Congratulations to Mrs Elisa Stracci, who has been appointed as Head of Cedar House.

Mrs Stracci has been a member of Wilderness staff for more than five years, supporting the girls as a teacher, mentor and sporting coach. She has been a keen contributor to the girls' academic success in French and assisted with the development of the Artemis program as a teacher and curriculum writer.

Elisa stepped into the Acting Head of House role at the beginning of the year, and we are thrilled to see her continue in an ongoing capacity. Throughout the year, she has demonstrated her enthusiasm to support the Cedar girls as they transition through the School and build connections within the House. In this position, and previously as a Middle School Form teacher, she has been committed to supporting the development of each girl’s social and emotional wellbeing during their academic journey.

We believe she is the right person to support our Cedar cohorts in years to come, and we hope you will join us in congratulating her success.

As Mrs Stracci will be on maternity leave in 2023, she will be supported by Mr Andrew Mittiga, who has been appointed as Acting Head of Cedar House.

Throughout his career, Andrew has demonstrated experience as an Acting Head of House, mentor, educator and program coordinator to students across all year levels.

As the leader of the Girl Up Club, he coordinates a group of young changemakers within the School to advocate for the rights of girls all around the world and walks alongside these students as they champion social causes. He was also previously the Global Alliance of Innovative Learning (GAIL) coordinator, leading students with the aim to develop informed, globally active learning communities that encourage contemporary solutions to international issues through collaboration, inquiry, and service-learning initiatives.

Andrew is passionate about wellbeing as a key pillar of education; he completed a Master of Education with a specialisation in Adolescent Wellbeing in 2021, and in 2022, he designed and delivered the inaugural Year 8 Wellbeing Program. This program covered a broad range of concepts – such as perfectionism, helpful and balanced thinking, resilience and gratitude – to equip students with social and emotional skills to help them navigate through the complexities they face.

Andrew is a positive male role model and we are pleased to have him support our Wilderness girls’ developmental needs to form strong intrapersonal relationships within Cedar House, enabling them to thrive as they learn next year.