time, I have had many teaching roles including classroom teacher, specialist teacher and Intervention Specialist. I have taught in schools, big and small!

I want all my students to enjoy learning as much as I do. I especially enjoy learning about Neurodiversity, Learning Difficulties and best teaching practices.

When I am not at school, I am a loving mother who enjoys visiting art galleries and performances, cooking, reading and laughing with loved ones. I am excited about getting to know the Mount Pleasant Primary School Community

My name is Kayla Ormrod and I am so excited to be a member of the teaching team at Mount Pleasant Primary School in 2022.

This year, you will find me in Room 7 with the grade 3/4’s, where we will be working hard to achieve individual and class goals. I am very passionate about teaching and learning, so I am honoured to be able to support our students in their own learning journey.

When I am not at school, I enjoy baking and spending time with my friends and family. I am also a passionate footy fan (go cats), so I often spend my weekends watching AFL at both the local and national level.

I am excited to enter into my fifth year at Mount Pleasant Primary School.  The past five years have taught me that teamwork, research, continuous learning, and unwavering support as a team is the recipe required to produce great results and engagement for our staff, students and wider community. 

This year I will be teaching Grade 4 with Lauren Turner and I will step into the Acting Principal role on Fridays for Term 1.  I am excited for both challenges, particularly as I get to teach students that I taught in Foundation a few years ago.  To see their growth and development is going to be special.

During my downtime, I play netball for fitness and fun, I spend time with my beautiful family on our 5 acres in the bush and most weekends are taken up with our children’s sport, sport and more sport!  Our family includes four children, two dogs and two cats, so needless to say we are kept busy and entertained.

I am ready for another action-packed year!  I am proud of our achievements at MPPS and excited for the year ahead!

I’m so pleased to be joining the MPPS community and looking forward to getting to know everyone.

Even as a child when people asked what I wanted to be when I grew up my answer was always, to be a teacher. I love watching students grow, develop and learn new things. Supporting students to pursue their own interests and dreams whilst providing engaging learning opportunities is highly rewarding and never dull. 

When I’m not at school I love to adventure outdoors with my husband and children. I spend far too much time at the Wildlife Park and always look forward to greeting the kangaroos and seeing if there are any baby animals, the koalas are my favourite. 

With lots to look forward to in 2024 at MPPS please come and say hi if you see me. 

My name is Michelle and I am excited to be starting at Mount Pleasant Primary School this year.

I moved to Australia in 2018 from the UK and have taught in primary and secondary schools. I am an enthusiastic teacher who promotes a positive classroom ensuring all children feel successful and valued.

I am married and have three children. We have a dog called Jenny and enjoy exploring the state and country together. When we are not on adventures, I enjoy playing games, reading, going to the theatre and listening to music.

I find great happiness in teaching but also to continually learn alongside my students. It is a privilege to be a part of their growth journey, see their confidence blossom and support them to embrace new challenges.

I am delighted to be back at Mount Pleasant Primary School to work with our creative, energetic, expressive students.

I love to explore students’ unique ideas and talents and develop their skills in Drama and Dance. Performing Arts gives us all a place to be seen and heard in new ways. We thrive in our collective learning and celebrate our individual achievements – and we always aim to have fun.

Outside of school I enjoy going to the theatre, spending time in my garden and walking by the river in Ballan. I hope to travel to see my family in New Zealand this year – it’s been a long time!

My roles include Literacy Co-ordinator, Tutor, and Physical Education Teacher across the whole school. I am passionate about inspiring the next generation of our youth to live healthy lifestyles and enabling them strategies to assist with learning. I believe that every student can learn, and I am passionate about guiding them on their learning journey. I believe in a holistic approach to education that supports growth academically, physically, socially, and emotionally. Getting to know the students intrinsically, hearing their stories and insights is a highlight of my day.

I am married to Paul and together we have two children in secondary school, Katie and Hugh. We have two cats, Tilly and Willow who are quite demanding at feed times J  Every morning I start my day with a form of exercise, from Cycling to Yoga, however my true passion in sports is netball. And when I am not enjoying sport, I love watch movies and enjoy time with my family.

My mantra to students is, ‘The best way to learn is to make a mistake!’ Mistake are amazing opportunities to help us to learn. The best inventions and the greatest achievements sometimes grow from the best mistakes. I truly see these as positive opportunities to learn.

I am thrilled to be joining the team at Mount Pleasant Primary School as the Visual Art/Music teacher.

In the past, I have worked at a range of Sydney Catholic Schools. I have always had a love and passion for visual arts and have an extensive background in music. I feel incredibly grateful that I have the privilege to provide students with opportunities to explore and express their creativity.

When I’m not at school, I enjoy reading, baking, going for walks and spending time with my family and friends. I have a husband named Daniel, a beautiful 11 month old daughter named Everly and four adorable pets including two cats and two dogs (a Rottie and a Husky).

I believe that education is an individual and unique experience for every student and everyone has the potential to succeed. I am looking forward to having an amazing school year together and seeing what comes for each student at MPPS in 2024!

Bek is currently on leave. She will be working with us in a casual capacity as an Instructional Coach to embed responsive teaching routines. 

I am very privileged to part of the team at Mount Pleasant Primary School in my 4th year of teaching. I enjoy working with our dedicated team of staff and alongside our students and families.

My classroom promotes a positive and happy environment where I am passionate about students achieving their full potential socially, emotionally and academically, ensuring that our school is a place that students want to be.

When I’m not at school, I enjoy being outside going on walks, going out for coffee and spending time with my friends and family. I also spend a lot of my time at home looking after all of my plants, there are too many of them!

Sarah is currently on Maternity Leave.

Here at Mount Pleasant Primary School our students are our biggest focus. Being a smaller school, we promote a wonderful sense of community with every student known and supported our entire staff. We pride ourselves on working together with our families to maximize student learning. We provide a fun, nurturing and positive environment for each student to be there best self.  

I’m fortunate to have been teaching here at Mount pleasant for approximately 7 years and can say I truly love my job. It is a wonderful privilege to work alongside our dedicated and compassionate staff members, as we plan and create exciting learning programs for our great students.  

My name is Max, and I am very excited to be joining the Mount Pleasant Primary School team in 2022!

This year, I will be with the Grade 1/2’s on Tuesday’s, and the Grade 5/6’s every other day of the week. I am excited to get to know everyone’s faces and become more familiar with the school community. I love helping others and am very fortunate to be able to help students and teachers alike, to achieve their learning goals.

Outside of school, I like to work on creative projects, such as painting, drawing and sewing! I also love playing video games and am a huge nerd! On weekends I usually relax and spend time with my partner.

My name is Jenna, and I feel so fortunate to work at Mount Pleasant Primary School as an Education Support staff member.

That’s because Mt. PPS has such an incredible group of working staff, the most amazing students, and a truly wonderful wider school community.

I live in Ballarat with my husband and 3 primary school aged children – Zara, Thomas and Eli. We have two dogs, two guinea pigs, and a magpie we have named ‘Maggie’, who lives in our front garden tree.

I enjoy baking at home, pottering around my garden, reading a good book, and watching my kids play their favourite sports and musical instruments.

As a family we love riding our bikes, taking our dogs for walks to the park, and going away camping as much as we can!

This year I will be working with students in the 3/4 classroom and also in the Foundation room.

 All my life I have enjoyed repairing and building things for people. I started an apprenticeship with my father who taught me the bricklaying trade. From there, I started my own brick laying business which I had for 38 years. I have worked in schools for the past 7 year as a groundsman and thoroughly enjoy chatting with the primary students. They often provide me with insight on how I can do my job or how well I have done around the school.  

I am married with 2 adult children and 2 beautiful grandchildren. I love competitive sports and animals.  Horses have been a passion of mine. I have always owned horses and played polo on horse back. At home, we have chooks and a pet dog called Ollie. I follow the best AFL team ever, Carlton, the mighty blues.