Meet our Education Support Officers

With the first day of school rapidly approaching we wanted to introduce you to our seven Education Support Officers. Education Support Officers play a vital role in supporting the learning needs of students under the guidance of our teachers and leadership team.

At Holy Cross we have been blessed with some fantastic people who are passionate about developing a supportive learning environment for our students. Welcome to Holy Cross!

Lara Tonti

Hi my name is Lara Tonti, I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to be a part of a wonderful team at Holy Cross Catholic Primary School as an Education Support Officer, to be able to work directly with students, teachers and parents, building a wonderful, diverse school community, which fosters Love, Hope and Unity.

In 2019 I became a parent helper at my son’s school and in this volunteer position, I realised that I have a passion for helping children reach their full potential. Education is crucial to the success of any student and my goal as an Education Support Officer is to support students learn and aid in creating the best possible learning environment.

In my previous role as an Education Support Officer, I built positive and nurturing relationships with the children and teachers. I assisted in the classroom by mentoring and tutoring students with diverse needs. I supported teachers in managing class behaviour, supervising small group activities and supporting and caring for children with diverse needs. This allowed the teacher more time to get around to all of the groups for that activity. I have demonstrated that I am committed, friendly, nurturing, positive, hardworking and an enthusiastic person.

I am a mother of two children, my son will be in grade 3 next year and my daughter begins Prep next year. I enjoy nothing more than relaxing and having fun adventures with my children. In my spare time you can find me socializing with family and friends or watching some new series on Netflix. I love travelling and in my younger years had the pleasure of seeing many parts of the world. My dream is to take my family on a lovely trip to Europe and show them a world rich in culture, history, art and delicious food.

I look forward to meeting you and working in our amazing new school community.

Bianca Santilli

Hello my name is Bianca Santilli, here’s a little bit about myself.

I am an aspiring teacher to be and I am currently studying my Bachelor in Education.

I have worked with primary school children for the last three years. I have experience working in out of school hours care and as an integration aide at a local primary school. The best part of working as an education support worker is seeing all the students grow and guiding the students to realise their full potential.

I enjoy supporting students in the classroom and through this I have found my passion, wanting to peruse my career in teaching. I believe every student should have a safe and happy learning environment, I also understand each student learns differently and I am here to support each and every one of you.

In my free time I enjoy going to the gym (most days haha) going to the movies and hanging out with friends and family!

I am very excited to be apart of Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, I am looking forward to meeting all the wonderful students and families and getting to know you all.

Yana Demyanos

Hi my name is Yana Demyanos and I am a learning support officer and have been working at St Catherine’s Primary school for the past 10 years.

I speak multiple languages, including Arabic, Chaldean/Assyrian, Kurdish and English.  During my time at St Catherine’s, I participated in community language programs where I taught students Assyrian/ Chaldean and Arabic.

I am very excited to start at Holy Cross as a founding staff member and see how the school will grow over the years. I am most excited to meet the students and develop good relationships with them and their families. I hope to provide a safe, engaging and fun environment for the students where they are able to learn and develop in a positive manner.

I am a mum of two girls, Eleni, who is 20 years old and Daniella, who is 17 years old. I enjoy cooking, going for walks and going to church every Sunday.

Monica Todd

Hello, my name is Monica Todd. I feel happy and privileged that I am going to be an Education Support Officer at Holy Cross Catholic Primary School.

I have been married for 32 years and have two children. My son is 29 and my daughter is 26. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, travelling, reading, playing around on my computer and many forms of arts and crafts.

I have worked as an Education Support Officer for nearly 20 years, the last 17 years have been working at Holy Child Catholic Primary School in Dallas.

I am a highly motivated and extremely enthusiastic worker. I always strive to create a safe and inclusive environment, where students are provided with the opportunities to engage in a positive learning experience, where they feel safe and ready to learn.

I have numerous qualifications in the field of Education Support Officer as well as Certificate I and II in Information Technology and Desktop Publishing Workshop. I also hold a Graduate Diploma in Auslan.

I am looking forward to meeting the Holy Cross community.

Tanya Ciccosillo

Hello, my name is Tanya Ciccosillo, and I will be an Education Support Officer at Holy Cross

Catholic Primary School. I have two children and through volunteering as a parent helper at their primary school, I discovered my passion to help children to learn and grow.

I love helping people, especially children. I am enthusiastic to be involved in children’s learning, being able to naturally build trusting relationships with students and caring immensely about their overall wellbeing. I believe in making a difference by supporting and encouraging students to bring out the best in them. It’s very rewarding to see students’ progress throughout their learning journey.

My husband and I have two boys aged 8 and 6. They bring us so much joy, entertaining us by wrestling with each other (sometimes there are tears!) and thinking it’s funny to play pranks on us! We like being outdoors, spending time with family, friends, our pets and visiting family down at the beach where the boys enjoy fishing. The best part is watching them play sports and cuddling on the couch together watching superhero movies. I personally enjoy socialising, reading, baking and working on creative projects.

I am excited to be joining the team at Holy Cross Catholic Primary School and look forward to being a part of a new school community.

Hiba Al-aty

Hello, my name is Hiba Al-aty and I will be joining the Holy Cross Catholic Primary School community as a Learner Support Officer.

About my experience as LSO:

I have completed certificate III Education support and did 200 hours placement at Romsey primary school, I also worked as a parent helper and casual worker at Oscar Romero Catholic primary school as LSO in 2019.

I enjoyed and loved being LSO as I felt a great sense of achievement from seeing the students develop and grow as individual.

My passion is working with and helping develop children to reach their full potential. I want to join this team because I know that this school is especially committed to promoting creative opportunities for children and this is something interests me personally.

I believe the best part of being LSO is making a positive impact by helping students develop, learn, and have a positive influence on future generation.

About myself:

I was born in Iraq; I grew up there with my parents and brothers. I got married after finishing my degree (electronic management) in 2012.

In 2016 I arrived in Australia, I started learning new language and educated myself with new culture.

I live with my husband Rani and my son Adrian. My interests out of school life are volunteering and community service, I also enjoy cooking, listening to music and spending time with my family.

Balit Kaur

Hello, my name is Baljit Kaur. I am very excited to be a part of the Holy Cross community, working as an Education Support Officer. I was born in India and moved to Australia 13 years ago. I completed Certificate III in Education Support and wish to pursue further studies in education.

I am passionate about supporting students in their learning journey by creating a safe, positive and open environment. I believe in developing a trusting relationship with students and their families in order to achieve a positive learning experience. My approach has always been to understand the students so that learning activities can be modified to keep them engaged.

I love gardening and have developed my own organic garden. On the weekend my husband and I take our children out for bike rides and enjoy arts and craft activities while at home. I enjoy spending quality time with my extended family, especially our elders.