SERENDIPITY LEARNING - Key Persons
As an Educator and Career Development Practitioner, Alison is interested in lifelong learning and supporting students to find their strengths and pathways .
Alison has an affinity for remote and rural areas of NSW where her teaching career began , and experience working internationally and interstate as an English and EAL/D teacher.
As an English Teacher , Alison is often found browsing bookshops and exploring the craft of writing at festivals and workshops.
Astri studied at the Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg, South Africa, obtaining a BSc Honours and MSc (Applied Mathematics) - all cum laude - and she finished a PhD in 2003 through the University of the Witwatersrand.
She taught Applied Mathematics to science and engineering students at the University of Johannesburg for 14 years during which time she participated in research for industry and published several research articles.
In 2009 her family moved to Coffs Harbour where she started tutoring privately while settling her family into a new country.
Astri has many interests including sewing, cutting music for dance teachers, teaching dance and running a dance school, running Lego activities and running enrichment classes. The joy of working with younger students led her to enrol in a Masters of Teaching (Secondary Mathematics) in 2016 at the University of New England. She will complete this qualification later this year.
Astri has tutored students from year four to university at all ability levels, including extension Mathematics, and is thrilled to be working with students at Serendipity Learning.
Outside of work, Astri spends time with her husband and two children, reads, dabbles in art and helps out behind the sound desk at church.
Job Titles:
- Teacher
- Founder, Program Co - Ordinator
Fiona attended the University of New England in Armidale graduating with a Bachelor of Primary Education degree in 2002, specialising in Personal Development, Health and Physical Education as well as Gifted and Talented Education. Fiona has 12 years teaching experience working across all grades from Kindergarten to Year 6. She started her teaching career in the private school sector at Bishop Druitt College, Coffs Harbour. After 3 years full time at Bishop Druitt College, Fiona and her husband moved to Toowoomba QLD where she worked at Fairholme College; a private, all girls day and boarding school for 6 years.
In her time as an educator, Fiona has specialised in Enrichment Programs and Health and Nutrition in children. Throughout her career, Fiona has held positions of responsibility with coordinating and organising sporting carnivals, creative arts festivals and has been involved in many professional learning opportunites specifically focused on differentiating the curriculum for all learners. Since moving back to Coffs Harbour in 2012, whilst returning to work part time at Bishop Druitt College, Fiona has developed a private tutoring program catering for remedial and extension students in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy. It was during this time that Fiona developed a passion for providing education that is tailored to the specific needs of individual students. Her greatest passion is to instill a love of learning in all children that she teaches. This passion together with her drive to teach children about healthy living led to the inception of Serendipity Learning.
Fiona is married to a High School Music teacher and has 2 young children, a son 7 years and a daughter 4 years. She grew up in Inverell, completing the majority of her schooling there until moving to Coffs Harbour in 1995. She desires to see the individual needs of each student met in a safe, caring and nurturing learning environment that encourages creative thinking and practical problem solving, two vital life skills.
Job Titles:
- Instructor
- Yoga Instructor
Our Hajnalka is a highly motivated and supportive educator delivering key child fitness and health related projects, focusing on individual involvement.
Hajnalkas' child fitness focus is very extensive. She has been a Fitness Leader in the ‘Go4Fun' program, a lead Swimming instructor at various swim schools in Australia and Hungary, a Children's fitness instructor for the Les Mills Born To Move program and Fit Nation Australia, which had children as young as 2 participate!
Hajnalka has also dabbled in the ‘Health' side of the Health and Fitness world, where she was a dental assistant in Hungary, a community nurse in Budapest as well as a Registered Nurse. She has also completed her Diploma in Health Science.
It's safe to say you are in GREAT hands with Hajnalka during her Yoga program at Serendipity!
Kaitlin attended Southern Cross University, graduating with a Bachelor of Education (Primary) in 2015 and a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Education (Secondary), majoring in Mathematics, in 2017. She has 6 years' experience as a casual teacher, working across all grades from Kindergarten to Year 12. She has worked in several schools around Coffs Harbour, the Bellinger Valley and Dorrigo.
In her time as an educator, she has specialised in secondary mathematics. She developed a numeracy program for one school that was aimed at lifting the mathematical achievement of their students.
Kaitlin was born in the United States but moved to Australia in 2007, completing her secondary education in Bellingen and tertiary in Coffs Harbour. She desires to see each individual student develop their numeracy skills and thrive as mathematical learners.
Kay graduated from the University of Exeter, UK, with a BA Hons Degree in Primary Education and French. Having grown up in Lagos, Nigeria, Kay always had a passion for travel and so began her teaching career in Singapore. In Singapore, Kay spent four years teaching small groups of children aged 2-16 at Lorna Whiston Schools. The school is one of the most prestigious language schools in Singapore and was founded (in 1980), due to demand for high quality, interactive English language programs. Kay initially joined the school as a class teacher however, in 1997, she was given the opportunity to move to Malaysia and set up the first Lorna Whiston Centre in Kuala Lumpur. There, she helped expand the programs to include Early Childhood and Kindergarten classes, developing a unique syllabus based on the best of Australian and British curriculums and English language classes for students up to the age of 16. Later, Speech and Drama and TESOL programs were included.
Kay handed over the leadership role after 11 years to spend time with her young son. However, she continued with her first love, teaching part time and acted as a consultant for the school until her departure from Malaysia.
In January 2014, Kay, together with her Australian husband and young son moved to Coffs Harbour to be closer to family. Kay believes they couldn't have asked for a better place to live and have been overwhelmed by the warm welcome they received in this fantastic part of the country. Kay has valuable experience in teaching small groups of children and creating tailor-made programs to suit individual needs, with an emphasis on enjoyment, in order to build confidence. She also enjoys the rapport with parents and appreciates the importance of working together to achieve the best for each individual child.
With over 17 years' experience of teaching in the State school system, Katie brings a wealth of academic knowledge and experience to her work as a tutor. She has a keen interest in all things scientific and encourages her students to develop a love of ‘STEM' subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) from their earliest years.
Bachelor of Fine Art and a Bachelor of Teaching from The University of Tasmania, she began teaching Art in schools in 2000, teaching those from pre-schoolers to Year 12 students. No longer teaching in schools, after taking a break from professional life to focus on family, this experienced instructor has been tutoring from her home studio continuing to produce and sell her work professionally under the business name of Penelope's Nest- Where she is an emerging author and illustrator for her own children's books and other Authors.
Penelope is passionate about providing children with the skill set to successfully use different art mediums at an early age, enabling them to see and interpret their environment through creativity in art. She has reached the conclusion that by teaching children to see and record their perception of the world at an early age, they will not suffer creative frustration as they enter later years.
Penny has been teaching since graduating from Southern Cross University in 2008 with a Graduate Diploma in Education. She gained her first degree in Geography from Birkbeck College, London University and spent the following years working in the newspaper industry and for charities, Crime Concern UK and The National Heart Foundation Australia in public relations and marketing.
Since coming to Coffs Harbour in 2000, she worked in the hotel industry before re-training as a teacher in 2008, a profession she loves.
Penny has taught at both Bishop Druitt College and John Paul College as a relief teacher but, since 2012 has focussed on tutoring students in Years 7 to 12. She loves teaching English and has a special interest in HSC texts and Shakespeare. Penny also has a comprehensive knowledge of Geography, Ancient History, Modern History, Commerce and Business Studies.
In her spare time over the past ten years, Penny has been active in community theatre and recently started up her own theatre company, The Coast Comedy Players.
Penny's philosophy of teaching is fundamentally humanist - she says that by sharing her knowledge and understanding of the world with young people, she knows that this will help them to become better citizens, happier people and to fulfil their personal goals.
Stephen's journey with Music began with Piano lessons when he was 5 years old, which continued throughout his Primary School years. At 10, he began learning the trumpet and joined the school band, a pursuit that would take him on high school tours to both New Zealand and Canada. As High School began, Stephen's passion for learning the drums was realised, as he received his first Drumkit. Building on the skills and knowledge already gained from his years learning the piano and trumpet, Stephen also began teaching himself to play the guitar and the bass guitar.
Upon finishing High School, Stephen joined a band based on the Gold Coast and spent 1999 touring South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, playing to a cumulative audience of over 55,000 people. During this tour, Stephen enrolled in the Bachelor of Music / Bachelor of Teaching degree at the University of New England in Armidale, graduating in 2003, specialising in Performance and Composition. He has over 16 years of experience teaching classroom music from Years 6 to 12.
After beginning his teaching career at Bishop Druitt College, Stephen and his wife moved to Toowoomba QLD where he worked at Christian Outreach College as a High School Music teacher and for Musicorp Australia as an instrumental music tutor to 5 local primary schools. Stephen and his young family returned to Coffs Harbour in 2011 for Stephen to work at the Christian Community School in Bonville, where he spent 8 years devoting his time and expertise to the school community. Stephen currently works part-time as a classroom music teacher at Bellingen High School.
Through his experience as a performer and his time as an educator, Stephen has strived to instil a love and passion for the pursuit of music in all students under his care. His drive to see young musicians grow, improve and broaden their understanding and ability can be seen through his willingness to share his time, knowledge and skills with all of his students.
In his time as a musician and educator, Stephen has led multiple ensembles, from Jazz and Concert bands, to Choirs, Drumlines and even an Indonesian Gamelan Ensemble. This stems from his firm belief that, while music starts with a dedication to learning the necessary skills required to command an instrument, Music is a truly universal language that must be shared - whether that be with friends and family members or together with other musicians on the stage for all to see, hear and feel.
Stephen is married to a Primary School teacher and small business owner. They have 2 children, a son 11 years and a daughter 8 years. He grew up on the Mid North Coast - firstly living in Mylestom and then in Toormina where he completed the majority of his schooling. While teaching music is a large part of Stephen's life, he also stays active as a performer, singing and playing the drums for a number of local bands as well as giving his time as an accompanist.
Job Titles:
- Client and Business Services Officer
Tara works at Serendipity Learning part-time in an administrative capacity overseeing enrolments and accounts, liaising with families and assisting with advertising and marketing for the business.
Tara has attained many administrative and management skills, throughout her extensive experience as an Office Manager for the Port of Brisbane Corporation and as a Small Business Manager for 10 years in her family business. She is now also a Business Manager in her husband's building company, Houston Constructions.
She is often described as a ‘Jack of All Trades', with the ability to take on any tasks, no matter how large, small, ladylike or blokey!
When Tara is not ‘working', she is a busy mum to two active little boys.
Tara loves seeing how passionate the staff are about supporting and enriching the students they teach. By looking after the administrative side of things, Tara enables Fiona and the Serendipity teaching staff to focus on their planning and preparation for the wonderful students under their tutelage.