Please take this opportunity to read and discover more about the Abbotsford Primary School staff.

Emily Dimitracopoulos - Acting Principal

As my name indicates, I come from a Greek background. In fact I was born in Greece and immigrated with my family to Melbourne at the age of eight. I attended George St Primary School, Fitzroy High and La Trobe and Melbourne universities. My work in education has included classroom teaching, consultancy, policy advice and development and principal ship. I have worked in socially and culturally diverse schools in the Northern and Western Regions . I am passionate about making a difference for children and providing them with access to the best possible educational opportunities.

Natalie Rieger - Business Manager

I commenced working at Abbotsford Primary as the Business Manager in 2009. I am enjoying my position at Abbotsford. I love Abbotsford Primary’s Multicultural environment and I find I learn something new every day. Most days you will find me tucked away in the office busily attending to telephone calls, emails, children and parents.

Caroline Wilkins - Primary Welfare Officer

As Primary Welfare Officer, I support the welfare of students across the school. I possess qualifications in Educational Psychology and Social Work, and have over 30 years experience in welfare and child and family services both in the UK and Australia. My professional background includes casework, program development, service coordination and program management working in the areas of mental health and disability, home based care and child and family services. Having worked with Department of Human Services, Melbourne City Mission, Kildonan Child and Family Services and Berry Street, I have a developed an intimate knowledge of local services and personnel who are able provide additional supports to the school community.

Dina Kambardis - Prep/1/2 Teacher

I have been teaching at Abbotsford Primary School for eight years and I am currently teaching a Prep/1/2 class. I find working with students in Early Years very rewarding and I am constantly amazed at what they achieve in the course of a school year. I am very interested in Visual Art and I like to include Art in regular class work. I also enjoy working in the school garden with my grade.

I have worked in many schools throughout my teaching career and I think that Abbotsford Primary stands out as a school with a caring community connection.

Margaret O'Farrell - Library Specialist and ESL Teacher

I have been working at Abbotsford Primary School for about nine years. I am an E.S.L. teacher, so my main responsibilities have been in the areas of Literacy, Drama and Library. I enjoy having contact with all students from Prep to Grade Six. I love the "community feel" of such a small school. Abbotsford is a very unique little school.

Alexandrea Ferguson - Years 3/4 Teacher

I am the year 3-4 teacher at Abbotsford Primary School. I am a graduate teacher and this is my first year teaching. I am originally from Canada, however Melbourne has been my home for the past 2 years. Although I miss my family, I love living in Australia.

In year 3-4 we always have hands on activities and we have lots of fun with maths, science and ICT. We also really enjoy cooking many different dishes for the principal to try out.

Daniel Clynes - Bilingual Program Teacher

I have been teaching at Abbotsford Primary School for many years. I have had extensive experience across all grade levels within the school and have undertaken specialist roles (Art & Science).

Currently I am teaching the English component of the Chinese Bi-lingual Program and have been teaching in that capacity for the last 3 years. I also have co-ordination responsibilities in Physical Education and Science. Among my other roles in the school are reports co-ordinator and secretary of School Council.

I believe that students learn best when there is fun, enjoyment and motivation in their learning and endeavour to include these in my teaching.

My Hoa Lam – Bilingual Program

I have been working in the Prep - 4 Bilingual program for a number of years. In 2005, I became a recipient of the Australian Scholarships Group Community Merit Award for “instilling the students with an appreciation for cultural diversity in the community”. Students in the Bilingual program are all interested to extend their linguistic and cultural appreciation in both languages.

I enjoy travelling and I paint in my spare time. I have visited many countries to broaden my experiences with landscape painting which is my favourite subject.

Ngoc Nguyen - Vietnamese LOTE Teacher

I came to Abbotsford Primary School in 1993 as a parent and teacher. My first teaching role was Vietnamese LOTS from Grade Prep to six. Then I trained to become a generalist teacher and subsequently worked in the Prep/one/two area.

During my teaching years at Abbotsford PS, i have worked across all grade levels as a class teacher. Currently I have a diverse role in the school which includes teaching Vietnamese LOTE in Years Prep-6 and Art, Physical Education and Intergrated Studies to specific classes.

Abbotsford is a small, caring unique school. I believe that parents who have chosen Abbotsford for their chaldren have made the right decision and i was one of them.

Pam Dudgeon - Years 5/6 Teacher

I have been an educator for over 30 years in a range of settings including teaching in schools, as a senior project officer and manager within the state government education system and the Australian government. I strongly support, and am committed to high quality state education.

I have taught at Abbotsford Primary School for a number of years and have had the privilege to teach at all year levels and across all specialist areas. I am a qualified TESOL teacher. I enjoy teaching at this school because of the wonderful students – their passion for learning and their caring natures.

In my classroom I aim to create an environment where students will develop a love of learning and become independent life long learners. I have a strong interest in curriculum development and implementation and have authored a range of teaching resources and programs. I am still as passionate about teaching as I was when I first began- hopefully a little wiser and unfortunately a lot older!

En Diep - Vietnamese Teacher Aide

I like working with the non-English speaking students at school. I am also responsible for the translation of the school notices and newsletters. My other task is helping the communication between the teachers and parents.

I came here more than twenty years ago as a refugee. I feel lucky that I can speak English so I don't mind helping the Vietnamese parents at school. I am very fortunate to have the support of the parents with all the activities at school.

Lynne McCleod - Teacher Aide

My name is Lynne McCleod. I am a part time teacher aide at Abbotsford Primary School. I have worked in the Prep/1/2 classroom since 2005 and I support the students in a number of ways. I help with number, reading and other literacy activities. I am very active and enjoy all school events. I live in Pascoe Vale and I am a proud grandmother of four.