Kylie Chatfield
Christmas Island District High School, WA
Early Career Teacher
As a Science teacher at the remote Christmas Island District High School, Kylie’s passion for ‘all things science’ has helped to transform her students’ learning, through studying and developing an appreciation of the special place where they live.
Centred around the Island’s unique ecology, Kylie has designed innovative classroom and extracurricular programs to inspire and engage her students. She collaborated with Christmas Island National Park to plan and develop a remarkable nature-based school-wide Junior Ranger Program, combining immersive learning opportunities with activities in the classroom.
The program aims to support students to take an active and leading role in preserving their local environment for future generations and is built around four key community focus areas: sustainability, conservation, rehabilitation and tourism. Students earn badges and certificates for completing activities and with an embedded school curriculum component, students are eligible to earn credits toward their senior school graduation requirements, a first in WA for similar run programs.
Previously working as a Marine Officer with the WA Department of Fisheries, Kylie has brought a wealth of skills and knowledge to her new career as a teacher. She has introduced unique hands-on learning activities for her students such as fish identification treasure hunts and coral bleaching simulation models; and plays a key role coordinating Seaweek – a week-long annual community event, providing her students further opportunities to learn about and celebrate the unique environment of Christmas Island.