1. “As a teacher I must inspire an
interest in learning, ensure my
students succeed and promote
the potential of the children I
teach.”
Lara Ronalds
A snapshot at work in Education
October 2009
Volume 1, Issue 1
I am a highly knowledgeable and creative teacher
with 15 years of experience in a variety of
educational settings. (Urban and rural schools,
state and private education, single-sex and co-ed
settings, traditional and contemporary approaches
to teaching and learning). Throughout this time I
have held positions of responsibility. I am
committed to helping children learn at their
optimum and have a thorough understanding of the
different ways children learn and develop.
My creative, professional and organized approach
to teaching, and my commitment to student
achievement both academically and emotionally,
have contributed to my success as a teacher. I
have a working understanding of the Victorian
Education Learning Standards. I am committed to
utilizing the information gained from reporting and
assessment to develop programs that will truly
assist a student’s progress. My rich experience in
a variety of schools means that I understand and
value a differentiated curriculum and I have the
ability to teach children to value themselves and to
have a true love of learning. I believe highly in
childhood and the need for all children to relate to
learning individually and to experience intrinsic
success. This allows them to truly value their
My Belief in Education
strengths whilst improving their weaknesses.
Thus contributing to a greater sense of personal
wellbeing for my students.
I have high-level communication skills both orally
and written and I am experienced in public
speaking to the school community and to fellow
teachers. I believe that a school is a community
and the need to be a team player is vital. I am
pro-active and I respect highly the need to work
consultatively with others in developing programs,
curriculum documents and policy documents.
Working together helps to ensure that students
receive the best opportunity to learn and succeed
Meeting the Individual needs of
Students
My first teaching job at Preshil- The Margaret
Lyttle Memorial School launched me into
learning to deal with and enhance the needs of
students learning individually.
There is always a student with special needs in
an average class and I have experience dealing
with students, in wheelchairs, with severe
emotional needs, students on the Autism
spectrum and diagnosed cases of ADHD or
physical needs such as Diabetes and Epilepsy.
Consequently I have learned that I must
accommodate their needs into every aspect of
classroom practise.
I accept that I must learn about their individual
needs and that it is my role as a teacher to make
my classroom, supportive and accepting of
difference, I take pride in nurturing an
environment that allows all students freedom
and support.

2. “
Lara RonaldsPage 2 of 2
After teaching for 16 years and experiencing a
variety of teaching environments I would have
to say the proudest moments in my career
have been based on seeing students succeed.
In 1999 I worked in NSW at a small country
school with students from very low socio
economic backgrounds. I had 32 Preps and I
had children in my class whose families were
My Proud Moment as a Teacher
During my time at Spensley Street
Primary School and learning about and
implementing the Developmentally
Appropriate Curriculum I planned and
delivered two interactive units that
incorporated all aspects of the
curriculum. I was teaching a multi-age
group of children Prep, Year 1 and Year
2 and within this class I had several
children with, learning difficulties,
ranging from delayed physical skills,
Aspergers Syndrome, ADHD and
delayed acquisition of literacy skills.
Due to the need to plan a program that
was play-based and individual I allowed
the children to plan their own town in the
classroom.
We began by establishing town planners
and this led to planning roads, structures,
businesses and a governing system. The
children chose their own role and then
began to create and develop their own
place in Kid’s Town. My role was to
incorporate all literacy, integrated studies
and numeracy into their experience.
For example, one child wanted to govern
the road system, so I made sure he read
information about roads, asked him to
write a driver’s test, score the tests and
set up a driver’s license for each child.
To further utilise the opportunity to
KID’S TOWN and KIDS AIRLINE
under investigation by the Department of Human Services.
Having so many little people in my care with such diverse
needs made this year a true challenge in ensuring
social/emotional welfare and academic improvement.
It was the most challenging year as I was committed to
ensuring that each child should succeed despite difficulties
outside of school. The sense of satisfaction at completing
the year and seeing that my students and their families had
benefited from my effort made it all worthwhile.
incorporate Maths I asked him to collect
data and graph his results and helped him
to set up a simple spreadsheet of results.
This unit became a whole term of work
and allowed us to authentically explore
many aspects of the curriculum and our
local community.
The following year we spent a term on a
structured unit learning about countries
around the world and our family
heritage. The following term we made a
plane and set up Kid’s Airline. Once
again students found their choice of role;
pilot, travel agent, customs officer and
one child chose to be a taxi driver. All of
the students needed to research their role
and incorporate their knowledge into
what they made and did as a part of
Kid’s Airline. Our travels on Kid’s
Airline allowed us to further explore and
consolidate the previous terms work
about other countries and cultures.
This unit allowed me to plan an
excursion to Tullamarine Airport and
invite members of the community to
speak and share their industry with the
student’s.
Most importantly WE all had so much
fun learning and exploring the world of
knowledge whilst practising skills with
an intrinsic and creative passion.