School Council

Parent Representatives:

President: David Meade

David has three children attending Chilwell PS, one in grade 6, grade 4 and prep. He joined school council a number of years ago and enjoys being able to positively contribute to the school community. He works for the Victorian Department of Health and outside of work coaches basketball and follows the Hawthorn football club. David is chief executive officer of leisure networks, a Geelong based disability and sport organisation based in Geelong.

Vice President:  Emma Purdue

Emma, with husband Hugo, is the parent of Elsie  (grade 3) and Samson (grade 1). Youngest daughter Matilda is waiting in the wings to start school in 2025. Outside of work and parenting, Emma enjoys reading books, practising yoga, going to the beach, and eating good food – preferably that somebody else has cooked, with a nice glass of wine.  Professionally, Emma is a lawyer and partner of a national law firm in the area of workplace relations and safety.  She previously served on the board of the Geelong Children’s Centre.

Parent Representatives:  Domhnall McInerney,  Evan Williams, Kirsten Bromley, Bridie King, Alicia Bennett and Chris Botha.

Domhnall has two children attending Chilwell in prep and grade one. He joined the council with the aim to help the school and make positive decisions that ultimately help the students.  Domhnall moved to Australia after Uni, lived in Sydney for 15 years and has been living in Geelong just over a year.  Domhnall works for the ABC in the Product and Technology division as a Program Manager. He is sports fanatic, plays soccer for Barwon soccer club and follows Aston Villa in the EPL. He is also a Sydney Swans fan.

Evan has two children at Chilwell, a son in grade 5 and a daughter in grade 4.  Originally from the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and moved to Geelong to be closer to family.  Evan really enjoys living in Geelong – it’s a city, but with a more relaxed way of life. He worked at Ford in Geelong for about 7 years and was involved with the 4WD electronic features of the current Ranger and Everest where he had many a cold day sitting in a prototype vehicle at the proving ground in Lara amongst the warning beeps and alarms of a not-yet-working vehicle.  Evan has begun his second term on the Chilwell school council and is looking forward to making our school even better for the students, staff, and the wider community.

Kirsten and her family moved to Geelong 3 years ago and greatly enjoy the lifestyle and being part of the community. She has one daughter currently in Prep at Chilwell. Professionally, Kirsten is a Privacy Compliance Specialist currently working for a global IT company.Kirsten joined the school council in 2024 with the aim of representing the Prep parent body and assisting the school make informed, responsible decisions in the best interests of the students.Outside of work she competes in the sport of Strongwoman and also enjoys working her way through all the wonderful food and beverage options in Geelong and surrounds.

Bridie King is a Mum to Paddy in grade 4 and George in grade 1. At work, she is a senior advisor in the Stakeholder Engagement and Communications team at WorkSafe and co-chair of the Accessibility and Inclusion Committee, a committee that Bridie is very passionate about. She loves the Chilwell community and feels honoured to represent in school council to listen to concerns, raise ideas and help contribute to the school’s vision and strategic direction. Outside of work and school she enjoys hanging with the family’s golden retriever Barney and labrador Barry.  

Alicia is a mother to two beautiful children attending Chilwell Primary School. She strongly believes that it takes a ‘village to raise a child’ and is passionate about being a proactive and positive member of the school community. Professionally Alicia has had over a decade of experience in the education industry, with a particular interest in mental health and wellbeing.

Chris is the father of Will B (grade 3), Jemima (Jimi) H (grade 1), Darcie H (prep 2025), and toddler Freddie B. He works for the Victorian State Government (DJSIR) with international and local businesses on investment projects that grow Victoria’s industrial capabilties and workforce. Outside of work, Chris likes travelling with his wife, Claire Holden, who works locally (NDIA).  Chris and Claire have taken Will and Jimi on trips to Europe, South Africa (where Chris was born), New Zealand, and the United States.

DET Staff Representatives:

Principal: Meg Bone

Meg joined the Chilwell community as principal in Sept 2022.  She was principal in her previous role in Geelong for 7 and a half years prior to working in the Western Suburbs for 10 and London for 5 years.  Although Meg has a strong curriculum knowledge leading and driving innovation and change within learning and achievement, her passion lies around inclusive practices within schools and community; ensuring all students have every opportunity to achieve success. Meg is passionate about building capacity of staff, students, and parents around understanding of individuals, celebrating that we are all unique and creating a community that is welcoming and inclusive of all. Meg has also led multiple major works projects, including school modernisation projects, Inclusive schools’ funds, and grants.

Assistant Principal: Sarah Jeffreys

Sarah has been lucky to be a member of the Chilwell PS staff since 2011. Initially, in a classroom, before commencing a Leading Teacher role (Literacy) and now the Assistant Principal.
She loves the whole school community, especially the students who demonstrate our values of kindness, respect, persistence, and resilience to a high standard. Prior to teaching, Sarah was a registered nurse. Initially a psychiatric nurse before specialising in anaesthetics/recovery. Away from school, she enjoys watching her children play their chosen sports and loves the performing arts, especially musicals. Sarah looks forward to serving on the School Council to work collaboratively with parents to further develop our school, the facilities and the learning opportunities and outcomes for      our students.

Staff Representative: Louisa Blamires

Louisa is a Learning Specialist at Chilwell, working with teachers to build capacity through curriculum leadership.  Her classroom responsibilities include teaching Grade Four literacy and working with small groups of students through the Tutor Learning Initiative Program.  She thoroughly enjoys working with students, teachers, and families to build a learning environment where challenges are readily accepted and new learning is approached with a growth mindset and sense of self belief.  Louisa is also a Chilwell parent, with daughter Nina in Grade 4. Louisa looks forward to working with School Council members this year to continue building strong parent and community partnerships.

Sub Committee Member:  Jacquie Clancy

Jacquie is the Business Manager at Chilwell PS and has been with the Department of Education for 7 years. Jacquie is a CPA and has experience preparing, analysing and presenting school finance reports to leadership and School Council. Jacquie enjoys mountain bike riding, crochet, reading, live music, movies and follows the Western Bulldogs in the AFL. Jacquie is passionate about working with staff, parents, students and the school community to provide the best resources for our learning communities.