Bega High School has welcomed seven new teachers for the 2017 school year.
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Former chemical engineer Hannah Shaw joins the school after changing her career path and retraining as a maths teacher.
“I hated working in the office, and I’m looking for something more dynamic,” the 28-year-old Candelo resident said.
Thirty-seven-year-old Brendon Richards studied in Armidale and Newcastle, and will join the maths and industrial arts team after moving to Tura Beach.
“I’m new to teaching maths but I think the key to making it interesting is variety,” he said.
“You have to mix it up and relate it to a real world context.”
Matt Alterator of Wallagoot will join the special education department after a break from teaching spent in the corporate sector in Queanbeyan.
He brings with him a passion for outdoor education and extensive experience teaching in Arnhem Land and the Central Australian desert.
“Outdoor education is very important, especially for kids with disabilities who can be excited and energetic,” the 40-year-old said.
“My time in the Northern Territory taught me to be flexible to different people’s needs and recognise people have different backgrounds.”
Michael Bulters and Clair Hopkins also join the special education department this year.
Ms Hopkins is a former student of Bega High School, and has seven years teaching experience after graduating from the school in 2007.
The 27-year-old was raised on a farm outside of Wyndham and is excited to join the school’s staff.
“I love it, it’s great because I have freedom with my class of seven students,” she said.
Printmaker and photographer Breony Delforce joins the school after teaching at Erina High School and Newcastle University.
“I love Bega,” the 36-year-old Bega resident said.
“The community has been very welcoming and the kids here are great.”
“It is very weird to be back and working with teachers who also taught you.”
It is Ms Delforce’s second year teaching a subject she said is an important aspect for every student’s education.
“It is an equalising subject and every kid has an opportunity,” she said.
Also joining the school is science teacher Kathleen Platts.
Some will be replacing teachers who left the school at the end of the 2016 school year, while others are filling in for teachers on leave.
Staff who left at the end of 2016 include careers adviser Steve Diprose, Sharon Champagne, Sean Yeo and Pip Cullen.
