Principal and staff profiles

Welcome from our Principal

Mr Travis Keane, School Principal

As the Principal of Hillcrest Primary School, I’d like to welcome you to our friendly school community. Here, we all work together to make sure our school is as supportive of student learning and development as possible.

I’m excited to lead this school because of its reputation for community involvement and its commitment to learning outcomes. I also get to work with a great team who are just as motivated as I am in promoting positive behaviour in the classroom.

I’m passionate about making sure every child has the opportunity to succeed. I make sure we can adapt and evolve our approach to teaching. We embrace technology and allow students to explore emerging fields within their learning.

I encourage discussion and feedback to make sure we’re meeting your child’s needs.

Meet our leadership staff

Meet our leadership staff

Simon Watts

Deputy Principal

I have been working at Hillcrest since 2012. During that time, I was a classroom teacher, specialist teacher, coordinator of STEM, acting principal, and deputy principal. My passion is innovation and implementing digital technologies across all curriculum areas for all ages.

Simon Watts, Deputy Principal

I have been working at Hillcrest since 2012. During that time, I was a classroom teacher, specialist teacher, coordinator of STEM, acting principal, and deputy principal. My passion is innovation and implementing digital technologies across all curriculum areas for all ages.

Debbie Thorley

Assistant Principal

I have been working at Hillcrest since 2015. I started as a classroom teacher before becoming the literacy co-ordinator and then Assistant Principal. My passion is phonics and early reading skills as well as ensuring all students can access the curriculum and achieve individual learning goals.

Debbie Thorley, Assistant Principal

I have been working at Hillcrest since 2015. I started as a classroom teacher before becoming the literacy co-ordinator and then Assistant Principal. My passion is phonics and early reading skills as well as ensuring all students can access the curriculum and achieve individual learning goals.

Teaching staff

Reception teacher

Roisin Giorgio

Reception teacher

Sinead Giorgio

Year 1 teacher

Rita De Ieso

Year 1 teacher

Paige Rozee

Year 2 teacher

Karen Petruzzelli

Year 1 and 2 teacher

Matthew Nardecchia

Year 1 and 2 teacher

Luana Calo

Year 1 and 2 teacher

Magda Tripodi

Year 2 teacher

Amy Rajan

Year 2 and 3 teacher

Jessic Quinn

Year 3 teacher

Kim Broughton

Year 4 teacher

Deb Williams

Year 4 teacher

Kelly Smith

Year 4 teacher

Tania Weigl

Year 4 and 5 teacher

Jamie Battista

Year 5 teacher

Justin Quist

Year 5 and 6 teacher

Mike Sweeney

Year 6 teacher

Christina Eustice

Specialist teacher LOTE (German)

Ebony Edwards

Specialist teacher ARTS

Emily Greenhalgh

Specialist teacher PE and HEALTH

Michael Marino

EAL/D teacher

Esther Casbarra

Autism inclusion teacher

Kelly Smith

Support staff

SSO classroom support and admin

Muniza Qasim, Mary Cooper, Lyn Henderson, Katie Crawford, Briony Adams, Jade Alexander

ESO classroom support

Kinnari Bhavsar

SSO Librarian

Beifang Hou

SSO Administration Officer

Vanessa Mack, Cathy Lainio

Business Manager and Enrolment Officer

Callum Gipson

IT support

Chen Wu

Groundskeeper

Dennis Kaszas