St Philip's Teaching School: Seeing the Next Generation of Teachers Grow

It's been quite some time since I was at University studying to be a teacher, so long in fact that I started teaching before some members of our current staff were born! That said, I can still remember it vividly — time in lectures learning about things that might or might not be useful when you were next in the classroom — which was where the real learning and the magic happened.

Through a desire to change the way the teachers of tomorrow are trained, St Philip's Christian College has partnered with tertiary education provider Alphacrucis College to establish the pioneering St Philip's Teaching School. Under the leadership of Samantha Van De Mortel, the teaching school (now in its third year), goes from strength to strength. Each year, ten candidates are elected who have demonstrated their desire to pursue a vocation in christian education — many of these are former students of SPCC schools.

The small number of students within each cohort, supports staff in getting to know their students so they can care for them individually to ensure their ongoing success. Teaching School students attend a variety of lectures, and face-to-face sessions at our Waratah campus, but most importantly have the opportunity to work alongside a mentor teacher here at St Philip's Cessnock one or two days each week. We believe our student teachers have the distinct advantage of being immersed in the school environment from day one of their tertiary training.

This year we have six outstanding students working with here in Cessnock — maybe you have heard your child talk about a teacher you may not be aware of.

We have...

Miss Peet — Kindergarten

Mr Teasdale — PE Faculty

Miss Madigan — Year 3

Mr Bell — Year 5 and TAS Faculty

Mr Hodson — English Faculty

Miss Davies — Year 6

We have been delighted with the progress they are all making in what has been quite a memorable year so far in terms of learning new skills for teaching. They are supported in the classroom by our wonderful 2020 mentors. I would like to commend them for their part in volunteering to support the training of a new generation of teachers.

A big thank you to...

Mrs Knott

Mrs Doherty

Mrs Adams

Mrs Cox

Miss Taylor

Mr Adams

In a future blog we'll introduce some of our Teaching School students and ask them what they enjoy about St Philip's Cessnock and share their experience of 2020 so far.

Paul Ivey

SPCC Cessnock Teaching School Coordinator