Overview

Meet the Principal

Jenny Crowle was appointed to the position of Principal at Truganina College in August 2014.

Jenny comes to Truganina College from her last role as Principal of Moonee Ponds West Primary School. Under Jenny’s direction and guidance at Moonee Ponds West the student’s achieved outstanding academic results, well above state averages.

Jenny lives in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne and is married to Lynden Crowle and has two children, Rohan and Patrick.

Jenny has a Master of Education, a Bachelor of Education and a Postgraduate Diploma in Student Wellbeing from Melbourne University.

Jenny is passionate about Truganina College having a respectful culture, with high academic expectations, achievement and results. Learning is supported by strong community engagement within a climate of care and concern for others.

Principal

Meet the Assistant Principal – Director of Teaching and Learning Excellence, Foundation – Year 9

Nicole O’Brien is an exciting Educator who comes to Truganina College from Southern Cross Grammar. Nicole has a global experience and approach to education and has experienced various educational settings throughout her career.

Nicole lives in the Inner North Western Suburbs of Melbourne and is married to Matt O’Brien. They share a love of animals and relax by taking their two dogs on long walks.

Nicole has a Bachelor of Education (University of South Australia), Specialist Certificate in Clinical Teaching (Melbourne University), has successfully completed two modules at the Bastow Institute for Educational Leadership and recently presented to a group of Educators in Melbourne about Leveraging 21st Century Learning and Lifelong Learners Engaging Digitally.

Nicole’s passion for 21st century teaching, effective planning, learning through child-centred investigations and authentic assessment across differentiated curriculums will contribute to the high expectations, achievements and success of students at Truganina College.

Assistant Principal - Director of Teaching and Learning Exellence, Foundation - Year 9

Meet the Foundation-Year 1 Assistant Principal – Teaching And Learning Excellence

Sarah Dalton comes to Truganina College after teaching English in the New Arrivals Program at Western English Language School.

She lives in the Northern Suburbs of Melbourne with her husband, daughter, and twin sons. On the weekends you can find them all enjoying the outdoors at some of the wonderful parks across Melbourne.

Sarah has a Master of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), a Bachelor of Education (Primary), and  a Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Studies (TESOL) from the University of Melbourne. Most recently, Sarah has completed the Unlocking Potential: A Principal Preparation Program (UP) at the Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership.

She is passionate about preparing young people to be successful, productive, resilient and fulfilled citizens and aims to contribute to the continued success of Truganina College.

Foundation-Year 1 Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning Excellence

Meet the Year 1-2 Assistant Principal – Student Engagement, Wellbeing and Agency

Lisa Foster comes to Truganina P-9 College from Darwin, NT where she was Assistant Principal at Leanyer School. Prior to this she worked in Regional Office and as a Small School Principal in Queensland.

Lisa is very excited to have moved to Melbourne. She lives in the Inner Western suburbs with her partner Rian and their much loved dog Kea.

She has a Graduate Diploma in Education, a Bachelor of Science (Psychology), and has almost completed her Masters of Education (Leadership and Management). In 2016, Lisa was accepted into the Queensland Educational Leadership Institute’s Future Leaders program, being acknowledged as one of Queensland’s high potential leaders.

Lisa is passionate about ensuring young people are engaged and motivated to become strong and successful citizens of the 21st Century. She is passionate about student wellbeing and engagement, ensuring students can achieve their potential and beyond!

Year 1-2 Assistant Principal – Student Engagement, Wellbeing and Agency

Meet the Year 3-4 Assistant Principal

Vanitha Sujith joined Truganina College in Term 4, 2015. Vanitha has taught for many years in Singapore before she settled in Melbourne with her family and has taught in schools in the Western Suburbs. She has a Bachelor of English with Psychology, a Diploma in Education, and a Diploma in Mass Communications. 

Vanitha lives in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne with her husband and son. 

Vanitha is passionate about working with staff and the wider community to help mould our future generations to be global, compassionate citizens. 

Year 3-4 Assistant Principal

Meet the Year 5-6 Assistant Principal – Teaching And Learning Excellence

Justine Ryan joined Truganina College in 2016 as a Leading Teacher/Pedagogy Coach and now as an Assistant Principal; Teaching and Learning Excellence, she will be working in the Grade 4, 5 , 6 area. Justine brings experience to the College in the areas of Adult Education, Gifted Education, Children’s Literature and Languages.

Justine has worked at a number of educational settings in Melbourne including Williamstown North Primary, Williamstown Primary, Cambridge Primary and Moonee Ponds West and as a Teaching Fellow for The University of Melbourne. She has also written a number of educational texts for Oxford University Press and Pearson Education.

Justine studied at the University of Melbourne and has also successfully completed the CREATE program at Bastow and a Child Psychology course. She has two children and also loves animals!

Justine is passionate about education and leading each student and each teacher to reach their full potential.

Year 5-6 Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning Excellence

Meet the Year 7-9 Secondary School Assistant Principal

Helene Refuerzo joined Truganina College as an Assistant Principal in Term 3 2016. Helene brings a lot of experience in the Middle Years as well as Senior Years coming from her previous leadership role as Head of Middle School at Maribyrnong College and more recently as Assistant Principal at Alamanda College.

Helene has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and majored in Mathematics and Chemistry and has also successfully completed the module ‘Impact: Emerging Leaders’ at the Bastow Institute for Educational Leadership and the course, ‘Balanced Leadership’ with McREL International.

She has taught for many years in the Philippines and the USA before she settled in Melbourne with her family and has taught in various educational settings in the western suburbs.

Helene is passionate about engaging learners in all aspects of their learning and preparing them for their future schooling and career pathways – that is developing students who will be positive contributors to the society and are ready to tackle the demands of a rapidly evolving 21st Century. She hopes to contribute to the success of Truganina College in providing students with a safe and orderly environment that inspires learning, promotes positive relationships, security, a sense of belonging and a culture of respect and pride.

Year 7-9 Secondary School Assistant Principal