Meet our New Deputy Principal – Learning, Ms Melissa Gould

Meet Melissa Gould, our wonderful new Deputy Principal – Learning – we are absolutely delighted to have Melissa join the Iona Team! Melissa is passionate about education and learning and loves challenges – everything we could want in a Deputy Principal of Learning!

Why Iona? Melissa was drawn to the unique opportunity at a new school, where she could support the first cohort of students through VCE, building a culture of success and personal bests.
What does she love most about her job? Building positive relationships with students and staff.
Empowering others to grow into the best versions of themselves is very important to her. She loves being part of a student’s journey and supporting them through secondary education into meaningful pathways. The diversity of her position keeps things interesting and Melissa is grateful to work with dedicated educators and support staff.

What will be the focus of the Deputy Principal – Learning? Melissa will oversee the academic and learning side of Iona. Her focus will be on building a strong culture of learning innovation to prepare the Iona community to be change-ready and offer contemporary learning in these changing times (exciting!).

This role supports the development, implementation and evaluation of teaching and learning practice,
curriculum development and is responsible for leading the learning team. She will work closely alongside
Ms. Kylie Power, our Deputy Principal -Wellbeing, to support the development of all students and staff. This year Melissa will also teach Year 7 Learning to Learn and Year 8 Pathways to Success. Lucky students!

Her family includes three amazing daughters—Kelly, a Doctor in Bendigo; Jess, an Engineer in Melbourne;
and Charlotte, who is about to start university in Melbourne this month.
On the footy front, Melissa barracks for Essendon and is crossing her fingers for a better year. In music, she enjoys various genres and is currently listening to Xavier Rudd and the Foo Fighters. Her favourite series include Brooklyn 99 and Schitt’s Creek. In her spare time, Melissa finds joy in walking and discovering new places. Her love for travel extends both across Australia and overseas.

For our student body, Melissa shares this wisdom: “In a world where you can be anything – Be Kind!”.
Melissa, we are so excited to have you as part of the Iona Leadership team and know that you will have a
huge impact on life at Iona!