College Leadership Team

Sammantha Da Luz – Principal

Sammantha Da Luz emigrated to Australia at the age of 16 from England. She completed her Senior Secondary studies in WA and went on to become a Secondary teacher in the areas of English and Performing Arts in Perth and later on, Aboriginal Education Specialist Teacher, Head of English, Middle School Team Leader, Deputy Principal and TAFE lecturer within the Department of Education and Training for 20 years in country WA. Sammantha then joined Catholic Education WA in the capacity of Head of Middle School, Religious Education Coordinator K-12 and Acting Principal for 12 years.

Sammantha is married with one daughter and after a period of discernment, moved to Perth with her family in 2022 to take on the Principalship of IHC, which she feels she was called to do. Amongst her work at IHC, her other great passion is her role as National Chairperson of the International Community of the Divine Saviour, Australian Unit: an ecclesial movement with canonical standing more commonly known as the Lay Salvatorians.

Tamara Carpenter – Registrar and Assistant to the Principal

As a girl, Tamara dreamed of being many things – once even telling TV presenter Anne Conti, in an interview on her current affairs program, “I want to be a hairdresser!” Through her schooling at Burrendah Primary School, and Penrhos College she encountered many inspirational teachers, which lead her to commence her Bachelor of Education (Secondary), majoring in Home Economics and Physical Education. To supplement her busy sporting and social life, she secured herself a part-time job as a teller for Challenge Bank – setting her on a very different career trajectory. 

Working and travelling her way around WA for Challenge and Westpac Bank, she has lived in Margaret River, Karratha and Kalgoorlie, gaining experience in areas from Customer Service, Human Resources, Finance and Regional Management. However, when the time to came to settle down with a family, the promise of a country lifestyle closer to Perth led her to Lower Chittering – a place to call home for the last 18 years.

Tamara has two daughters currently attending secondary school at Immaculate Heart, students since Kindergarten. She is a parent, past Parents and Friends Association president, and long-time staff member – driving the school buses, manning the Reception desk, and now fulfilling the role of Registrar and Personal Assistant to the Principal.  Working at IHC is the perfect combination of her studies and experience, and she enjoys forming relationships with the families and celebrating students’ individual achievements in their educational journey.  You’ll find her dressed in blue on weekends cheering on the IHC Community Netball Club!

Paul Kelly – Head of Theology, Faith and Liturgy

Paul Kelly hails from Scotland, where he worked as a Dispensing Optician before emigrating to Western Australia in 1997 with his wife Tracy. They have 4 children. Paul attended Notre Dame University in Fremantle before qualifying as a teacher. He holds a Masters of Religious Education. Paul worked as the Head of Religious Education at Aquinas College for 23 years prior to joining Immaculate Heart College in 2023 as Head of Theology, Faith and Liturgy.

Paul’s love for the Catholic Faith motivated him to become a teacher. His attraction to IHC is due to its authentic Catholic ethos, its strong community feel and its semi-rural setting. Other unique features of the College that impressed Paul include: the school liturgy held in the beautiful Divine Mercy church, the Latin and Greek programs and the strong tradition of music and singing.

In Paul’s view, the benefits of a faith-based education cannot be underestimated. A school such as IHC presents the beauty of the Catholic religious tradition. It holds staff and students to the high values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as enunciated by official Catholic teaching. The focus is on teaching the whole person: spiritually, intellectually, physically and emotionally. The end point is to have employable students graduating from IHC who exhibit the virtues and aim to be saints by living a sacramental life.

Paul’s teaching philosophy hinges on positive relationships: with parents as primary educators of their own children; with students as they grow into young adults; and with fellow staff as co-workers in the educational enterprise. Paul takes any opportunity to encourage students to be responsible for their own learning.

Adriane Markham – Pastoral Care and Student Well-being Coordinator

Adriane Markham is a Western Australian native who recently relocated back to WA after teaching and acting in the position of Mission and Identity Program Leader in the Toowoomba Diocese (Qld) for the past two years. Prior to that, Adriane was employed at John Paul College in Kalgoorlie, in the role of Liturgy and Faith Formation Coordinator. Her major areas of teaching are Psychology, HASS and Religion, with additional experience teaching English, Literacy, Food Technology and sport. Adriane has a Master of Education (Religious Education) from the University of Notre Dame, and additional degrees in Psychology, Cultural Anthropology and Forensic Science. Currently, Adriane is undertaking a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Adriane enjoys cooking, photography and travel, and loves to spend time with her two grown sons. She is passionate about well-being for students and staff and is very excited to undertake this new role at IHC.

Katelyn Hegarty – Head of Sceondary

Katelyn has taught across WA with a focus on rural and regional schools. Working in these locations has promoted the development of a wide range of skills and experiences including teaching in a range of learning areas from Science and Mathematics, to Home Economics and Woodwork. She was also fortunate enough to spend 18 months in the UK at a large school teaching Year 7 through to A-Level Biology. Katelyn has a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) from Curtin University and completed her Master of Education (STEM) through Western Sydney in 2023.

Katelyn describes herself as a creative person who enjoys art and music. When not at the college, she can often be found in her garden creating artwork or practising her dance steps. She is also involved in the Chess Club at IHC and looks forward to broadening her extracurricular activities into 2024 and beyond.

Struggling as a child to learn to read and achieve in school, Katelyn wanted to be able to provide a better experience than she received. Katelyn believes that all children are learners; they may require different support systems to engage meaningfully with the curriculum, but they are capable. With lessons delivered in interesting ways, students can go on a learning journey throughout their time at IHC.

Bianca McLaughlin

Primary Coordinator

Hasoly Tran

Media & Communications

Coordinator