School Advisory Council
The School Advisory Council provides a forum for discussion and discernment, where parent voice and community perspective are available to inform and support the decisions made by the Principal and parish priest as the custodian of mission for the good of school and parish where students’ wellbeing and outcomes are paramount.
The following are some examples of the many ways the School Advisory Council may support the school and the principal:
- articulating and enacting the school’s vision and mission
- promoting the school’s Catholic ethos and culture
- promoting faith formation and development
- supporting school policies as required
- giving advice to the principal on issues such as school improvement plans and enrolment trends
- engaging in discussion with the principal about the annual school budget and other financial matters
- giving advice to the principal about the school master plan
- providing capital resource planning and maintenance support to the principal.
The School Advisory Council's terms of reference can be found below:
School-Advisory-Council-Terms-of-Reference-single-parish-docx .
Along with the Claire Tobin (Principal) and Tom Hartney (Deputy Principal/Learning and Teaching) below are the members of the 2023 School Board:
School Advisory Council Chair: John Ferraro
Council Vice-Chair: Catherine Anderson
Catherine and her partner Tom are parents to Theodore (Year One) and Maeve (age 3). Choosing St Joseph’s was a simple choice having watched their nieces and nephews flourish in the school community. Catherine is currently General Manager Marketing at Origin Energy. Catherine has over 15 years’ experience in marketing, communications, retail operations and advertising roles across Asia-Pacific working for Coca-Cola, Siemens and Powershop.
Council Member: Amanda Goddard
Amanda Goddard joined the Council in 2021, bringing Accounting, Risk Advisory, Strategic Planning, Business Transformation and Governance skills. Mum to Olivia (Year 2), she is looking forward to ensuring St Joseph’s fundamental philosophies are continued and balanced with the commercial success of the school.
Amanda was born in Barbados, and has studied and worked in Canada for 10 years. Amanda trained as an auditor in Canada and joined the Melbourne PwC office in 2010. She joined Nissan Motor Co head office in 2011 and there held various roles throughout the organisation, from Finance Manager in the financial services arm, to focusing on the growth and profitability of the core auto business, assessing & creating internal control frameworks and helping to create and lead strategic initiatives.
Amanda is excited to join the Council and looks forward to working with it on future initiatives.
Council Member: Evan Dimitriou
Evan Dimitriou joined the Council in 2021, bringing total business leadership, corporate finance, strategic planning and business transformation skills. Dad to Olivia (Year 2), Evan is looking forward to supporting the Council and future direction of the school.
Evan is currently the Chief Financial Officer for Nando’s Australia & New Zealand and is a Chartered Accountant with over 14 years’ experience covering professional services (PWC), FMCG (Fonterra) and Retail (Coles Supermarkets) with experience both in Australia and overseas. Evan is passionate about developing talent, growing businesses and ensuring diversity & inclusiveness is at the forefront of the workplace.
Council Member: John-Paul Santamaria
John-Paul is the father of Jack (Year 2), as well as daughters Romilly and Catherine. A finance lawyer by background, John-Paul has spent the past five years working in the External Affairs team of a Melbourne-based resources company. Originally from Melbourne, John-Paul and his wife Skye lived in London for 6 years (where Jack was born), before moving back to the Bayside area in 2018.
A key factor in selecting St Joseph’s was its obviously close and supportive school community. JP and his family hope to contribute to the community over many years, and JP looks forward to helping the Council build on the school’s impressive reputation.
Council Member: Poppy Griffiths
Poppy and her husband Ben have 3 children, Penelope (Year 4), Charlotte (Year 1) and George (aged 4). St Joseph’s wonderful community focus drew their family to the school in 2019. Poppy joined the school council in 2023, bringing skills in marketing and communications, leadership development and wellbeing. She looks forward to supporting the school’s ongoing growth, successful leadership and strong community.
Poppy is a neuroscience trained coach and speaker and Director and Founder of UnlimitU high performance consultancy. She works with business and government to support organisations investments in inclusion, leadership and wellbeing. Poppy spent 15 years working for global businesses including Qantas Group and Swisse Wellness. She is a passionate ambassador for the R U OK? organisation and former Board Chair for Nutrition Australia.
Marian joined the council in 2023, bringing expertise in leadership and strategic management, and a commitment to social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion and looks forward to working with the school community to continue to realise those values.
Marian has a Masters in Public Health and has over 20 years experience as a technical and program leader, and most recently the Chief Executive Officer of a global international development firm. She leads her own small business focussed on business and strategic consulting.