The Winthrop Primary Independent Public School Board’s role is to provide strategic guidance and monitoring of the school’s performance.
It supports the school in increasing effective autonomy and flexibility to further improve the quality of the whole school program.
View the School Board’s Terms of Reference.
Chairperson | Brad Holme |
Principal | Karina Meldrum |
Parent Representative | Glen Yeo John So Angella Figliomeni Glyn Geen Han Ho Chelsea Packer Trish Davison |
Staff Representative | Simon Dufall Viv Miguel |
Brad has been board Chair since 2020 and a board member since 2019. He has lived in Winthrop since 2009. Brad and wife Abby, have two daughters attending Winthrop Primary; Tess and Eden. Abby is a relief teacher.
Brad grew up on a wheat and sheep farm, before moving to Perth for high school. He has a Bachelor of Engineering in Information Technology (Honours) from The University of Western Australia. He is a Software Engineer currently employed with AEMO (Australian Energy Market Operator). Previously, Brad was a self-employed Software Engineer servicing the Education sector. Customers included: Catholic Education Western Australia, Education Department Western Australia, Association of Independent School Western Australia, The University of Western Australia and Northern Territory Department of Education. Prior, he worked on infrastructure projects including Western Australia Police, Woodside, BHP and International public transport projects in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Karina was appointed to Winthrop Primary School in 2003. During this time she has been a classroom teacher, has attained Level 3 Classroom Teacher status, has been the school’s Learning Support Coordinator and now is Principal.
Karina has been teaching since 1990 at a number of schools ranging from country to city, Junior Primary school to District High schools. She was in the last cohort of training teachers to graduate from Claremont Teachers’ College in 1989.
Karina is the mother of 2 daughters, both of whom are past students of Winthrop Primary School and therefore has enjoyed a long association with the school in both a professional and personal capacity. Outside of school, Karina is a passionate, proud and loyal supporter of the Fremantle Football Club and attends as many home games as possible.
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Glyn is a proud father of 3 children, currently in Kindergarten, Year 4 and Year 7. Glyn has served as President of the Winthrop Primary School Parents’ and Citizens’ Association since 2019 and is a passionate supporter of the P&C’s activities to assist the School in delivering a fantastic school environment for our kids. Glyn co-founded in 2019 the highly successful Winthrop Primary School Dads Group as part of the Fathering Project – which launched with a Pizza and Paper plane event with over 180 of our Dads and kids attending.
Glyn’s day job is in corporate governance and he is a Chartered Secretary and Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia. He has held senior roles in enterprise risk management, compliance and assurance across resources, financial services and the public sector. Glyn is also the convenor of the multi-industry WA Risk Managers Forum for risk professionals.
Glyn is the Secretary of the Classical Guitar Society of Western Australia and enjoys playing classical guitar with the Society’s guitar orchestra. He also loves wine-tasting, camping and hiking.
Glyn Geen joined the School Board in 2020.
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I’ve lived in Winthrop for the past 12 years and I am also the father to two daughters – one in Year 2 and another in Year 4 at WPS. My professional background is in engineering and management, and I’ve worked across a number of industry sectors both nationally and internationally. I hold a Bachelor of Engineer, Bachelor of Science and also Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Australia.
I have a keen interest in education, psychology and behavioural science – particularly from an application perspective. I believe that laying good foundations is instrumental in shaping the quality of life as our children grow into adulthood and beyond. For context, these foundations extend beyond just the academic; they encompass also the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual. Cumulatively, the quality of these foundations will extend further from the individual to communities and society in general. It will serve as a core contributing factor to the ongoing growth for our world and future generations.
I am a high school Humanities and Social Sciences teacher who is passionate about public education and getting involved in the community. I hold a Bachelor degree in Arts (Politics and Government), a Graduate Diploma in Education, and a Master degree in Education specialising in School Leadership. I deeply believe in volunteering in community events as the benefits to my family, my community, and to myself are incalculable.
I have previously served on two other school boards and am also currently on the board at Atwell College as an elected staff representative. I served on the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School Board (KBCHS) for 2 years ex officio as the Public Relations Coordinator. During this time, I was involved in the application process where we became an Independent Public School, changed the school uniform and supplier, and initiated a Healthy Schools food program. I simultaneously served on the South Kalgoorlie Primary School Board as a parent where I was involved in the Public School Review process. In both cases, I also worked on sub-committees where I implemented meaningful change and represented the Board at school events.
Furthermore, I have significant experience in public relations in education and building community relationships. Prior to moving back to Perth last year, I was the Public Relations Coordinator at KBCHS and was instrumental in changing the community (and media) perception of the school and promoting all the wonderful achievements made by students and staff.
I believe my skills and experience in school governance will benefit the Winthrop Primary School community. I know my experience as both a parent board member and staff board member, in both the primary and high school settings, offer a unique perspective of Education Department and community interests. I also believe communication is vital in a community, and as such, would strive to ensure the interests and privacy of all parties were considered.
I’m originally from a small rural community in N.S.W, where being the last of six children, we were taught to be involved in the community to help make a difference. From my father who was Captain of the rural fire brigade, to sisters running the P & C, to brothers running local football or B & S balls, it was part of living in a community to participate.
I held various roles in college committees, including College President and Secretary of the National Association of Australian University Colleges, so I’ve seen the benefits off being involved.
I first studied Economics at University then moved to Perth in the late 90’s for work and further study. After years of focusing on a career, I’m now a partner and Senior Financial Consultant at our firm, Fitzpatricks Private Wealth WA, located in the city.
Like many professionals, I balance study, work and family, with my role in providing support first and foremost to my daughter being my priority. I see joining the school board as an extension of this.
We moved into Winthrop with the main purpose of being close to the school to support our daughter. After the loss of my husband to Melanoma while she was attending Kindy at Winthrop, we have been lucky to have the support of some wonderful families we met thru the school.
I don’t yet understand the internal working of the school but feel by getting involved and better understanding this, I’d like to be an informed voice with the view of a parent not in the education system. I hope this can be a way for me to give back to the Winthrop school community that we are apart off.
You will find me with my daughter and our other family member, our toy spoodle “Rosie”, at Piney Lakes dog park most afternoons.
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