In this episode, we welcome Katrina Alvir, an experienced teacher and expert in character education. With years of experience in classical education, Katrina shares valuable insights on how parents and educators can inspire children in developing virtues and forming good habits. She discusses the power of real-life role models, consistent example a…

In this episode, Father Phil Elias, Chaplain of Redfield College, is joined by Father Paul Muller from Tangara. Together, they dive into the season of Lent, exploring its meaning and how we can prepare our hearts for a deeper encounter with Jesus. They discuss common ideas like give up or offering up things for Lent and how this seasons isn’t just …

In this episode, we welcome Dr Andy Mullins to explore the profound meaning of Baptism and its impact on our lives as Christians. Dr Mullins shares his insights on why Baptism is the foundation of our faith journey, the responsibilities it entails for parents, and how we can foster a deeper appreciation of this sacrament in our families. Whether yo…

In this episode, host Isabelle Thomas sits down with Dr Andy Mullins, an experienced educator and author, to discuss how parents can help their children develop strong character, resilience, and a solid work ethic. Drawing from his years working with families and schools like Redfield and Wollemi College in Sydney, Dr Mullins shares key insights on…

As we begin a new year, many of us take time to reflect on what lies ahead. How can we live this year with intention, deepen our faith, and embrace the opportunities God places before us? In this episode, we welcome Jessica Doherty, a wife, mother of six, primary school teacher, and host of the Universal Sisterhood podcast. Jessica shares her perso…

In this episode of Growing Hearts, Claire and John Wall join us to share their experiences, favorite traditions, and insights on keeping Christ at the center of Christmas while managing the busyness of family life with young children. They offer practical tips for blending Catholic traditions with family celebrations, emphasizing ways to encourage …

In today’s episode, we dive into Advent—a season of hope, preparation, and anticipation as we await Christmas. We’ll uncover the deeper meaning behind Advent traditions, explore ways to bring them into family life, and discuss how Advent serves as a reminder of the joy and peace that Christ brings. Our guests, Fr. Felix and Fr. Anthony, provide ins…

In today’s episode, we dive into the powerful theme of service and generosity, exploring what it truly means to go beyond ourselves and why this selflessness is crucial for young people. Joined by Bernie James, a dedicated teacher, community service leader, husband, and father, and Seb Burfitt, a tax advisor, father, and husband, we discuss how enc…

In this episode, we address a question many parents face: how to explain the death of a loved one to their children in a way that reflects our Catholic faith. We'll explore the meaning of death, the hope of eternal life, and how parents can offer comforting, faith-filled answers to difficult questions. Join us as we discuss how to turn this sensiti…

In this episode, we explore the role of teachers in building a culture of collaboration with parents. Mary Broadsmith shares her insights and practical tips on fostering open communication, building trust, and engaging parents as active partners in their child’s learning journey. Mary also emphasizes the importance of virtue education and the respo…

In this episode we welcome Mary Broadsmith, Principal of Harkaway Hills College in Melbourne, to discuss the role of parent engagement in schools. As the primary educators of their children, parents have a significant impact on their child’s education. Mary discusses how research consistently shows that active parental involvement boosts student fl…

In this episode, we dive deep into the concept of freedom and its importance in shaping our lives, our children's lives, and their faith journeys. Freedom is often portrayed as the ability to do whatever we want, but true freedom is about making the best choices, using our freedom for good, and navigating the limits and responsibilities that come w…

In this episode, Clare Horsfall shares how stories and books can be powerful tools in helping children develop virtues, values, and an understanding of the world beyond themselves. We explore how books help children process emotions, build imagination, and introduce them to beauty, truth, and goodness. This episode is packed with actionable tips fo…

In this episode, we dive deep into the core of personal identity and how faith can be the bedrock of self-worth, purpose, and authenticity. Join us as Caitlin West shares insights on building an identity rooted in being daughters and sons of God. We explore how parents can model unconditional love and support their children in cultivating a strong …

In this episode, we delve into the heart of the Catholic faith—the Eucharist. For Catholics, the Eucharist is a profound and central mystery, yet it can be challenging to understand its depth and significance. We'll start with the basics, using real-life stories and questions to explore the beauty and miracle of the Eucharist. Join us as we uncover…

In this episode, we explore practical ways for parents to integrate faith into their family's daily life. We discuss leading by example, creating a joyful and authentic faith environment, and allowing children the freedom to explore their relationship with God. Our guests share insights from their own journeys and how they’ve managed to weave faith…

In this episode, we are joined by Chehade Richa, a father, mentor, and teacher. Together, we delve into how parental reactions influence children's emotional development and worldview. We discuss the significance of consistency and authenticity in parenting to prevent fostering a 'two-faced' nature in kids. Discover how building trust and open comm…

This episode discusses how families can maintain a positive outlook and see life as an adventure, even in the face of challenges and suffering in the world: The Chaplains explore how the Catholic faith can help families navigate these issues, drawing on biblical stories and the example of Jesus Christ. They discuss the importance of trusting in God…

In this episode, Fr Paul & Fr Phil discuss how we can relate to God as a loving Father and find ways to talk to Him and develop a personal friendship. You can hear examples and anecdotes about: humans' innate desire for a Father, how to begin a relationship with God, starting with knowing ourselves the importance of self-acceptance within our relat…

In this episode, we dive deep into what kids need most from their parents, emphasizing the importance of understanding reality and the imperfect love we receive. We discuss how parents can instil faith, beauty, and hope in their children, and how to be a living example of joy and faith. Learn practical tips on teaching young kids to pray, create fa…

Fr Phil and Fr Paul are school Chaplains for Tangara School for Girls and Redfield College. In this first episode of the Growing Hearts Podcast, Fr Phil and Fr Paul join us to discuss what lies in store for families starting out on their family's faith adventure. Whether they're primary-school age or teenagers, our guests explore: Natural and enric…

In this episode, we welcome Anthony O’Shea, the Year 3 teacher at Lysterfield Lake College. Anthony is a father of 4 and has many years of experience in Primary education. In this podcast episode, he speaks about the benefits of learning to read and write at a young age, and how to encourage children to love reading and writing.…

Have you ever been worried about when the right time to enrol your child into school is? Meet Catherine Tilley, a mother and teacher who has taught in several school settings. After working n Science, she discovered her passion for early Primary education and has been in the classroom for over 8 years. In this episode, she discusses topics around s…

In this episode, we welcome Kate Mathai. Kate is a mother with 6 children and 1 grandson. Kate has extensive experience in counselling and presenting various programs for high school students, married couples and young parents. She speaks about topics like the importance of adapting your parenting approach over time as your family evolves, how to r…

Meet Mr Stefen Drevikovsky. Stefen is the Head of Middle School at Redfield College and has been teaching at Redfield for 15 years. Stefen has a special aptitude for teaching languages, especially Spanish. In this episode, Stefen talks about the reasons and benefits of children learning a new language in school and provides tips on how to perfect a…

Oscar Trimboli is a renowned expert on the art of listening, and creator of the Apple award-winning podcast 'Deep Listening - Impact beyond words.' Oscar has interviewed over 100 of the world's most diverse workplace listeners, including air traffic controllers, deaf and foreign language interpreters, hostage negotiators and spies. Over 14,000 peop…

Fatherhood is a lifelong journey with its own up and downs, but the importance of a loving father's presence, especially for his daughters, can never be underestimated.⁠ In this week's episode, we hear the lived experience and advice of five fathers, who are all raising daughters of their own, on how to raise confident daughters in today's world. T…

Mary Broadsmith is the Principal of Harkaway Hills College in Victoria. With a wealth of teaching, and mentoring experience, Mary shares with listeners the benefits of learning in a single campus K-12 school. Mary covers areas such as friendships, bullying, parent-teacher relationships, and why students may struggle in new school settings. Key Quot…

Daryl Castellino is the current Director of Teaching and Learning at Redfield College. He shares practical tips on how our children can become the best learners. In this episode, we talk about why it’s so important that your child learns beyond the test. This episode is designed to help your child become a lifelong learner. Key Quote: "Repetition i…

Brett Wright is the Head Of Senior School at Wollemi College. He is in his 32nd year of teaching Secondary English and has extensive HSC marking experience. Tomorrow Brett shares with parents how teenagers can be best prepared for the HSC. This episode outlines the importance of good habits, and starting preparation early. Key Quote: "It’s very imp…

Junedha Sheriff is the Diverse Learning Coordinator at Tangara School For Girls. A Diverse Learning Teacher helps teach all students and takes in considerations such as abilities, backgrounds, and learning styles. Junedha has helped countless children and understands the struggles that some students face in the classroom. Today, she shares how we c…

Judi Prasser is the founder of AV Learning Hub which offers workshops and online lessons on self-worth for teenage girls and boys. Judi shares the dangers of children constantly comparing themselves to others and provides parents with practical tips to help tackle the problem of excessive comparisons amongst students. Key Quote: "The first healthy …

Mia Dineen is a teacher, mentor, and formation coordinator at Tangara School For Girls in the Junior School. Mia has a wealth of experience in teaching, and today she shares with us the importance of practising virtue from an early age. Listen on to learn about what a virtue is, why it’s important, and how we can practice virtuous actions to enrich…

You may have heard this week’s guest on recent episodes such as ‘Shaping Your Child’s Creativity Through Art’, & ‘What Is Deep Learning in The Classroom?’. Isabelle Thomas is a mother of 7 children who has extensive experience as a school mentor, a classroom teacher and is also a host at The Parent-Teacher Project. Today Isabelle shares with us how…

Chris Tanna is the Head of secondary Religion and the Leader of Personalised Education at Redfield College. Today Chris shares with us his wealth of knowledge when it comes to assertive parenting. Providing listeners with not only practical tips on avoiding being ‘soft serve parents’, Chris has also provided a free survey for listeners to use at ho…

Martin and Sarah Cullen share their journey to receiving a diagnosis of ADHD for two of their children. Martin, an Intensive Care specialist and Sarah, a former high school teacher, are giving out practical tips for managing ADHD in children. Today you will learn more about the traits associated with ADHD and the path to getting a diagnosis. We als…

Jack Johnson is the current Head of Personalised Education at Wollemi College. Jack has been involved with various community service programs both internationally and nationally and joins the show to share how community service is so important in forming your child’s character, and how acts of community can start at school and at home. Explaining t…

Jonathan Doyle is an international parenting speaker and author who has spoken around the world to more than 400,000 people on topics related to identity, leadership, teacher wellbeing, resilience, peak performance and much more. Today he shares his knowledge on how both parents and teachers can prepare for, pre-empt and manage meltdowns at all age…

Mathematics is often perceived as a subject for some but not for everyone. It can leave students overwhelmed and frustrated – something today’s guest is all too aware of. Aditya Nagrath is the CEO and co-founder of Elephant Learning Math Academy whose mission is to empower children and society with mathematics. This episode is filled with practical…

Jim and Julie-Anne McLoughlin are parents to four children who have worked in public service and teaching respectively for more than 20 years. In this episode, they share why it is so important to instill hard work in your children from an early age, and parenting methods that have worked for them to raise children who become contributing members o…

Teresa Barry is a primary school teacher at Montgrove College who applies Deep Learning methods on a regular basis to help her students focus on specific competencies in the classroom. Deep Learning is an internationally renowned approach which creates learning experiences for students to work on strengths and weaknesses in character, citizenship, …

Gina Engesser teaches Art at Tangara School for Girls. In this episode Gina shares what inspired her to become an artist, and how art can positively impact students’ creativity and self-expression. Key Quote: "My parents really instilled in us: if you have hands, you make something." You don’t want to miss The importance of raising confident childr…

David Allen is a professor of English at the College of Staten Island and is the chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education. David has written several books on the importance of collaboration between teachers and the impact this can have on their students’ education. Today we'll be talking about how to make the…

Mark Anderson is the current Head of Senior School and Head of HSIE at Redfield College. Mark helps direct the quality of teaching and learning in Years 10 to 12 in such a way that the students can perform at their absolute best. In this episode we talk about how to build positive relationships with your students, why it's so important, and how to …

Dr. Andrew Mullins is the former headmaster of two independent schools in Sydney (Redfield College & Wollemi College). He's also the author of ‘Parenting For Character’, and the upcoming book ‘Parenting For Faith’. Today's topic dives deep into the results from a recent survey called ‘Parenting in a Digital World. It was completed by parents from 5…

Today, we will be talking about a relatively new method of problem-solving: Design Thinking. Matt Aldous, the current headmaster of Redfield College, has 20 years of experience in education, the last 10 of which were spent in educational leadership. Matt recently completed a course on Design Thinking, with the Design Thinking Academy of Australia a…

Dr. Jakubowski is a well-respected international influencer who helps kids live happier, healthier lives. She has touched the lives of thousands of families in with her ability to connect and help kids experience success despite challenging behaviours. With a doctorate in Educational Leadership and nearly 20 years of experience as a teacher, Assist…

Today we have David Gillespie on the show who is a lawyer and an author of 12 self-help books about healthy eating, in the context of his own experience regaining health. Two of his books (Sweet Poison, and The Sweet Poison Quit Plan) are widely known , helping thousands of Australians quit sugar. Today we'll be talking about the effects of sugar o…

Today we are joined by Gia-Yen Luong. In 2019 Gia-Yen was awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to do a Master's in Education at Oxford University, not only enabling her to learn alongside the brightest minds but also exposing her to the most diverse educational experiences of teachers from all around the world. Gia-Yen has been teaching for mor…

Today we're talking about the important role hobbies play in our children's lives. Our guest today is Sean Kos, an engineer and family man who has seen his four children find and develop hobbies of their own. Sean talks about how hobbies have helped shape the man he is today, why every kid should have a hobby, and how as a parent you can either hel…