Kaitlin Staniforth

Class of 2017

At Tara, Boarding was a terrific experience. As Head Girl of Boarding, I was able to share my love of meeting new people and making friends across all year groups. I was involved in everything I could manage and Tara sport and competition was excellent.

I attended University straight from Tara and completed a Bachelor of Education K-6 teaching. During my time at the University of New England in Armidale, I lived on campus at St Alberts College for all four years of my study. It was a great way to meet people and have a lot of fun. When Uni was on a break, I spent most of my time working in the shearing sheds at home. In my final year of Uni I also did some casual teaching in Armidale. I finished study in 2021 and was excited when to gain a full-time position straight out of university at a small town called Warren. It is 120 kilometres northwest of Dubbo and has a population of about 1,600 people. I am currently in my second year of teaching at Warren.

I love primary teaching as it gives me the opportunity to encourage and support children. I love children and always have. Being able to work with them is great. I love seeing them grow and begin to understand and learn new concepts.

Teaching in a regional area creates a great sense of community and connection. Everyone is welcoming and supportive of everything that you do. It’s not just work where you see these families. You are having an impact on the students’ lives both inside and outside of school because they see you out in the community doing what you enjoy.

In small towns the best way to get to know people is by getting involved. I play tennis every Monday night in a team, play netball in both mixed and women’s competitions (during the week) and touch football on Saturdays.