New Head Of Junior School Announcement | Canterbury College Welcomes Karen Roman

Dear Canterbury Community,

I am pleased to introduce our new Head of Junior School, Karen Roman to our community of parents, carers, students and staff.

When appointing a new Head of Junior School, our most important consideration was to find somebody with a clarity of purpose and vision, based on a depth of experience in similar roles in an independent school.

In Karen, we have most definitely found a person able to take our Junior School to the next level.

Karen has most recently served as the Manager of Student Services at Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ), the peak body which represents and coordinates the efforts of the independent school sector across the state.

In this role, Karen has worked with hundreds of schools in the areas of learning support and inclusion, as well as curriculum planning, and has conducted dozens of reviews for school Principals into all areas of their operation.

Prior to this role, Karen was Head of Junior School at AB Paterson College on the Gold Coast, where she oversaw the rise of that school to Number One by many academic indicators.

She achieved this through a wise use of talent and enthusiasm with staff, and a clear vision for how to maximise the achievement of every single student.

I feel genuinely lucky to have attracted somebody of Karen’s stature in the independent schools sector to Canterbury.

Importantly, I know that Karen is aligned with our current direction and will also bring new insight to our existing programs and processes in student wellbeing, behaviour and academic achievement.

She has already met some members of the Junior School leadership team, and has worked with Canterbury periodically over the years, on various projects and staff professional development.

Karen will be starting with us at the beginning of the new academic year.

I know her warmth and authenticity will be evident for the whole community to see upon her arrival at Canterbury in January.

Our Junior School Leadership Team, with Karen now at the helm, remains very stable:

Alisha Richardson – Assistant Head of Junior School (Learning)

Brittany Sinclair – Assistant Head of Junior School (Wellbeing)

Andrew Powell – Assistant Head of Junior School (Wellbeing)

Christina Jasem – Head of Literacy Development

Natalie Birt – Head of Learning Support

Ben Maxfield – Head of Sport and Activities (Junior School)

In 2024, I know Karen will be keen to meet as many families and staff as possible.

As is always the case, our community will no doubt generously welcome Karen, as a new senior leader to our College.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

Regards

Mr Dan Walker
College Principal