EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM

Brian Grimes

Brian Grimes

Principal/CEO

The Principal is the Chief Executive Officer of the College and reports directly to the College Board.

The College Principal serves as the spiritual, educational and business leader, responsible for managing the policies, regulations, and procedures to ensure that all students are supervised in a safe, traditional, Christian learning environment that meets the approved national and state curricula, and enables the College’s Mission. This includes ensuring that a vibrant Christian life is active in the College; aspects of which include fostering Biblical teaching, prayer, worship, gifts, wisdom and mission.

Achieving academic excellence requires that the College Principal works collaboratively to direct and nurture all members of the school staff hired by the Principal or Board of Directors, and to communicate effectively with parents. Inherent in the position are the responsibilities for scheduling, curriculum development, extracurricular activities, personnel management, emergency procedures, and facility operation.

Mr Grimes commenced his duties at Bayside Christian College in January of 2022, following four years as Principal of Swan Valley Anglican Community School in Western Australia, and then more recently as the Principal of A.B. Paterson College from 2012-2019, and from 2019-2021 he served as the Executive Principal/ Chief Executive Officer of A.B. Paterson College.

Mr Grimes has an extensive history of educational leadership and through his leadership A.B. Paterson College developed to be one of the finest College’s in Australia. He has a strong background in academia and pastoral care, and has demonstrated a high level of business acumen, an ability to develop highly effective leadership teams and brings a commitment to faith and the development of young people in an inclusive and caring environment.

Sam Kanoun

Sam Kanoun

Director of Business and Finance

The Director of Business and Finance is a member of the Executive Leadership Team and reports directly to the Principal/CEO on all matters pertaining to the business and financial operations of the College. The Director of Business and Finance has a special role in reporting financial outcomes and forecasts to the College Board to support their Governance role and to the Principal/CEO to support the Office’s executive function.

Mr Kanoun has over 25 years of experience in finance and has been leading the finance teams of schools and other medium and very large global organisations for the last 18 years. He has extensive experience in financial reporting, taxation, governance, system implementation, financial modelling, strategic plans, budgeting, and forecasting. Mr Kanoun has gained his experience by working in many industries, including health, education, tourism, global commercial real estate, and leading charities.

Mr Kanoun has a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from Macquarie University and is a graduate of CPA Australia.

Edelle Broadhurst

Edelle Broadhurst

Deputy Principal

The Deputy Principal is a member of the Executive Leadership Team and reports directly to the Principal/CEO on all matters pertaining the management of the day-to-day operations of the College community.

Ms Broadhurst is a dedicated educator who currently serves as the Deputy Principal of Bayside Christian College. Throughout her career, she has consistently demonstrated a profound commitment to upholding Christian character and educational excellence.

Ms Broadhurst’s journey in educational leadership began with her role as Assistant Principal in New South Wales, where she proved to be an effective and caring leader. She played an instrumental role in her previous school’s Strategic Directions, focusing particularly on ‘Student Growth and Attainment’ and ‘Connecting Communities’. Mrs Broadhurst’s dedication to fostering student achievement and building strong community ties was evident throughout her tenure.

One of Ms Broadhurst’s significant contributions has been her role as a mentor to teachers, guiding them in implementing quality teaching practices. She has led professional development sessions aimed at enhancing the skills and capacities of the entire teaching staff through initiatives like Quality Teaching Rounds and the use of the Quality Teaching Framework. Her commitment to professional growth has led to improvements in teaching and learning within her educational community.

Ms Broadhurst’s leadership extends to curriculum development, where she led her team through the implementation of the new NSW K-2 English and Mathematics Curriculum, ensuring that students received a well-rounded and up-to-date education. In addition to this, her role as the leader of the Positive Behaviour for Learning Team involved data analysis to drive student well-being programs, highlighting her dedication to holistic student development.

Recognised for her exceptional contributions to education, Ms Broadhurst received multiple nominations from parents for the prestigious ‘A Day Made Better, Teacher of the Year Award’ for her inspirational teaching at Werrington Public School. She received her NSW Department of Education Medal, as recognition for her devoted service to students.

Amanda Mulder

Amanda Mulder

Head of Junior School

Mrs Mulder held the position of Head of Department (P-7) from 2010 until she emigrated to Australia in 2016. This role required her to support and assist the Principal and acted in the Principal role during his periods of leave. She was a panel member for the adjudication and appointment of teachers, investigation officer at disciplinary hearings and member of the SGB. Her responsibilities included: timetabling, staff welfare, submitting an analysis of results to the DOE, implementing intervention plans and improvement strategies, submitting quarterly schedules to the DOE, establishing internal moderation reports, developing subject/phase improvement plans and monitoring moderation records to reflect quality assurance of teacher files. She was the liaison officer with the University of Nelson Mandela in placing and mentoring pre-service teachers, implemented an evidenced based synthetics phonics program across P-3.

Other responsibilities included: the compilation of policies in support of teaching excellence, conducting co-curricular activities with surrounding schools, member of several departmental committees, overseeing all academic activities and subjects taught. She has been Coordinator for the last 2 years and was appointed as Head of Junior School at the start of 2023.

Shelley Bennett

Shelley Bennett

EA to the Principal

The Executive Assistant works closely with the Principal to ensure the efficient management and operation of the Principal’s office.

Mrs Bennett has over 25 years of experience assisting high level executives in a corporate environment. Most of her experience has been in finance and property development in Sydney prior to relocating to Hervey Bay.

Mrs Bennett has worked in a number of positions within the College starting in the Maintenance Department in 2020, moving into Administration in 2021 and into her current Executive Assistant role in 2022.

Belinda France

Belinda France

Lead Head of Faculty / Head of Health and PE

Mrs France’s life journey is characterised by her unwavering dedication, a profound passion for sports, and her relentless pursuit of leadership roles. She began her journey by pursuing a dual degree in Education and Applied Science at the University of Queensland, where she showcased her athletic talents as a representative player in the Metro Cup Touch Football competition.

In her first decade of teaching, she not only excelled in the classroom but also achieved a Certificate 4 in Theology at The Catholic University. Belinda’s coaching abilities also shone as she led school touch football teams to remarkable success. Her coaching certifications in various sports demonstrates her versatility.

Throughout her career, she assumed key roles such as Head of Science, Director of Sport, Year Coordinator, and Cultural Coordinator. In 2018, she joined Bayside Christian College as a teacher of Maths and Science, beginning her journey towards educational leadership. In 2020, she was appointed as Head of Sport, and in 2022, as the Lead Head of Faculty, showcasing her exceptional leadership capabilities. Currently pursuing a Masters in Education in Leadership, Belinda remains committed to advancing sports programs at Bayside Christian College.