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Nici Deller takes on head of primary at Moama Anglican Grammar
NICI Deller has seen a lot of change in her career, but all roads have led to her new position as head of primary at Moama Anglican Grammar.
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She started life in The Netherlands and by the time she turned 24, she was ready to move off into the big, wide world.
“I actually decided to come to Australia as a backpacker and I told myself I was only going to do it for a year,” she said.
“I worked in coffee shops for a while to earn some money before going home again.”
Mrs Deller said it was the classic fairytale that brought her back down under.
“There's always the good old story about finding the love of your life and moving halfway across the world to be with him and that's what I did,” she said.
“I went through all those steps and now I've been married for 18 years and we have two beautiful children together.”
But she always had a passion for educating young people.
“I know I've wanted to be in the education industry since the age of four,” she said.
“In Holland, that's when you start school and by the end of my first day in the classroom, I knew that's where I wanted to be.
“I've always had a passion for the job. Education and student wellbeing are my priorities.”
After completing her training and working as a teacher in The Netherlands for a year, Mrs Deller returned to Australia and started work in the customer service industry.
“I know my English is quite good now, but back then I was actually quite anxious about it so I thought going into a job like that would help before I went into anything else,” she said.
“To be able to teach here I had to prove my English proficiencies, so once I passed that test I was in the classroom three days later and haven't left.”
For the past 12 years, Mrs Deller has been working at Bacchus Marsh Grammar.
“I worked my way through the school, working in different positions until I became the head of the junior school,” she said.
But there came a time when the cold weather down south got too much for the Deller family, so they looked to the warmer parts of the state.
“Echuca had always been our holiday destination so we would always be here any long weekend or summer holidays, as we are avid skiers,” she said.
“It has always felt like home and a very welcoming place.
“I'd been keeping an eye out for jobs at MAG and spoken to Carmel Spry a few times, but when the job came up all my friends were on the phone telling me to go for it.”
And while COVID-19 put a few doubts in her head, Mrs Deller decided to apply.
“I was nervous about it all, but when is the right time?" she said.
“So I decided to throw my hat in the ring and here I am.”
Although she has only been in the role a few weeks, Mrs Deller has loved her time so far.
“My staff have been so incredible and it's been such a pleasure to get to know most of the students and their families. I look forward to meeting more,” she said.
“Everyone is very welcoming and I'm very pleased so far.”
While she is still getting used to the role, Mrs Deller has a few plans in mind.
“I'm going to spend about the first six months just settling in and seeing all the great practices and protocols that already exist at the school,” she said.
“From there, it's asking ourselves ‘okay what can we do better?’ and using my experience from different roles to make improvements if needed.
“I would like MAG to be the school of choice, so getting out into the community and letting people know why we're different and working to hopefully build our brand name.”
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