Northside
Northside
The Executive Team at Northside Christian College are a committed team of Christian men and women who come from a wide range of school and business backgrounds, and provide an enormous range of skills and experiences to benefit the Northside Christian College school community. The College is governed by the Committee of Management, which has responsibility for the overall vision, direction and financial management of Northside Christian College. The Principal, supported by the Executive Team, has the responsibility for executing the vision and mission of the school community through implementing the College’s strategic plan and managing the overall operations and resources of Northside Christian College.
Michael joined Northside Christian College in 2017 and commenced as College Principal in 2022. He has a passion for Christian education and a vision to nurture the community atmosphere of the College as the school continues to expand, as well as continuing to focus on meeting the needs of each student at the College.
Even before he became the Principal at Northside, Michael played a key role in the effective leadership of the day-to-day College operations, making significant contributions to policy development, compliance, and Senior School leadership.
Michael has taught in Government and Independent Schools in the United States and Australia including Kerang Christian College, Oxley Christian College, and Shades Cahaba Elementary School. His areas of expertise include curriculum development, policy development and implementation, strategy development and implementation, working with a wide range of stakeholders. Similarly, his leadership experience in education has been diverse, with experience as Principal, Deputy Principal, Head of Primary, Head of Secondary, VCE Coordinator, and gifted and talented education coordinator.
In the years that Michael was Principal / CEO at Kerang Christian College from 2012 to 2016, he oversaw that school’s expansion from Year 8 to Year 12, managed a number of key building projects and implemented some key strategic initiatives during his leadership. He was the Vice President of the Victorian Association for Gifted and Talented Children (VAGTC) in 2010 and 2011 and served on the VAGTC committee from 2009 to 2022.
Michael studied a Bachelor of Information Systems (Electronic Commerce) degree at the University of Tasmania and completed his Master of Science in Education at Troy University in the United States of America. He also has a Graduate Certificate in Education (Inclusive Education) from the Queensland University of Technology, and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD).
Athletics and Cross Country have been sports close to Michael’s heart. He has been a nationally ranked middle distance runner, qualifying for two Olympic Trials. Michael is married to Michelle. They have two daughters, Eliana and Adelyn.
Leigh joined Northside Christian College in October 2016 and has been instrumental in the development of the College's Business Plan and Marketing Plan. He is passionate about Christian education and is a valued member of the College's Executive Team. Leigh manages the financial and business administration functions of the College. In addition to this primary role, Leigh provides valuable support to the College Principal. Leigh plays an important role in helping to realise the College’s Mission and Vision. He is dedicated to ensuring the adequate provision of resources needed throughout the College. Leigh is a Chartered Accountant (CA) and member of the Association of School Business Administrators (ASBA). He brings over 20 years of commercial acumen to the role of Business Manager at Northside Christian College. Leigh spent a decade as an auditor with KPMG in Melbourne, and has various industry experience working at Honda, John Holland, Peters Ice-cream and Countrywide Austral. He is currently a Non-Executive Director and Treasurer at the Anglican Relief and Development Fund of Australia, Melbourne School of Theology and Eastern College Australia. He is also a former Non-Executive Director and Treasurer of Harvest Bible College. Leigh holds a Bachelor of Business from La Trobe University, and Graduate Diploma in Theology and Master of Arts (Ministry) degrees from Harvest Bible College. He is a North Melbourne Kangaroos supporter.
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With a passion for seeing the lives of all students transformed through Christ and the wonder of learning, Chris Drowley brings a depth of experience to his educational leadership.
Before joining Northside in 2023, Chris was Assistant Principal at Craigieburn Primary School, where his responsibilities included the coordination of curriculum delivery across the school and student wellbeing. His experience includes policy review and development, risk and emergency management, and staff coaching and professional learning.
Since beginning his teaching in career in 2010, Chris has had leadership roles in several schools including Years 2-6 Senior School Coordinator and Learning Specialist (2019) at Coburg Primary School, Years 5/6 Head of Department/Leading Teacher (2017-2018) at Aitken Creek Primary School, and Years 3/4 Teaching and Learning Coach/Literacy Leader (2016 - May 2017) at Epping Views Primary School.
Chris has a strong connection with the College community through being a parent and is also actively involved in his church community. Prior to his appointment at Northside, he served as a Children’s Pastor at UniHill Church.
Lenna Waters has been Director of Senior School Learning since 2020. In this position she oversees Years 10-12 as Coordinator of VCE and VCE VM programs as well as coordinating VET student placements, Distance Education, VSL students and Year 10 Work Experience and VTAC services. Lenna is a certified Careers Practitioner and in her role as Careers and Pathways Coordinator she delivers the Morrisby Testing and provides Career Counselling across the Secondary School to students and families. She has taught Food Studies, Textiles, Health and Human Development, VCAL Work Studies and Careers/Work Studies at Northside over the past 13 years. Lenna holds a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery and is a qualified VET trainer who has delivered VET Hospitality and Kitchen Operations as a part of the Northern Melbourne VET Cluster. Lenna has a long history in various sectors of education having taught in both Christian and public high schools and served as a university lecturer in the United States. Upon coming to Australia, Lenna home schooled her two children for 14 years while teaching at Bible College, doing volunteer work as a cook at Christian Camps and serving alongside her husband while pastoring. Lenna has enjoyed facilitating the growth of the Home Economics and Careers departments at Northside and enjoys serving the Northside community through catering. Lenna has a Bachelor of Home Economics from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina and a Masters of Education from the University of North Carolina – Greensboro. In addition, she holds a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery, Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and a Graduate Certificate in Career Development Practice. She is passionate about preparing young people for future opportunities in education and the work world, and interacting with both students and their parents in the career counselling space.
"But Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever, Amen."
2 Peter: 3:18
Serene joined Northside Christian College in 2017. Before her teaching career in Australia, she taught in Singapore for several years and managed the ICT Department at a local primary school after attaining a First Class Honours Degree in Bachelor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering from The University of Glasgow - Scotland and Postgraduate Diploma in Primary Education from National Technological University - Singapore.
Upon her arrival to Australia, Serene worked at various schools. Her passion for teaching and serving others led her to leadership and executive positions. With a desire to understand and explore educational leadership in diverse contexts, Serene pursued a Master of Education (Educational Leadership) at Charles Sturt University. The skills and professional knowledge acquired by Serene have assisted her in her leadership in education, to act critically and creatively to address the challenges faced by educational leaders.
At Northside, Serene teaches students from a range of primary school year levels as a generalist and specialist teacher. She has also supported the INSPiRE program. Over the past three years, in her capacity as the Learning Support Coordinator (Primary) and subsequently, as the Director of Inclusive Education planned and organised targeted support programs for students in consultation with students, staff, and families. Together with a dedicated team of staff at Northside, the overarching objective is to provide a learning environment that values all members and assists them to learn, participate, and succeed within an inclusive school culture.
In 2021, Serene completed her Master of Inclusive Education (Advanced Practice) at Charles Sturt University. Her studies addressed the diverse needs of all learners. Serene is interested in personalised learning to support all learners, thereby fulfilling the school’s mission and vision statement to be an inspirational Christian learning community and ‘Transforming lives through Christ and the wonder of learning.’
Chris joined Northside Christian College in 2006. He is a passionate Media, English, and Psychology teacher, who has particularly enjoyed working in the Senior School and with Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) students, helping guide them to excellent ATAR results. In 2012, he commenced the role of eLearning Coordinator, and in that capacity led several important initiatives to help the College integrate digital technologies to provide cutting edge education. These projects included the move to one-to-one student devices, the introduction of online and hybrid learning models, the Continuous Online Reporting Program, and developing the College’s Model of Teaching and Learning. Chris has presented on several topics related to education and technology for Digital Learning and Teaching Victoria (DLTV), Independent Schools Victoria (ISV), and Christian Schools Australia (CSA). He has worked for the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) as an assessor of the Media Examination, assessor of the Media SAT, and writing the Unit 3 & 4 Media Examination. In 2022, Chris transitioned into a new role at the College as the Director of Teaching and Learning. This role has provided him with greater opportunities to work collaboratively with staff to raise student achievement and improve the quality of teaching and learning across the College, consistent with the College's Strategic Plan, Vision, Mission, Philosophy, and Values. Chris is passionate about increasing student’s intrinsic motivation and autonomy as self-directed learners. He believes this stems from developing learning experiences that are authentic to student’s lives, and that illuminate the truth of God's creation and His purposes.
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Jo joined Northside Christian College in 1999. She has been instrumental in the development of the Middle School at Northside, including having significant input into the design and layout of the new Middle School facilities at the College. Jo has overseen the implementation of the Middle School program at Northside Christian College and is passionate about seeing students thrive during this period of schooling. She has 25 years’ experience teaching at Independent Schools in South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. Jo studied Education at Flinders University, and is an experienced and passionate teacher of Visual and Studio Arts and Humanities. She has taught a diverse range of subjects at Northside Christian College from Primary School classes through to Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) subjects. Her education degree specialised in Middle School education and Jo has embraced the opportunity to establish a collaborative Middle School learning culture at Northside. Jo is a valuable member of the College community and a source of encouragement to all our students. Furthermore, Jo highly values the opportunity to work collaboratively with staff and families to support the diverse learning needs of our students.
Northside Christian College
31 McLeans Rd, Bundoora VIC 3083, Australia
Phone: 03 9467 2499
ncc@ncc.vic.edu.au