Principal
Dr Peter Havel
Peter has extensive professional experience in both private and government education. He has been a Science teacher, Head of Department and a Principal for the majority of his career. As the manager of a WA government project, Peter led a team that identified a commonly agreed set of values that became part of the Western Australian Curriculum Framework. This framework guided teachers on how they could teach beliefs and values within a national curriculum.Peter grew up in Balga, Western Australia and has a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Science Education and Business (Organisation Change) from Curtin University of Technology, WA. He is committed to honouring Ellenbrook’s history and how the College fits into the suburb’s history, building strong relationships within the community and continuing to grow the College’s reputation in the most positive way.
Associate Principal
Paul Clarke
Paul has worked at Ellenbrook Secondary College since 2012 and brings significant experience from a broad professional background in education. The Department of Education has employed Paul for over 40 years in various roles including Teacher, School Administrator, Curriculum Consultant and Education Department Manager. He has worked in schools, regional offices and central office. Paul oversees many programs and facets of college operations including ICT teaching & learning, software platforms for parents / staff / students, and human resources.
Associate Principal
Leonie Richardson
Leonie Richardson has worked at Ellenbrook since 2023, with a portfolio consisting of Student Services Years 7 to 10, Inclusive Education and Stars Foundation. Leonie commenced her career in Physical / Health and Outdoor Education, branching out into the wellbeing and pastoral care space for staff and students. Her empathy and passion to ensure support is provided to all students and staff, has been the foundation for the introduction of many initiatives, influencing decision-making processes across many schools – these include The Resilience Project, Go For Gold Attendance program and the Nesli Staff Wellbeing program.Leonie leads staff and student Wellbeing and works closely with Student Services support staff, including the School Psychologist, Chaplain, Community Health Nurse and First Aid Officers.
Associate Principal
Nathan Brown
Nathan Brown is a foundation staff member at Ellenbrook Secondary College. He has undertaken many roles at the College since its inception in 2007, including classroom teacher, Team Leader, Head of Mathematics and Deputy Principal.Nathan has managed a broad range of portfolios. He focuses on embedding the College’s key driving themes of Engagement, Success and Community into the teaching and learning programs. Nathan brings a wealth of contextually relevant experience to his position, with a large part of his work focusing on networking and creating links with the feeder primary schools to assist in the transition of students into a secondary school environment.He is responsible for constructing the College timetable and subject offerings as well as the efficient provision of human and physical resources. He also manages several portfolios related to compliance, policy and procedure, and target setting and data analysis centred on the College and Learning Area planning processes.
Associate Principal
Matthew Baltovich
Matthew has been with the Department of Education since 2012 and has a wide range of experience in regional and metropolitan Western Australia.He has a comprehensive understanding of secondary school processes and has a passion for ensuring the best educational outcomes for students through a focus on positive behaviour, engagement and mental health and wellbeing.Matthew manages the Year 11 and 12 portfolios at Ellenbrook SC, overseeing Student Services and Senior School achievement and progress including WACE tracking, course counselling, careers, Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Workplace Learning.
In addition, Matthew oversees the Arts faculty, the highly successful Clontarf indigenous boys engagement program, and holds the Classroom Management Strategies (CMS) and Instructional Intelligences (II) portfolios at the College.
Manager Corporate Services
Diarmuid McDonagh
Diarmuid has over 20 years’ experience as a Business Manager in public, not-for-profit and private sectors leading and developing multi-disciplinary teams. His experience is further bolstered with a Bachelor of Business and Graduate Certificate of Educational Business Leadership. Diarmuid is responsible for the Corporate Services functional areas of Finance and Procurement, Human Resources, ICT Systems and Infrastructure, Marketing & PR, Campus Facilities and administration functions within the College.