New Staff Profiles

At the start of the year, we welcomed Mr Alex St Vincent Welch as our New Head of Junior School Music, and Janine de Paiva as our new School Chaplain. Here we learn a bit more about them.

Welcome to Alex St Vincent Welch

Head of Junior School Music

The root of the word ‘educate’ comes from the Latin root, educare; ‘to lead out’. Whilst politicians suggest we need to stuff more in, I’m aspirational that our role as teachers is to ‘lead out’ of a learner their innate skills, interests, and their full potential. As a music teacher, my passion is to make our students more musical, music being already so intrinsic to who we are as human beings. At Camberwell Grammar, it feels like we have so much scope from Pre-Prep to Year 12 to find and lead out the boys’ musicality.

I grew up in country NSW and Queensland, and whilst my parents aren’t musical, they instilled in all of us a love of music and the rigour and discipline required to achieve anything. I was convinced to play the Oboe at university, but you’ll find me happiest tinkling the ivories, composing and playing.

I taught in Brisbane before moving to Canada to enjoy the -30ºC winters and verdant summers. I studied conducting at the University of Toronto and then moved to London to teach at a school where their school choir sang on film soundtracks, like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. I’ve been back in Melbourne for 5 years now and am thrilled to be back teaching boys. They make me work really hard.

I’m deeply passionate that every child should have access to a rigorous and joyful Music Education. There is surprising neuroscientific research about how transformative music is for the developing brain – one researcher having described it as ‘food’ for the brain. Music is this remarkable human tradition that connects us beyond language and can transform how the brain works at a cellular level. And here we are thinking that all I do is roll around on the ground singing songs and listening to bach with Year 3!

I’m currently studying Educational Neuroscience at the University of Melbourne, and I believe that the course is really informing how we should be designing our curricula for the 21st century and thinking deeply about what our boys need in and out of the classroom.

What struck me before I even began in the classroom is the enduring commitment so many people have made to the School. Having taught at some very old schools in Canada and the UK, Camberwell Grammar is young by comparison. However, there seem to be some wonderful traditions that are being preserved and celebrated, particularly those that are musical. Whilst my big thinking starts with ‘how could I, in my tiny microcosm, contribute to the rich history of this school’, every day I’m looking forward to simple things like just being in class and connecting through music.

I’m looking forward to nurturing those things from the past that the last two years have dampened, like performances and massed singing. Part of teaching boys is guiding and ‘leading out’ that boundless energy, and I can’t wait to get stuck into trying some wild and creative things.

Welcome to Janine de Paiva

School Chaplain

I have been overwhelmed with the warm welcome to Camberwell Grammar that I have received and already feel very much at home. It was initially a daunting move for me to leave a community I had belonged to for over 30 years, but I am excited about the possibilities and opportunities that await me here. Camberwell Grammar has a very strong reputation within the community so I arrived with very high expectations, and I have certainly not been disappointed!

I started my work life as a primary school teacher which I loved but truly found my vocation in 1997 when, along with my husband and six-month-old baby, I moved to MLC Marshmead as Chaplain. It was this opportunity to combine my teaching skills with my passion for sharing the good news of Jesus with others that cemented my direction and focus. It was also in this setting where my family lived within a community that ignited our desire to be a part of intentional communities where members worked together to bring out the best in each other in a spirit of mutual support.

My happy place is the beach! It is a location that each member of my family relishes, so it keeps us together as a unit there. There is something about the rhythm and majesty of the ocean that reminds me of the awesomeness of God’s creation. I love the sky! Especially sunrises and sunsets. I’ve often been known to shout to anyone who will listen – ‘will you look at that sky?!’

I am married to Chris who is a social worker with a huge heart for working with people who live on the margins. He currently works with people experiencing homelessness in our state. I have two grown-up children – a son who is a secondary PE teacher and a daughter who is a nurse. And we have a very silly but lovable cocker spaniel! As a family, we love the beach, sport, entertaining, and music. I love the fact that my two children still sit around the dinner table most nights with us as we discuss the events of the day and issues we are similarly passionate about.

I really believe that Religious Education should be about ‘What can I learn about religion that will make me a better member of the communities to which I belong?’ In other words, for me it is about how can the teachings of Jesus enable me to care about others and make this world a fairer, kinder place. Religious Education should be about empathy, respect, and hope.

One of my life’s mottos is ‘Know Jesus and Make Jesus Known.’ With that in mind, I am looking forward to working with the School community to enhance the spiritual life of the School, to provide another resource for Pastoral Care, and to do my part to ensure that each person has the opportunity to truly flourish.