Leadership Team

Principal

Erica Thomas commenced as Principal of Kincoppal-Rose Bay in January 2023. A highly experienced and passionate educator with a strong focus on academic excellence and student wellbeing, Erica is an advocate for the positive influence of modern education.

With a career in education spanning over 30 years, Erica has held a number of senior leadership positions in independent schools across NSW including Acting Principal, Deputy Principal and Head of Senior School at Queenwood and Director of Teaching and Learning and Director of Boarding at Kincoppal-Rose Bay. Since 2014, Erica was Head of School at Newcastle Grammar where she oversaw a significant transformation of the school.

Erica holds a Bachelor of Education (Macquarie University), a Masters of Education (University of New England) and a Graduate Diploma in History (Monash University). She is an active member of the Association of Independent Schools Advisory Council.

Deputy Principal

An experienced educator in the key learning area of Human Society and its Environment, Elizabeth has a wide experience of leadership in Catholic education. Focused on the development of staff and students; her experiences have included Curriculum Coordinator and Assistant Head of Boarding at St Scholastica’s College, Assistant Principal at Brigidine College Randwick and Deputy Principal at Rosebank College.

Elizabeth is a dedicated lifelong learner, a characteristic she wishes to inspire all her students with. She holds a Bachelor of Economics (Social Sciences), Diploma of Education and Master of Education (Curriculum) from the University of Sydney. Elizabeth has also completed a Master in Educational Leadership (ACU) and a Master of Theology (Newcastle). She is an active member of the Australian College of Education and the Australian Council for Educational Leaders.

Head of Junior School

Catholic coeducation is fundamental to Danielle’s vision of teaching and learning in the formative years of Junior School education.

After completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Primary Education, Danielle taught across Kindergarten to Year 6 in Catholic Primary Schools. In 2012, she became Leader of Learning in Mathematics at St Angela’s Primary, where she worked alongside teachers through adopting a coaching model for initiating pedagogical change.

Danielle’s role as Leader of Learning in Mathematics saw the commencement of her leadership experience which also includes Stage 3 Coordinator at St Angela’s Primary, and Stage 2 Coordinator at Kincoppal – Rose Bay.

In her role as Head of Junior School, Kincoppal – Rose Bay, Danielle is committed to building student, parent and staff agency to continue working towards the School’s vision of providing a world-class Sacred Heart education.

Director of Students (7-12)

Carrie is an outstanding educator of girls who has extensive experience in the field of Positive Education Wellbeing. She has led the Academic Care team since 2016 and prior to that was a Year Coordinator at KRB for 9 years. Carrie has built a strong team who have worked collaboratively to provide best practice academic care to the senior students of Kincoppal-Rose Bay.

Carrie is passionate about continuing to develop Kincoppal–Rose Bay’s use of Positive Psychology in supporting the wellbeing of students; focusing on the crucial development of skills such as resilience and perseverance. Carrie is an exceptional communicator and strong role model for our students in the Senior School.

Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts Degree from ANU and a Master of Teaching Degree from Sydney University.

Director of Boarding

Anne-Maree Bennett has a strong commitment to the mission of a Catholic school and a clear vision for academic care within a Sacred Heart School. She also brings to the position her proactive and strong leadership skills, outstanding communication skills and her ability to build strong collaborative relationships with staff, parents and students.

Before joining the Leadership Team, Anne-Maree was Head of English at Pymble Ladies College and has held leadership roles as Head of English at St Ignatius’ College, Riverview, Wenona and Loreto Kirribilli. She was also a Year Coordinator at Loreto. She is a senior HSC marker of English, a subject that all our Boarders must study. Anne-Maree has also been involved in three boarding schools – Riverview, Wenona and Pymble Ladies College, and lived on campus at Riverview.

Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts with first class honours in English Literature/Psychology from the University of Sydney and a Diploma of Education. Anne-Maree brings great leadership experience to this role as well as her commitment, understanding and passion for the education of girls.

Director of Corporate Services

Gary is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years’ experience in business operations and financial management, having worked for large international companies in the technology, consulting and finance industries. Prior to his appointment at Kincoppal Rose Bay, Gary was Business Manager at Saint Ignatius’ College, Riverview.

Gary holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from UNSW, a Graduate Certificate in Data Analytics from MIT and is a NSW Justice of the Peace.

Director of Pedagogy

Angela Thomas has a focus on leading creatively to optimise student learning through fostering a rich innovative pedagogy that responds to evidence of best practice and the holistic needs of the learner. As an established educational leader, she nurtures an intellectually dynamic culture of academic excellence by ensuring a cohesive teaching and learning continuum, focusing on knowing and growing individual students through data and building the professional capacity of teaching staff.

Before joining KRB, Angela was the Director of Teaching and Learning at Santa Sabina where she oversaw a significant improvement in academic results. She has also held middle leadership positions in gifted education, middle schooling, and as a Head of Department in schools in Sydney and London. She is an experienced technology educator of Design and Technology, Textiles and Design and Information Technology courses.

Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Education from Western Sydney University and a Master of Education – Computers in Education from the University of Sydney. She has also recently completed a Master of Educational Leadership majoring in educational research, gifted education, professional learning, and school improvement. In 2020/2021 she was the recipient of a scholarship to be part of the Association of Independent Schools National Flagship Leadership Program.

Director of Mission

John has been at Kincoppal – Rose Bay since 1987. He appreciates the unique and highly pertinent charism and spirituality of the Society of the Sacred Heart that is embedded in the school’s educational philosophy.

John read Philosophy and Classics at the University of Newcastle, Theology and Sacred Scripture at Melbourne University, Education at the University of New England, as well as completing postgraduate study in Theology at Sydney University. He has also trained as a counsellor.

Director of Advancement & Community

Mary worked as the Director of Development for the Faculty of Law at the University of Sydney, Roseville College and Loreto Normanhurst prior to joining KRB as a careers advisor in 1990.

She has extensive experience in all areas of development, community relations and fundraising, having coordinated significant appeals for the new Sydney University Law School and a number of extensive building and bequest programs for schools.

Mary is committed to ensuring that all members of the KRB community – parents, staff, past parents and alumnae are able to engage as closely as possible in different ways with the life of the School.

She sees the importance of encouraging a culture of giving amongst the community to ensure the school provides an optimal learning environment for every student and to enable those families who cannot afford a Sacred Heart education the chance to be educated at KRB.

Director of Global Citizenship & Education

Sarah is an experienced teacher of 13 years with a specialisation in religious education and mission. She has worked internationally, spending a year in Ghana as a Curriculum Development Officer with the Australian Volunteers International Development. She also held the position of Director of Mission at our Brisbane sister school, Stuartholme, for five years before taking up the newly created role of Director of Global Citizenship & Education at KRB. 

In her role, Sarah aims to inspire and empower our students to embrace global citizenship as a way of life. She is passionate about the power of education to foster creativity, critical thinking, cultural responsiveness, empathy, self-belief, compassion and collaboration within our students, all skills they will need to navigate the challenges of our modern world. Sarah looks forward to strengthening our international partnerships with other Sacred Heart Schools and educational providers to reinforce our global competence.