Danielle Hicks, Primary Years 4/5 Teacher

I grew up in Toowoomba in South East Queensland and completed a Bachelor of Nursing at the University of Southern Queensland. I practiced as a registered nurse in many areas of the hospital in Australia and England, but my favourite area and the place I spent the most time, was paediatrics. This is where I discovered my love for working with children. Their courage, honesty, optimism and sense of humour is truly inspirational and left me with some amazing memories.

When I saw an ad for a nursing job that involved teaching and mentoring graduate nurses, I knew the next challenge in my career had just arrived. I was successful in gaining this position and enjoyed every minute I was in this role. The experience I gained educating nurses helped me to transition into a health promotion position in high schools (teaching about issues affecting teenagers as well as one on one consultation for kids that needed more time.)

We moved from Toowoomba to the Sunshine Coast around about the same time as I had my first child. Now I have 4 beautiful children ranging in age from 8-15. While at home on maternity leave, I decided that my love for working with children, education and young people could be combined into teaching. I enrolled and completed my Graduate Diploma of Education in 2010.

I love teaching at BRIS. I love the rural surroundings, the peaceful environment, and the caring community of both staff and parents. I love that everyone works together to make sure that all the children are nurtured, supported and challenged. I truly believe that establishing quality relationships with the children is the first step to successful teaching and learning. We know all the children here at BRIS and love them all like an extended family.