Leadership Team - Blue Mountains Grammar School

Meet the Leadership Team

Ad Altiora Ship :: Blue Mountains Grammar School, Sydney

Owen Laffin

Deputy Headmaster, Head of Senior School

Rachael Newton

Head of Junior School

Christopher Sanders

Director of Pedagogy and Innovation

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Christopher Sanders

Education

● Bachelor of Education, Early Childhood Education (Honours), University of Western Sydney

● Masters Educational Management and Leadership, University of Sydney

Biography

Christopher Sanders is passionate about unlocking teacher talent and the creativity that manifests in schools. Through asking good questions and professional coaching he grows passionate, high performing teachers and a culture of excellence. Christopher sees learning as profoundly innate and seeks to tie all learning experiences to the skills, values and abilities needed to thrive inside and outside school.

In addition to working with the senior executive on the School’s Strategic Plan, and the Religious and Values Education (RAVE) team in the Senior School, Christopher drives K-12 Literacy and Numeracy initiatives, teacher professional development, and teacher accreditation. He is also leading the implementation of the Ad Altiora Framework for Learning and Life.

Christopher was recognised by the Department of Education at the Ultimo Principal Network Awards for Excellence in Educational Leadership. He is also a Justice of the Peace.

Recently, Christopher and his family moved back to the Blue Mountains where he spends time outdoors as well as seeking out the best local food, coffee and wine. He is very slowly completing his bucket list of attending international Formula One races.

Alicia Michielsen

Director of Wellbeing and Inclusion, Careers Advisor

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Alicia Michielsen

Education

● Bachelor of Arts, Macquarie University

● Master of Arts (Education), Macquarie University

● Diploma of Education, Macquarie University

Biography

Alicia Michielsen chose teaching as a profession as she feels very passionately about helping young people reach their full potential and build successful futures.

Alicia believes education is about building a community that nurtures the social, psychological and intellectual development of young people to help them to explore their identities and become confident, successful lifelong learners. Alicia’s goal is to inspire students to develop and demonstrate empathy, to understand how their actions impact others, and to create a nurturing, collegiate environment in which they can succeed.

Alicia maintains that it is important to encourage students to accept responsibility for their own learning, a philosophy she applies to her own life. Alicia regularly undertakes professional development, believing that good educators must also be good learners. As Dean of Curriculum, Alicia is across current research and teaching pedagogy and uses this knowledge to enhance student learning experiences and support a range of specialised student needs.

Alicia has considerable experience in educational leadership training and driving student success both in Australia and internationally. She has worked with special needs students from economically disadvantaged communities and also worked as a classroom teacher at Port Vila International School in Vanuatu and as a Curriculum Developer for the Vanuatu National Training Council.

Alicia is the mother of two children, Adrian aged 23 and Alexandra 19 who are both studying at the University of Sydney. Adrian is studying to be a humanities teacher and Alexandra is completing an Economics Honours degree.

Luke Webb

Chaplain

Steve Coote

Acting Headmaster and Director of Strategic Growth

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Steve Coote

Steve’s role is driven by his hope of raising a generation of young people who, while aware of the national drumbeat of academic competition, will choose to dance to the anticipation, creativity and exhilaration that comes with authentic learning.

There are three key focus areas that have defined his career. These include building cohesive and high-performing teams capable of executing strategically, leading improvement in all areas of school, and growing cultures that imagine the extraordinary in creativity, excellence, and innovation.

Some highlights of Steve’s career to date include:

● As Principal, he was identified among other innovative educators from across the Commonwealth and invited to attend the 90th Birthday celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle in England.

● He was approached by the Australian Council of Educational Leaders (ACEL) to facilitate the delivery of the ACEL Leadership Capability Framework to over 60 senior pedagogy executives in independent schools across Australia.

● Established the Centre for Innovative Learning Design (CILD), an authentically embedded research and innovation unit. The CILD acted as the leadership and growth academy for staff and students at Calvary Christian College.

● Established third-party funded Indigenous Scholarship Programs in partnership and consultation with local elders and Murdoch University.

● Established the ‘DNA21 Project’ – a whole-school, future-focussed research-based Kindergarten through Year 12 pedagogical framework. As Principal, his school was one of four nationwide invited as an exemplar school showcased at Melbourne’s Australian Institute of Teaching & School Leadership (AITSL) National Congress.

● He was an Adjunct Lecturer with the University of Tasmania in future schooling and served as a member of the Faculty of Lifelong Learning and Educational Change at Western Sydney University.

Steve studied to become an educator in Design, graduating with Distinction. He has completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA), while now undertaking a Doctor of Global Leadership (DGL) through Fuller Theological Seminary in the United States. He has studied through the Australian College of Theology, obtaining an Associate in Theology (ThA), and is presently completing accreditation as The Five Behaviours approach to team cohesion and health.

Steve also has considerable governance experience as an elected Board member to the Association of Independent Schools (AIS), Chair of Education Committee (AIS), Branch Chair of Learning Environments Australia, and an invitation to join the Ministerial Panel into Teacher Quality to the NSW Teachers Institute.

Steve’s children are creatives, with one studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and another at The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS).