Mrs Tammy Duff began her teaching career 18 years ago more than 18,000 kilometres from Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School in the United States. Mrs Duff joined the School community eight years ago and has made an invaluable impact on the Primary School both in and beyond her classrooms.

My teaching career began in 2002 in my hometown near Detroit, Michigan in the United States of America, as a library and computer teacher at an elementary school. I studied at Central Michigan University where I had the opportunity to teach abroad, which brought me to Perth.

It was during this exchange when I met my future husband and decided to relocate to Perth in 2003. In 2010 my husband was offered a job in Bunbury and I began working at Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School in 2012 in the Primary School.

When I was growing up, my Year 2 and 3 teacher (same person) was so friendly and kind and always had time to help me with my work, that I wanted to be just like her. When I was graduating from high school, I even invited her to be one of my guests at our ceremony. Her sense of humour and engagement with students continue to inspire my teaching now.

I love the way that BCGS embodies the same values of positive education that I experienced during my early education. Helping students to discover and value their strengths, rather than dwelling on their weaknesses, is something I thrive on achieving.

I love working with students to help them develop friendships and learn how to address issues through the URStrong program, Friendology. I have been delivering this program for four years and have seen many students find their voice.

I have also enjoyed being a part of the BCGS focus on Visible Learning and was proud to represent the School at Bialik Colleges’ Visible Learning Conference in 2015.

I love the community feel of our School and always enjoy the community events such as the School fairs, Mothers’ and Fathers’ Day breakfasts, Presentation Nights, Eucharists and Assemblies to name a few. I especially love the International Food Day as I love seeing all the families from such a diverse background come to share their culture and food with the students and myself – I learn something new every year.

A quote that sums up why I teach is “Being a teacher is not what I do, it’s who I am.” – Jill Biden