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This online professional learning session will bring together teachers and school leaders from small schools to share how they structure and deliver mathematics in their unique contexts. We will be exploring class structures, typical lesson approaches, key influences on practice, and planning processes such as scope and sequence design or intervention supports.
Teachers will also reflect on challenges faced and outline their next steps, offering practical insights and ideas transferable to other small school settings. This webinar responds to strong demand from regional and rural schools for professional learning that highlights explicit mathematics teaching in small school environments.
Jane St. John
Jane St John is the Acting Principal at Clifton Creek Primary School, a small rural school with an enrolment of 32 students. Organised into three classes: Foundation to Year 2, Years 3 and 4, and Years 5 and 6, the school is committed to advancing an explicit teaching model that aligns with the Science of Learning. A key focus for the school is the improvement of mathematics instruction through the adoption of a structured and explicit mathematics program. Jane’s vision for the school is bold and clear: to become a leading school in East Gippsland where teaching is purposeful, learning is deep, and every student is empowered to thrive.
Jonathan Nettelbeck
Jonathan Nettelbeck is the Maths Leader at Mount Blowhard Primary School, a smaller rural school with around 80 students near Ballarat. He has taught maths in both secondary and primary settings.
He is passionate about the impact of maths reviews, developing number fact fluency, and fostering deep mathematical understanding and reasoning in every student.
Michelle Lastrilla
Michelle Lastrilla is the Team Leader for Secondary and Systems at Australian Christian College – Darling Downs, a growing coeducational school from Kindergarten to Year 10. With experience teaching Mathematics from Years 6–10, she is passionate about implementing the Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI) approach to ensure clarity, consistency, and mastery in student learning.
She leads with a commitment to excellence, faith, and student growth, drawing on her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and Master of Teaching to inform her practice.