Our contributors

Kate Brown

Kate has been teaching across Kindergarten to Year 8 for more than 15 years, since changing careers from law to education. In her career as an educator, Kate has been a class teacher, Year Co-ordinator, K-6 Literacy Coordinator, Deputy Head of Learning and Head of Student Wellbeing K-6 prior to becoming our Head of Junior School in 2020. Her approach to teaching and learning centres around the philosophy that each child deserves to learn in an environment which celebrates their unique strengths and where each child is encouraged to have a go, make mistakes and embrace their learning as a journey. Kate believes that a learning community founded in kindness will empower each child to flourish as a learner and leader. Through a focus on kindness, Kate hopes to inspire Pymble students to be kind, not only to themselves, but to then share their ideas with others and positively impact their world.

Kerryl Howarth

Kerryl joined Pymble as the Director of Professional Learning. Most recently she spent 17 years working at the Australian International School in Singapore in a variety of leadership roles including Deputy Head of Elementary, Director of Data and Development and PYP Coordinator. Additionally, in this time Kerryl also worked across K to 12 in the area of Professional Learning and Development. She believes that students should be at the centre of all professional learning and hopes to engage teachers in professional learning and development systems and processes which prioritise teacher agency, career progression and impact on student learning.

Raymond Howells

Raymond has been teaching Geography for nine years. He completed his Experienced Teacher accreditation last year, has a Master of Education with Honours and, in 2014, he investigated teacher perceptions of high potential learners as a research project. Raymond is passionate about cultivating curiosity in the classroom, and creating engaging, impactful and purposeful activities that challenge all students. He is a strong advocate for contemporary, solutionbased learning in Geography to focus on what is working well across the world and how the world’s complex issues can be solved.

Liam Hume

Liam has been teaching Geography at Pymble Ladies’ College for seven years since migrating from the United Kingdom in 2015. Prior to moving to Australia, he was joint Head of the Geography Department at Wembley High Technology College in London. Liam has held a number of roles at Pymble, including Stage 4, 5 and 6 Co-ordinator and Acting Head of the Geography, Business and Economics department. In Liam’s current role as Celestino Project Lead, he has developed a passion for harnessing the power of industry partnerships for providing unique, real-world learning opportunities for students. The partnership between Pymble and Celestino has been embedded into the Year 10 Elective Geography course. This program has been presented at the Australian Geography Teachers Association National Symposium: The visibility of Geography in the STEM field and its contribution to STEM education and It takes a Village – Realising the Power of Partnerships, hosted by the Australian Independent School Fund.

Dr Sarah Loch Melissa McMahon

Sarah is the Director of the Pymble Institute, Pymble’s home of research and professional learning. She works with students and staff of the College, along with academics from external organisations, to create opportunities for research which positively impacts the lives of women and girls. Sarah gained her PhD in Education with a thesis examining ways young adolescent girls select school subjects and plan for their futures and her research has also spanned ways of writing academically and researching differently. She currently teaches Year 10 Big History where she loves helping her students with their research and academic writing. Melissa is the Assistant Principal – Curriculum at Oakhill College and formerly the Director of Teaching Excellence at Pymble. She has over 25 years of experience as an educator across sectors and is committed to teacher growth and agency. Melissa is fascinated by what works most effectively for students in classrooms. She is excited to be in the English classroom every lesson and is motivated by the desire to ignite a love of learning in her students.

Debra Owens

Debra is part of the Geography Business Economics (GBE) team at Pymble Ladies’ College, she has previously taught at PLC Sydney and Roseville College. She has authored textbooks including the three editions of Geography for Global and Australian Citizens, Geo Broadsheets and Macquarie HSC Geography Revision Guide. An experienced HSC marker, Debra has also been a Geography Teachers Association (GTA) NSW Councillor and has presented student lectures for the GTANSW and professional development courses for teachers through the Australian Independent School Fund NSW. She is currently working as part of the writing team developing the 11-12 Geography and Geography Life Skills Draft Syllabuses for the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). She has a passion for pedagogy with a focus on keeping both the content and teaching of Geography current, whilst meeting the future needs and aspirations of students so that they can become active global citizens.

Ryan Stewart

Ryan is a researcher at the University of Newcastle and a History and Aboriginal Studies teacher at Pymble Ladies’ College. His PhD research is centered around settler memories of frontier violence with First Nation peoples in Australia and the representations of Indigenous peoples in settler-centered local histories. Prior to Pymble Ladies’ College, Ryan was the Head of History at Moriah College. Ryan has presented his research at academic conferences at both ANU and UNSW. Between 2019-2021, Ryan was involved in an educational program in partnership with the University of Newcastle and the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council which aimed to educate university and high school students about the true nature of first contact between First Nations peoples and colonists. This culminated in the production of a short film titled Central Coast First Contact Heritage Project click here to view. Ryan has published in the History Teacher’s Association of NSW journal and is featured in an episode of Boe Spearim’s podcast series Frontier War Stories.

Debbie Tarrant

Debbie’s passion for education was evident from a young age when she would play ‘schools’ with her two sisters. She was blessed with a number of inspirational History teachers during Secondary School, which set her on the path of Humanities. Beginning as a targeted graduate in the state system, her thirst for adventure has seen her teach a number of disciplines and in a range of educational settings, including Knox Grammar, Abbotsleigh and William Clarke College. She has always been fascinated with the mechanics of learning and is currently researching Talent Development as part of her master’s degree. Debbie is thoroughly enjoying her role at Pymble, as the High Potential Learning Co-ordinator.