Our Community

Mrs Shelley Parkes
Head of Junior School

Mrs Parkes will bring a wealth of knowledge, that we believe will greatly help further develop and grow our Junior School, drawing on an expansive career in education and executive leadership, with her most recent position being Head of Junior School for Haileybury Rendall School, Darwin.

Added to Mrs Parkes impressive professional career, she is also a busy wife and mother to two wonderful teenage children, who enjoys travel and catching up with friends in her spare time.

Despite Mrs Parkes leadership roles, she always considers herself “A teacher first.”Allowing her to stay grounded and to create an environment of equal opportunity when making executive decisions.

Mr Luke Preston
Business Manager

Luke Preston is an experienced business and finance manager with a background in Not for Profit, specifically Education and Sport. Luke has most recently been the Finance manager at Melbourne Grammar School (2016-2019) and prior to that, the Business Operations manager at Tennis Victoria (2012-2016).

Before moving into the education sector in 2016, Luke worked in sport for 7 years – at Tennis Victoria and Cricket Australia – in financial and operational roles.

He worked in the corporate sector for 15 years prior to that, at major organisations across multiple sectors in both Australia and the UK, covering banking, consulting, retail and logistics.

Luke is passionate about the Education sector and the important community role played by schools and not for profit organisations.

Luke is a CPA and a UK ACMA and also holds a BSc (Social Science) from the University of Southampton.

Outside of work, Luke enjoys spending time with family and friends, and is alway kept busy with his two school age children: Alex and Jessica, and his lovely wife Kellie.

Mrs Sarah Boardman
Head of Early Learning

As an educational leader, I feel privileged to be able to work alongside children as they build their knowledge and understanding of the world around them at school.  Celebrating the diverse range of “Wow” moments that occur with our students each day, brings great joy to me both personally and professionally. I strongly believe in the importance of building solid foundations for children’s ongoing learning, focussing on developing thinking and inquiry skills in partnership with literacy and numeracy skills, in a meaningful, rigorous and authentic way for all children. Furthermore, I value the opportunity to build beneficial, ongoing partnerships with families, working together with them to encourage all children to consistently challenge themselves, as they holistically develop a solid understanding of how they learn best.

I studied a Bachelor of Education at the University of Tasmania, before working in a range of different school settings, both nationally and overseas.  This hands-on experience with a range of educational approaches, supported by my ongoing work at the University of Tasmania as a Unit Coordinator as part of the Bachelor of Education degree, has given me the opportunity to continually reflect upon evolving current best practice in education, based upon relevant, research.  I have been part of Oakleigh Grammar since 2014, working as the Early Learning Centre Coordinator before becoming the Acting Head of Junior School in 2018. Within these educational leadership roles, I have developed in many ways whilst working within Oakleigh Grammar’s dynamic and collaborative community of learners.

Mr Peter Cummins
Deputy Principal – Teaching & Learning

Peter Cummins took up his position as Deputy Principal in 2012. Prior to this he was Deputy Principal (Curriculum) at Leibler Yavneh College (2008-12) and Head of Curriculum at Mentone Grammar (2004-08). He began his career at Scotch College Adelaide and later returned as a boarding housemaster after teaching in the UK at Bromsgrove School and Wellington College.

Peter is passionate about developing the learner in every child and giving them a sense of responsibility to play an active part in making the world a better place for all human beings. He believes that the focus must be on our students developing the agility and imagination needed for living productively in a complex world.

Peter is married to Sharon (Kindergarten Director) and has three adult sons: Andrew who is a senior project manager in construction; Tom who works at Michigan State University in communications; and Alex an industrial designer.

Mr Peter Dickinson
Deputy Principal – Operations

Peter Dickinson joined Oakleigh Grammar at the commencement of 2018, after 8 ½ years as Head of Glen Waverley Campus of Wesley College. Peter has achieved considerable success in a variety of other leadership roles at Wesley College and he is keen to make an equally valuable contribution to Oakleigh Grammar.  Peter oversees the operations of the school and overall student welfare.

Peter has a clear passion for education and his values of inclusivity, diversity and holistic development of each child are strongly aligned to the values of Oakleigh Grammar. His strong interest in student well-being and pastoral care is at the heart of his work.

Peter has had extensive experiences across the ELC to Year 12 continuum in all areas of school life. He is an experienced International Baccalaureate educator and values the importance of intercultural understanding. He has also become a strong advocate for indigenous education.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Education and a Diploma of Teaching and has been involved in a number of educational committees across Victoria. Peter thoroughly enjoys his teaching, especially History and Geography, no doubt born from his extensive international travels across more than 55 countries.