Today we wish Mrs Bagnara well as she heads off to take up her new position of Head of English at Swan Valley Anglican Community School.

Carmel Principal Shula Lazar said it best when announcing Tanya鈥檚 news earlier this year. 鈥淲hile extremely sad to see Mrs Bagnara go, we are all thrilled that she has earned this prestigious promotional position.

鈥淢rs Bagnara took over as Acting Head of English at Carmel while Mrs Emily Cunningham was on parental leave and during this time she led the English Department with vision and professionalism. We wish her the best of luck as she embarks on the next exciting stage of her professional journey.鈥�

Originally from Perth, Tanya lived in the UK and then Sydney for eight years, where she taught at high school level, before moving back to Western Australia in 2010 to have her daughter, Bella. She started off in Perth relief-teaching at St Kieran Primary School, then moved into their special needs area dealing with three to six-year-olds. Her core teaching area, however, has always been English at high school level.

After taking some time off when her second child, Luka, was born, Tanya dipped her toes back into the teaching ocean by doing sporadic relief teaching. One such stint saw her called to 69色情片 for the day. 鈥淚 had the class solemnly working the whole lesson. The School quickly came back to me with, 鈥楻ight, okay, when are you free?鈥� They kept me on after that and I never needed to relief teach anywhere else.鈥�

Tanya started formally teaching at Carmel in 2017 in Humanities and Social Science (HASS).

鈥淏efore leaving, I really wanted to say thank you,鈥� she says. 鈥淲orking here has been so nurturing for me from the very beginning. Cherie (Russell, Head of HASS) and Emily (Cunningham, Head of English) were my heads, and they were wonderful from the word go. They gave me back my confidence after having had some time off. And I fell in love with the kids instantly; they just want someone who 鈥榮ees鈥� them, as every teacher makes a point of doing for the students here.

鈥淚 also really fell in love with the Jewish culture. I鈥檓 European of Croatian origin and I think there are so many similarities between the cultures鈥� she laughs; 鈥渢he importance of ritual, the importance of family, the importance of food. Even though my faith is different, I feel such symmetry. It鈥檚 been a wonderful and stimulating experience learning more about the Jewish faith and gaining a perception of the world through that lens.鈥�

Tanya makes particular mention of Carmel parents and students. 鈥淭he parents here have been wonderful. Once they鈥檝e built a bond, they really believe in and have faith in you, and I鈥檝e felt very supported by the parents here. When I took on Head of Department during Emily鈥檚 period of maternity leave, they showed faith in and trusted me. That鈥檚 special. There were times when I had to say no and it was accepted, and I have so appreciated that level of support.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been an honour to watch these kids grow and develop and I鈥檓 genuinely sad to leave. I鈥檓 leaving notes about my students for their replacement teacher and I know they will carry on blossoming.

鈥淎s far as my own journey goes, I don鈥檛 think I could have grown as much as I have if it hadn鈥檛 been for the positive environment here. It鈥檚 important to me that the School is supportive of me moving on to continue bettering myself,鈥� Tanya emphasises. 鈥淚鈥檝e made long-lasting friendships here with fellow teachers. I particularly want to thank Shula and Dean, Emily and Cherie - and past teachers such as Mel Thorpe. They have all done big things for me.鈥�

Au revoir, Tanya, we will miss you! Thank you for your significant contribution to Carmel. We wish you every success in your teaching journey ahead and look forward to you popping in for a cuppa soon to let us know how you鈥檙e going.