Education
Grafton NSW High School
Wollongong Teachers’ College – Primary: two years full time
Sydney Conservatorium of Music – Secondary Music and English: four years full time (Dip.Mus.Ed. with Merit)
Piano Teacher Accreditation – Sydney Conservatorium of Music
In-service courses
Dorothy Heathcote Drama
Classroom Art and Creative Colour Techniques
Gifted and Talented Education
Orff Schulwerk Music
Kodaly music
Lindemood Literacy
Spalding Literacy
Speech, Poetry and Movement in Creative Performance
Choral Experiences
Member of various choirs from an early age; Sydney Opera House choir and orchestra performances conducted by Richard Gill; Sydney Philharmonia Choir; Performing Arts Association Choir, Coffs Harbour NSW.
Teaching summary
- Khancoban Public School (Snowy Mountains NSW) class teacher
- Manly Public School (Sydney) class teacher
- St Mary’s College, Wollongong – Music Co-ordinator Yrs 7 to 10 and cathedral organist for school events; public concert organiser, organised coach travel and subscription ballet excursions to Sydney Opera House over several years; piano accompanist for G and S performances
- Ravenswood, Sydney Lower Primary music specialist, accompanist; musical play author and producer
- Waterloo, Erskineville, Newtown – Three-year Disadvantaged Schools Program as a Years K – 6 Creative Arts Demonstration teacher, Art, Music and Drama. (twenty-two demonstration lessons per week; organised public art exhibitions, concerts and drama performances for the three schools)
- Knox Grammar School – Yrs 1 – 4 Art teacher and later Year One class teacher; author and producer of end-of-year musical plays; accompanist for musicals and violin soloists
- PLC Melbourne – Year 6 class teacher; commissioned to write a 90 minute multicultural musical play for Years Five and Six called Riders; full stage production
- Ascham, Sydney; Lower primary class music; integration of the creative and performance arts with literacy; (informal) consultant for high-level class Assembly items; wrote/composed/produced/directed end-of-year musicals.
Retired from class teaching – moved from Sydney to Coffs Harbour NSW
- Coffs Harbour Regional Conservatorium – piano teacher Preliminary to Grade 8 – twelve years (part time)
- President of 80-member Performing Arts Association choir and orchestra. Choir rehearsal accompanist and organ soloist. Designed and co-ordinated combined choir and orchestra concert programmes for public performances over six years (volunteer position).
- Musicianship teacher – small group.
- Choral Director and Accompanist – Coffs Harbour Conservatorium Singers; ‘Tone Deaf’ Choirs.
Moved to Toowoomba, Queensland in 2015.
Now concentrating on writing English literacy books and composing piano and choral music as a hobby.
Published Works
Very Loud Stories – plays for a class of reading partners – click for details
(These stories are perfect for home reading parent/child bonding.)
The Fox and the Crow
Henny Penny
Echo and Narcissus
King Midas and the Golden Touch
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Little Red Riding Hood and the Five Senses
Shared Reading Partner Plays – click for details
Who Will Bell the Cat?
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Jack and the beanstalk
The Fox and the Goat
The Gingerbread Man
Little Red Riding Hood
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
The Two Travellers
The Enormous Turnip
The Hare and the Tortoise
The Wind and the Sun
The Three Wishes
The Fox and the Crow
The Man, the Boy and the Donkey
The Ugly Duckling
LOUD Poetry for Shared and Class Reading
and Performance – click for details
Toad
The Three Little Pigs in Rhyme
Captain
Storm!
Slick Limericks – 35 original limericks
Loud Poems for Noisy Kids
Scripted Plays illustrated with artworks – click for details
The Story of Pandora
The Riddle of the Sphinx
Oral Language and Speech – click for details
Mighty Mouth Movers Student Book
Mighty Mouth Movers Teaching Manual
Oral Language for Pre-Schoolers and Pre-Readers
Oral Language for Beginner Readers
Oral Language for Budding Actors
Classroom Management – Super Teacher Series – click for details
Getting to the Heart of Learning Problems
From Bully to Model Citizen
Fixing Bad Behaviour
The Reading Works Series – click for details
Vowels
Consonants
Blends
Digraphs
The Schwa
Silent Letters
Contractions
Homophones and Heteronyms
Uncountable Nouns (Collective and plural nouns without s on the end)
A-Z Letters and their Sounds
IPA Sounds and their Letters
Wonder Words (word families)
Nuts and Bolts – Literacy Teaching Manual
Reading Works Charts (A2 Laminated
– Published and distributed by Network Education
The Letters and Sounds of the Basic Alphabet
Vowels
Consonants
Blends
Digraphs
The Schwa
Silent Letters
Contractions
Homophones and Heteronyms
(Note: A3 format individual charts and
A4 personal chart booklet available from Ellie on request.)
Music Books and Compositions – click for details
Accurate First Time Piano Scales (www.pianoscales.com.au)
We All Live in Australia – from the Dreamtime to the present time, we honour and cherish Australia because it is our home
Earth Song – We are riders together on this fragile planet – SATB a capella
When Your Pants Begin to Go – Words Henry Lawson
Internet Song
It’s Time to Sing! (Children’s Songbook/Reader; Teaching Manual)
Learn to Read Music by Drawing – workbook
Music Lesson and Practice Logbook
The New Alphabet Song
(Many) Free articles and music downloads on www.musicworks.net.au
Musicals – contact Ellie for details
The Fairy Who Wouldn’t Fly – based on Australian story by Pixie O’Harris
Over the Moon
Flying to the Rescue
A Tight Spot for Santa
Riders – a multicultural musical
Other books
Ten Pretty Butterflies – counting book – click for details
How to Draw the Sun (available on request)