“It’s about what you put in”: Hear from a Trinity Intern 

Having grown up as the daughter of a teacher, Ms Grace Napoleone has seen firsthand what being a teacher involves. Initially, she wasn’t sure she was someone who would be ready to take that on. 

After high school, she took a gap year to travel and found herself working at a boarding school in England, but even that experience didn’t give her the teaching bug. 

When she returned to Australia’s shores, she spent a year pursuing Journalism but while she sat in lectures she had a little niggling feeling that it wasn’t the right path for her. No one was more surprised than Ms Napoleone when she realised what she really wanted to do … was teach. 

So, into an Education degree she went. 

Studying at Notre Dame University, one of her lecturers reached out to share a new opportunity – Trinity’s Internship Program. The program appealed because of Trinity’s commitment to International Baccalaureate education. 

“I really want to teach overseas. That’s a really big career goal for me – to take my learning internationally. I really wanted to have this experience at an IB school under my belt,” she says.

“I absolutely love the approach of inquiry-based learning – learning isn’t linear, children are all so different with different strengths, they each have their own learning journey and the IB Program caters to all of them. Every student can be an inquirer. I really like the values that it holds.” 

When she was accepted into the 2025 cohort of Trinity Interns at the Junior School, she was ready to take on everything the experience threw her way. 

“There’s always something happening,” she says. “There are classes, of course, meetings, curriculum planning, staff engagement, professional learning … We also have release time during the day to plan, program, or catch up on marking.” 

Through it all, she says that the support has been incredible. 

“I couldn’t be more supported if I tried. There’s never a question too silly to ask.” 

Her mentor, Mrs Alanna Hulstone, one of Trinity’s teachers is at the forefront of that support. 

“We’ve had such a good relationship from day one. I get constant feedback every day from her. She’s really good at including me as a Year 3 teacher and I feel really valued. I’ve felt a divide in other placements I’ve done, but not here. In everything she always asks me for my opinion. It’s been really great in terms of that sense of belonging.

“At uni, it’s really drilled into us that our first year of teaching is going to be really hard and overwhelming. I couldn’t ever see that happening here, it’s been so good to be guided through the experience.” 

That’s not to say it hasn’t been challenging. Ms Napoleone says that there have been moments when she’s reflected on a difficult day and what it’s taken for her to back her own skills.

“This experience has helped me so much with my confidence: being able to act professionally in terms of emails, meeting up with parents, and attending curriculum meetings, which I hadn’t done prior to this job.

“And we’re exposed to a whole range of different subjects – STEAM, art, the Green Patch – it’s a really big takeaway now going into my career knowing what I like, what I don’t like, and having had those experiences. 

“It was definitely unexpected how much teachers contribute to not only their class, but the School as a whole – through Co-curriculars and weekend sports. It’s been such a good thing to get to know a bunch of different students, instead of just your own class, and to be able to build community with students.

“It’s the type of career where it’s not just about showing up and doing your job and then leaving; it’s about what you put into it.” 

“Through the Internship Program …  it’s not just about being a practice student, you’re teaching too. I was taking classes independently in my second or third week and I took my own class for a teaching block.” 

“No one else at uni that I’ve spoken to has had that opportunity.” 

“Being a part of this program, it shows the type of person you are, and your ability to balance study and work.” 

Want to experience what it’s like to be challenged and supported at Trinity as an Intern?
Complete an expression of interest and RSVP to attend the upcoming information evening.