The School Executive oversees the daily management of Hills Grammar and impacts directly and positively on the daily lived experience of our students, staff and parents. The team consisting of seven highly qualified professionals, work closely with me as Principal and with each other to ensure that policy and practice are aligned with our School Ethos and are the best they can be. Our vision of ‘Extraordinary Education: a place of inspiration and innovation’ and the journey by which this is to be achieved, as captured in our Mission statement: Outstanding teaching within a unique learning environment: fostering each student’s potential for greatness’ are part of their individual and collective DNA. We are fortunate to have a committed and passionate leadership team from diverse backgrounds, both professional and personal, who enriches the School and the quality of the programs we develop and implement for our students
Mr Mark Yeowell – Head of Junior School Years K to 6
Mark joined Hills Grammar in January 2017. He grew up, was educated and began his teaching career in England. Having completed his BSc (Education with Mathematic and Technology) with Hull University he worked for 10 Years across a number of schools within the UK as a teacher, Deputy Principal and then Principal. In 2004 he was appointed as Head of Junior School at The British School in Abu Dhabi, a large Independent School linked to the British Embassy, where he worked for nearly 9 Years. During this time, he completed his MA (Education) with Oxford Brookes University with a particular focus upon International Educational and Distributed Leadership within Schools. Mark is married and has two son’s aged 11 and 12. The family moved to Australia in 2013 where Mark was Head of Junior School at Gippsland Grammar in Victoria for three years prior to moving to Sydney. Mark and his family love travel and snow-skiing and when first they first arrived in Australia they owned and operated a franchise coffee shop in the Snowy Mountains.
Mark is passionate about Primary Education and the importance of exciting yet rigorous education for young children that enables them to achieve all that they are capable of whilst finding and pursuing their own passions and interests. He loves working in a Pre K to Year 12, co-educational school context and working with the whole school community to provide extraordinary education for its students. Mark has significant experience in school development, building and leading strong teams in ongoing organisational improvement and is very holistic and strategic in his thinking and approach. He is excited to be working with the Hills Grammar community leading the Junior School forward into its next stage of development.
Contact: mark.yeowell@hillsgrammar.nsw.edu.au
Mr Geoff Gates - Director of Academic Programs Pre-K to 12
Geoff began his teaching career in 1992 and has worked in Australia, England and Germany, with international curriculum experience in GCSE, IGCSE and IB Diploma. He holds an Honours degree in English and a Masters in Creative Writing, and teaches English Extension 1 and 2 to HSC level. Since moving into the Director of Academic Programs role in 2012, Geoff has expanded his thinking by completing a Masters in Educational Leadership, and researching and writing on educational matters for professional publications such as Australian Educational Leader. He is a current Australian College of Educational Leaders ‘New Voice’ scholarship winner and engaged in doctoral research in the creative arts area.
As a teacher and Director, Geoff’s focus is on deepening student learning, and engaging with students as individuals. He wishes to promote a culture of thinking in the school, so that students not only cover the basic requirements of formal education, but enter the more inspiring aspects of academic endeavour: creativity and critical thinking. He has been at Hills Grammar since 2004, has two children in the school, and can think of no better place he’d rather be than right here, right now.
Contact: geoff.gates@hillsgrammar.nsw.edu.au
Mrs Jen Jarrett - Director of Student Wellbeing Pre-K to 12
Jen joined the Hills Grammar community five years ago. She has worked in Sydney schools for nearly 30 years in co-educational, boys-only and girls-only contexts. Throughout her career, Jen has had a strong commitment to the holistic development of her students and has undertaken pastoral care and wellbeing roles for the past twenty years. Her Masters of Educational Leadership had a focus on Student Wellbeing and she has subsequently completed a Professional Certificate in Positive Education at Melbourne Graduate School of Education. Jen has taught Music from Kindergarten to HSC, and has headed up Music departments and extensive co-curricular programs. As a Music teacher, Jen has thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of large-scale musicals and choral groups of all sizes.
At Hills, Jen relishes the opportunity to lead a committed team of wellbeing staff across the school who go the extra mile each day to support our students and their families. She counts it a privilege to work at a school where wellbeing is given a high priority. Jen is confident that the Hills Positive Education Program will enable even more of our students to thrive as they develop their understanding and skills in wellbeing fundamentals, such as purpose and meaning, relationships, independence, strengths and mindset. She is motivated by the challenge of making sure that all our policies and practices effectively encourage and support each and every student in their learning journey through the school.
Contact: jen.jarrett@hillsgrammar.nsw.edu.au
Mr Yass Sidaros - Director of Co-curricular Programs Pre-K to 12
Yass has a Bachelor of Education in PDHPE and Mathematics. He first started teaching in the west of Sydney at Plumpton and Doonside High Schools before working at the School Sport Unit. He was a Senior Curriculum Adviser for the Department of Education and Training before he joined Hills Grammar School in 2003. Soon after joining the school he was appointed Head of Stage 6, a wellbeing role within the school. He then became Head of Curriculum PDHPE before taking on his current Directors role. Yass loves teaching PDHPE and has been a HSC marker for 11 years (5 years as a Senior HSC Marker). Yass has contributed to numerous PDHPE publications and is a presenter at HSC enrichment days. He is the NSWCIS U18 & U15 Touch Football Convenor.
Yass is passionate about the importance of a quality Co-curricular Program in a balanced, well-rounded education. He has 2 children currently enrolled at the School, Imogen in Year 6 and Jai in Year 4. It comes as no surprise to find out they are heavily involved in the school’s Co-curricular Program. He considers the school sports tours to NZ, Fiji and the USA as some of the most significant learning experiences he has been involved in and organised for the students. Outside of school he is an avid fisherman and loves playing team sports. He enjoys building projects and woodworking. He has a keen interest in Aquaponics and would like to see the school one day build its own commercial aquaponics project.
Contact: yass.sidaros@hillsgrammar.nsw.edu.au
Dr Christine Furner - Director of Staff Development Pre-K to 12
Chris Furner is an educator who has thoroughly enjoyed teaching English and History for over 25 years and is currently the Director of Staff Development at Hills Grammar. She has held a number of leadership positions across State and Independent schools related to curriculum, student wellbeing and quality teaching. Chris loves learning and believes that within the teaching profession, learning is organic, complex, continual and exciting. She enjoys sharing her expertise liberally through writing and delivering QTC registered professional development courses, presenting at conferences and guest lecturing at university, and contributing to professional associations, mentoring networks, working parties, panels and forums at State and National level, including Government and University organisations.
As an educational leader, Chris is passionate about student learning and the international research evidence which consistently demonstrates that effective teacher learning directly impacts upon enriching the daily experience and learning outcomes of students. Chris is committed to the learning community at the School – students, teachers, support staff, parents and school council - as demonstrated in her recent completion of a PhD which was specifically tailored to the context of Hills Grammar, in order to better equip her to serve this school community. The focus of this study was how teachers develop and learn according to their level of experience and expertise, and how this informs the strategic design of innovative whole-school professional development programs that maximise teacher learning and lead to enhanced student outcomes. She trusts that this places the School in an “extraordinary” position at the forefront of international expertise and practice in supporting teachers in their daily mission and passion at Hills Grammar - outstanding teaching that fosters each student’s potential for greatness.
Contact: christine.furner@hillsgrammar.nsw.edu.au
Mrs Elizabeth Pellinkhof - Director of Marketing and Community Relations
Liz cites being offered a position at Hills in November 1982 as one of the most exciting and daunting of her career. As one of only five junior school teachers commencing in 1983, understanding the Principal’s and Founder’s visions, creating programs and living ‘the Hills Grammar dream’ of growth and success with the school’s founding community was an overwhelming yet exhilarating task. The appeal of teaching across the grades, running several co-curricular activities, working with a collaborative staff from Kindy to Year 9 and working closely with parents made it a stand-out opportunity as a young teacher. Nights were spent converting her teaching diploma to a degree at UWS. Maternity leave eventually beckoned (Nicholas and Antony) during which Liz maintained her contact with the School as co-ordinator of the 10th anniversary celebrations.
The need for a full time person to co-ordinate the publications and publicity for the growing school was evident to the new Principal, Rob Phipps, and Liz continued her post-grad study in School Management and Marketing. Although the elements of Community Relations and Marketing are fundamentally about relationships, the means through which they are formed and ‘connection speed’ are in a constant state - so learning is central to the role. The other ‘constant’ is the people; the parent groups such as PAFA and Class Parents, the alumni, the students and staff and the many valuable community connections made over the years. These people are a huge part of the Hills story which is a rich and important one; how fortunate we are to have much of our story documented by our wonderful archivist and displayed in the museum and gallery. Liz enjoys the challenges of the many arms of her work. She cites one of the most satisfying elements of her work is working with alumni and being here to witness the next generation of Hills Grammarians coming through the School.
As a descendant of Thomas Best (the first European settler in Middle Dural), the secretary of the Dural Round Corner Chamber of Commerce, member of the Pavilion Theatre Castle Hill and a local choir, her connection with the Hills District is a strong and abiding one……. as it is with Hills Grammar.
Contact: elizabethpellinkhof@hillsgrammar.nsw.edu.au
Mr Jason Lim - Business Manager
Jason is a Chartered Accountant of over 20 years who enjoys making sense of numbers and helping others understand their financials. He emigrated from Malaysia and settled in Sydney in 2001. Since then he has held senior finance roles in hospitality, aviation services, shipping and logistics. Hills Grammar is his first foray into the not-for-profit sector. Working at Hills Grammar has been a big cultural shift for him from the profit-driven environment of commerce and industry to an organisation focusing on service to its student body and the parent community. He believes that sound money management is crucial to the success of any organisation especially in a not-for-profit entity where its shareholders do not receive any financial benefit. To this end, he is passionate in helping the Principal to ensure the on-going financial stability of the School.
Contact: jason.lim@hillsgrammar.nsw.edu.au
Facebook
YouTube
