SPOTLIGHTING IONIANS

MRS CAROLYNE KELLY DIVERSE LEARNING TEACHER MR LANCE WEGNER PASTORAL CARE | CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT OFFICER

What motivates you to work hard and give your best? Learning new things. I love working in a team and sharing my learning with colleagues and students. I aim to not only teach my students but pass on information that inspires them. I am motivated to make each term more exciting and relevant to the real world, which drives me to bring my passion into the classroom. Who inspires you in challenging situations? There have been many people who have inspired me. My dad overcame many challenges when he arrived in Australia and he taught me to face challenging situations and work hard for my dreams. My husband inspires me daily with his patience and tells me to be the change I wish to see in the world, especially working with young people. What is your proudest accomplishment? My proudest accomplishment is raising four beautiful children and becoming a teacher. I completed my degree while working full-time and caring for my family, which was challenging. I love the ‘light bulb’ movement on students’ faces when they understand a new concept. While I may not change the world, I hope to change a student’s life by supporting and encouraging them. As you reflect on your time at Iona, is there one person or action that has mainly influenced you? Being part of the Year 7 team has been a highlight. Alex, Andrew and Kevin have been wonderful and welcoming of my ideas. Many staff have made me feel welcomed and part of the community. I volunteered for the Rosies Outreach Program last month, and had a great time being part of this program. I recommend that each staff member take advantage of being part of Rosies. What makes you laugh? My children! They send me funny TikTok videos that exaggerate my “mum” life! Of course, I always tell them it is nothing like me! What’s your favourite family tradition? My favourite family tradition is our Sunday night dinners. We come together to chat about the week. Lots of laughter and funny stories are shared. As my children and I get older, I cherish every moment we are together. What motivates you to work hard and give your best? Knowing that the work I do matters. Some days are tougher than others, but knowing that the work I do that day may make someone else’s day better is motivating to me. Who inspires you in tough situations? Who do you inspire? My parents inspire me. They gave up and invested so much of their time into me all through my younger years. Looking back on it now as an adult, it’s extremely inspiring to see how much they believe in me and want me to succeed.

As you reflect on your time at Iona so far, is there one person or action that has particularly influenced you? Working in The Growth Hub with Megan Vardanega has been a great help for sure. Megan has made what was the old gym such a wonderful and inviting space for everyone and it’s a breath of fresh air working there every day. How would your friends describe you? My friends would describe me as someone who is caring and passionate. I’m always up for a laugh and prioritise spending quality time with my mates. Having a balance in life is extremely important to me, including completely switching off and enjoying the beauty around us.

What makes you laugh? Nothing makes me laugh more than my friends. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what we’re all doing together, it is always hilarious and a good time. What’s your favourite family tradition? My favourite family tradition has to be our Easter holidays at Evans Head. Holidaying there every year has been so influential to the person I am today. We are able to spend great quality time together and just detach from our separate work lives. Nowadays we are all extremely busy and don’t get to spend too much time together, so that long weekend is wholesome.

ALISTAIR MYLNE YEAR 11

What motivates you to work hard and give your best? For a long time, it was an ingrained attitude. Your Primary teacher tells you to work your hardest, so … you do. Now, it’s a sense of pride. I try my hardest playing team sports because if I don’t, that hurts the team. In academics, I know I can do well if it’s something I care about. I wrote an assignment in Year 8 about medieval peasants becoming action figures, because I found that interesting and fun. What inspires you in tough situations? Certain quotes keep me going. “This too shall pass.” is one of the best. It’s simple but true. Whatever situation you are in will not occupy you forever. Perspective is everything and having a mindset that stress and difficulty will not be permanent is important. What is your proudest accomplishment? In Year 9, I won the national final of the Kid’s Lit Quiz with Nathan Peach, Max Sinclair and Xavier White. We finished middle of the standings in 2018 and second place in 2019. We won in 2020 but unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from participating in an international final. As you reflect on your time at Iona so far, is there one person or action that has particularly influenced you? Mrs Pearce. She has given me more opportunities than I can count (literally). As my homeroom mentor, she always assists boys who need it and always has our best interests at heart, so much so that we’ve occassionally had Old Boys come back to say hello. What makes you laugh? Apart from Have You Been Paying Attention? and Rowan Atkinson, rare occurrences. I work at Domino’s in Wynnum and once saw a guy in an Edmonton Oilers ice hockey jersey. It reminds me that even though many things stay the same, there’s always something new and different around the corner.

What’s your favourite family tradition? I like our Christmas traditions best. We rotate our Christmas Day gathering between both sides of the family on a yearly basis and the other side holds a gathering beforehand, so we don’t rush. We make shortbread every year and decorate the tree together. It’s a beautiful time to be together as a family and to keep the Christmas spirit alive.

CHARLIE ABELL YEAR 8

What motivates you to work hard and give your best? What motivates me is how happy I get when I get a good outcome. If it is for a sporting event or a mark on a report card, it is the best feeling when you have studied or trained for it and it finally pays off. Nothing is better than when you see your report card and get a good grade, or the siren goes and your team has won. How would your friends describe you? I think my friends would describe me as sporty and caring because I like to help them if they are injured or hurt. What is your proudest accomplishment? My proudest accomplishment was when I made the Met East team for AFL. It was the best feeling when the coach was standing in front of all the kids calling out the team and I heard my name being called. As you reflect on your time at Iona so far, is there one person or action that has particularly influenced you? Through my time at Iona, the person who has influenced me the most was my Year 6 teacher, Mr Greenbank. He has inspired me to know that hard work will always pay off and that if you are under pressure, just calm down and breathe. What makes you laugh? The things that make me laugh are the conversations and jokes with my mates. I find it funny when one of my mates says something funny out of the blue.

What’s your favourite family tradition? My favorite family tradition is going camping. It’s super fun going fishing every day and swimming and paddle boarding whenever you feel like it. It’s great going on adventures through the bush and up mountains.