Our Educators

DRAGONFLIES:

EMILY-KATE BATEMAN - teacher / EDUCAtional leadER

SECOND YEAR KINDERGARTEN (4-5 YEAR OLD)

After completing my Bachelor of Early Childhood Education at Melbourne University in 1999, I began my career working at MLC Kinder, eventually leaving to travel and work in Europe & the UK. During this time I travelled to Reggio Emilia, for their inaugural international conference. On my return to Melbourne, I worked at St Leonard’s College in the Early Learning Centre, until the arrival of my first child.

Both of my children attended a local community run kindergarten & I joined the Parent Committee of Management for these four years. This gave me a clearer understanding of community run kindergartens, which led me to working at FAK. My teaching is influenced by the Reggio Emilia philosophy, where teachers, children and parents all work together as teachers, learners and researchers.

I see children as capable members of our society with rights and abilities to make changes to the world in which they live. I am passionate about building strong and empowered children who share and express their knowledge of the world in many ways as well as through social connection.

I have worked in both the Beetles (3-4 yr old) and Dragonfly (4-5 yr old) groups during my 6 years at FAK and I am thrilled to share this journey with the children and their families. Outside of FAK I enjoy time with my husband James and two children; Edward (aged 11) & Georgie (aged 9), who keep me very busy. I also enjoy gardening and exploring the outdoors, all with our trusty Golden Retriever, Wally.

FROGS:

Kirralee Degenhardt - teacher / nominated supervisor

SECOND YEAR KINDERGARTEN (4-5 Year Old)

Hello FAK Families,

My name is Kirralee Degenhardt and I joined the FAK Community in 2021.

I have been working in the Early Childhood field for 19 years now, and continue to find it an inspiring and rewarding career. I love being part of a community and look forward to immersing myself into FAK.

I am passionate about Children’s Rights, especially a child’s right to play. For me play is a means of learning to live, not a mere passing of time.

Some of my favourite things I enjoy at kinder include spending time exploring the outdoors – looking for caterpillars and other interesting creatures; watching our garden grow; harvesting and cooking with our homegrown produce. I am an avid reader and love to spend time with a good book, in fact if I wasn’t a kinder teacher I think I would love to have my own children’s bookshop!

I’m not afraid to get messy with the paints, clay and other interesting materials we get to explore at kinder – there are just too many exciting things to do at kinder to have just one favourite!

I am also blessed to be the Mum of three sensational young boys! As a family we love spending time in the outdoors – riding our bikes; kicking the footy and enjoying long walks. The beach is definitely one of our favourite places to be any time of the year.

We are very much a basketball family and spend a lot of our weekends in and out of stadiums cheering on our children and our clubs NBL1 team.

BEETLES:

Eilidh Di Natale - teacher

FIRST YEAR KINDERGARTEN (3-4 Year Old)

I am a passionate early years teacher who endeavours to provide all children with a high quality play-based education. As a teacher I value and respect students as individuals; my main goal is to ensure that all children experience success and develop a love of learning.

I graduated with a Master of Teaching (Early Years) from the University of Melbourne in 2015. Influenced by the philosophy and practices of Reggio Emilia, I believe in the importance of developing strong partnerships between educators, children, families and the community. I believe that when educators ask questions they are able to build strong relationships with both children and families. I believe that relationships are the key to a strong and successful early learning environment.

My husband and I are parents to 3 young children. Our family enjoys going to the beach, camping, swimming, dancing and spending time with our extended family and friends. I was born in Scotland and moved to Melbourne when I was 11-years-old. I continue to celebrate my Scottish heritage through highland dancing. I also enjoy gym training and musical theatre.

TURTLES:

Danni Ceravolo - teACHER

FIRST YEAR KINDERGARTEN (3-4 YO)

Hello, my name is Danni- I enjoy working with young children and understand each child has individual needs. As an Early Childhood Educator, I like to build positive relationships with families by listening to them and helping them find the support they need in the local community. I commenced working at Fordham Avenue Kindergarten in 2009 and immediately felt welcome by the staff and community, especially the children.

During my time at Fordham, I have made many connections with the families, and it has been a privilege to see returning siblings or most recently work experience students who were once in my class.

I completed a Diploma of Teaching in Early Childhood at the University of Melbourne graduating in 1993 and I have recently completed my Graduate Certificate of Therapeutic Child Play at Deakin University. This recent course gave me a greater understanding of working with children affirming my lifelong passion for providing PLAY as a means for children to communicate their needs and understanding of the world. Returning to study came with many challenges and I am pleased to continue to work with and have influence in the lives of children during their early childhood growth and development and understand more deeply the Therapeutic Powers of PLAY.

I am a mum of 2 adult children- Chloe and Josh. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, going to the beach, listening to music, walking, exercising, relaxing and dancing. We also have fun with our dog, Gigi, a Corgi X Dachshund, who is extremely spoilt and cheeky.

I find JOY in this profession, feel enthusiastic when children are in my care and love working with children encompassing fun with education. Children are delightful and brilliant, so I adore the Terrific Turtle’s 3-year-old Group. 

DRAGONFLIES:

TAMARA hARDIE - assistant educatoR

SECOND YEAR KINDERGARTEN (4-5 YO)

I am an experienced early childhood educator with a passion for making learning fun! I particularly love supporting children to thrive and reach their potential.

I have completed a Diploma of Teaching and am registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching. I have enjoyed working alongside Emily-Kate in the Dragonflies group for the last 3 years at FAK.

Outside of Kinder, I enjoy spending time with my family; bush-walking, dancing and playing golf.

FROGS:

Narelle Young – Assistant EducatoR

SECOND YEAR KINDER (4-5 YEAR OLD)

Our Friendly Frogs program at Fordham Ave Kindergarten is designed to build and grow characteristics such as independence and confidence within every child. I believe early childhood education is a significant part of a child’s life, watching them blossom whilst having fun in our play based program is the most rewarding aspect of being an educator.

I trained as a primary teacher in Perth but I came over to Melbourne to be with my now husband. We had met when I was working as a governess on a station 8 hours north of Perth. We moved into our home in Fordham Ave just before we got married.

My 3 children came to this kinder and my son James was lucky to have Jan, our current music teacher, as his 3 year old teacher. I was very involved with the committee during the 6 years as a parent. Not long after my son Thomas went to school one of the co-educators told me that FAK was looking for another co-educator, that was 16 years ago. During that time I have worked with both the first and second year kindergarten groups.

Kirralee and I are having a great time with our Friendly Frogs and loving meeting their parents and extended family.

BEETLES:

SUE SEDY – assistant EducatoR

FIRST YEAR KINDERGARTEN (3-4 YO)

Hi, my name is Sue Sedy and I’m delighted to be working as a co-educator this year with the Beetles group. I am a trained Primary Teacher and I have worked with both 3YO and 4YO groups over the past 14 years at Fintona Early Learning Centre. I continue to find it very rewarding to watch children grow and develop through their play and experiences at kinder. I am passionate about developing a caring relationship with each child, appreciating their wonderfully unique personalities. I have a particular interest in creative art and children’s literature.

In my spare time, I enjoy gardening, reading, doing Pilates, getting together with friends and family, holidaying at the beach and collecting artisan miniatures, which I keep in a 5-storey dollhouse I made myself (I’m obviously just a big kid at heart!)  I have three wonderful children of my own; Taryn (35), Genevieve (32) and Campbell (26). I also have three very precious grandsons; 6-year-old Jack, 4-year-old Harry and 4-month-old Tom. I share my home with my partner Douglas, a ginger tabby (“Moo”) and a Schnauzer (“Nashi”).

I have wonderful memories of my own time at kindergarten; I especially liked playing in the home-corner, doing the ‘washing up’ (something I still do plenty of at kinder!) I hope the children in our group enjoy their time at kinder as much as I did.

TURTLES:

Janet Smith – Assistant EducatoR

FIRST YEAR KINDER (3-4 YEAR OLD)

My name is Janet Smith and I started here at Fordham Ave Kinder as a mum, when my son Dylan joined the 'Honeybees' group in 2004, lead by Jan De Gruchy, our Music Teacher. I had my daughter Ashleigh one week later, so my first few months at Fordham were a bit of a blur! Four years on in 2008, Ashleigh followed in Dylan’s footsteps as a 'Honeybee' and then a 'Dolphin'. I signed up for committee positions during these years, & thoroughly enjoyed all the kinder experience had to offer - including volunteering as a parent-helper in the kinder rooms.

In 2010, when both children were off to school, I applied for a lunchtime carer position at FAK, which allowed me to continue on at the kinder, and I have enjoyed working in all the groups over those years. I have since studied and received my Certificate III in Children’s Services, and now enjoy a different role: collaborating with Danni as the Co-Educator for the Turtles Group since 2014.

I have lived in Melbourne all my life, and love all it has to offer. We love spending our weekends in the local sporting community watching our son and daughter play, and walking our dog Bowser around the neighbourhood - always bumping into Kinder families past and present!

BEETLES:

Tina Choi – Assistant Educator from February 2025

FIRST YEAR KINDERGARTEN (3-4 YO)

Hello! My name is Tina. I have over 18 years of experience in early childhood education, having started my career in Hong Kong and continuing in Melbourne. I hold a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care. I can speak English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

I am passionate about facilitating engaging learning experiences that stimulate curiosity in children. I believe that play-based learning is essential in education, as it allows children to explore, discover and develop important skills through hands-on activities. I truly enjoy studying and gaining qualifications to enhance my knowledge and skills in early childhood education. 

I am excited to be part of the Fordham Avenue Kindergarten community, where I look forward to fostering a warm, engaging and supportive environment where every child feels valued and can thrive. I have been working with the Frogs in 2024 and I am delighted to work with Eilidh and the Beetles in 2025.

In my free time, I enjoy spending quality time with my two children and going to Yum Cha with family and friends.