Trinity staff share their expertise

Trinity staff are continuously engaging in activities that support each other to grow professionally within the School, but that  professional engagement extends beyond their on-campus schedules. Over recent months, many Trinity staff have given presentations at conferences and external organisations, sharing their knowledge and their work at Trinity with a wider audience. Here’s a quick rundown of what they’ve been up to in recent months! 

 

2025 Visual Arts and Design Educator Association (VADEA) Conference 

With the theme of ‘Alchemy: Transforming Visual Arts Curriculum and Pedagogy’, the 2025 VADEA Conference was one for the books. 

Trinity’s own Ms Nicole DeLosa (Head of Faculty – Visual Arts) and Ms Alex Wood (Visual Arts Teacher) not only attended the conference at the National Art School in Darlinghurst but presented on the new International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP), helping attendees to understand the new course structure. This session introduced the core areas of ‘create, ‘connect’, and ‘communicate’ in relation to the new assessment artefacts. 

In their second breakout session, Ms DeLosa and Ms Wood shared some of the Visual Arts initiatives from Trinity, including their efforts in incorporating Generative AI in the classroom, and their work in writing an article in the journal, Independence, to showcase their case studies and the ways in which their teaching practice has evolved and grown as a result of this opportunity. 

 “I feel it’s a real privilege to have our work recognised and shared in such an esteemed forum,” Ms DeLosa says. “Opportunities like this remind us that what we do matters. By exchanging ideas and practices, we strengthen each other and enrich the learning experiences of the young men in our classrooms.”

 

Association of Independent Schools NSW ICT Management and Leadership Conference 

It’s no secret that technology running smoothly is the key to many of Trinity’s leading programs, which is why Paul Queeney (Head of ICT) and Ben Cotton (ICT Projects Leader) were invited to speak at the 2025 AISNSW ICT Management and Leadership Conference. 

Mr Cotton shared Trinity’s journey to standardise the AV technology used throughout the School, taking time to highlight the benefits the whole School has benefited from creating a Trinity AV Standards document, and why teams at other independent schools should follow suit. 

“It was a great opportunity to highlight the tangible benefits we’ve seen – from improved consistency to enhanced scalability – as we continue to evolve our AV ecosystem,” says Mr Cotton. 

Meanwhile, Mr Queeney was involved in two sessions. The first was a plenary panel he facilitated where school leaders and changemakers shared their experiences and lessons learned from significant change programs. 

The panel included Mr Queeney, Craig Sandwell (Trinity’s Deputy Headmaster; Policy & Strategy), Jenny Luca (Head of ICT Innovation at Camberwell Grammar School), Anna Hu (Director of Strategic Opportunities, Canberra Grammar School), and Mark Sullivan (COO, PARED Foundation). 

Second, Mr Queeney headed up a session walking attendees through the decision-making process and implementation of a journey to cloud computing, the risks and issues to consider and importantly, how to manage the 4D-chess game that is cost control. 

 

 

2025 International Boys’ School Coalition Conference 

In late June, a small cohort of Trinity staff headed to Boston, USA, for the 2025 International Boys School Coalition Conference. 

Held at Belmont Hill School, the conference focused on the theme ‘Better Together’ with workshops, keynote speakers, and interactive dialogues all grounded in the theme. 

Attending from Trinity was Headmaster Tim Bowden, Dr Kimberley Pressick-Kilborn (Head of Research and Professional Growth), Mrs Melinda Bargwanna (Specialist Environmental Educator, Junior School), Mrs Heidi Broadbent (Secondary Teacher, Mathematics), and Ms Mikaela Janes (Primary Teacher, Preparatory School) . 

Encouraged to share their reflections from attending the conference, each staff member had a unique experience, with different takeaways and areas of interest, returning to Trinity brimming with ideas to share with their colleagues and integrate into their work with students. 

You can read more about their reflections here. 

Of note, was Mr Bowden’s and Dr Pressick-Kilborn’s workshop that explored the depth of research work at Trinity.  

Mrs Bargwanna – who, herself had an exciting conference, presenting her Action Research and winning the Action Research Award for 2025 – said that the workshop her colleagues facilitated reminded her of the opportunities available at Trinity. 

“Their workshop about the research program at Trinity opened up my eyes. I thought, wow, the reach we have at Trinity, the way we’re supported and encouraged to expand our teaching experience and capacities is really second to none.

“I haven’t heard of any other schools doing better than this.” 

 

AIS NSW Business Studies Workshop

Mr Kai Ikeuchi (Head of Faculty, Economics)  is the AISNSW Business Studies Convenor and, at the most recent AISNSW Business Studies Workshop, two of his fellow Trinity colleagues took to the mic. 

Mr Jon Saunders (Secondary Teacher, Economics) presented on the topic of financial literacy, particularly on how to develop teacher efficacy in facilitating the interpretation of the financial needs of a business, and directing students towards confident application. 

“As a Chartered Accountant, it was a wonderful opportunity to combine my love of finance with my love of learning,” says Mr Saunders. “It was also fabulous learning from my peers across other school environments, to learn from an array of experiences and school settings.”  

Meanwhile, Mr Luke Philpotts (Secondary Teacher, Economics) was invited to speak on best teaching practice in Business Studies, exploring the process of continuous improvement in pedagogy and student-centred classroom teaching, particularly when it comes to universal strategies applied by teaching such a large cohort at Trinity where Business Studies is one of the most popular subject selections. 

“It was a great experience to have a collegial discussion with teachers across the state to see how the subject is taught differently in different contexts,” says Mr Philpotts. 

He remarked that the event brought together Independent Schools from a variety of different contexts, including the Catholic system and schools from different socioeconomic areas, where the challenges are very different to those at Trinity. 

“It was good to look beyond the Trinity context. It’s easy to be insular, but through this event we could learn from other schools’ contexts and decide how we apply new ideas here at Trinity.”  

 

Logicalis CIO Summit 

Trinity’s Head of ICT, Paul Queeney, headed to the Logicalis CIO Summit at the end of July, joining Lisa Fortey (GM at Logicalis) to explore how strong partnerships and innovative thinking are transforming education and beyond. 

“Throughout my career, I’ve seen the impact that strategic partnerships can have, helping to balance immediate business demands with long-term transformation goals,” Mr Queeney said on LinkedIn. “It was exciting to share some of the lessons I’ve learned working with partners who not only understand the challenges but are aligned to the vision and outcomes we’re striving for at Trinity Grammar School.”