Moving to the Camperdown school from Sacred Heart College in Geelong where she's spent the past 29 years, Ms Gillett is excited by the new prospects the tree change will bring for her.

"I went to Sacred Heart as a graduate in 1990 where I taught health, physical education, maths and science and more recently religious education," she said.

"I spent many years in the leadership group there. I was involved in the sport department coordination, and I've been a year level coordinator and leading teacher. Since 2011 I've been in a deputy principal role in a number of different areas including the middle school, staff and student well-being.

"It's been an absolute tree change. I thought it rained here everyday but the sun is shining and it's raining in Geelong.

"The warmest thing though has been the community. My husband David and I have never felt more welcome. The school definitely lives up to its values of community and inclusiveness."

Her work environment has also seen a drastic change. Sacred Heart, an all girls school, boasts a student population of 1500 while co-educational Mercy Regional College supports 460 students. Ms Gillett is excited by the opportunities a smaller school provides.

"One of the school's best features is its connection with the community and the Parish," she said.

"Coming from a bigger town in Geelong, this tie was hard to achieve. Here the school and community work go hand-in-hand and I look forward to taking that into the future."

Having moved to Camperdown in recent weeks, Ms Gillett and her husband David Horan are loving settling into the area. As an artist by trade, Mr Horan is still enjoying working on canvas and his job as a tattooist in Colac.

The couple are hoping they'll be in the south-west for the long-run with Ms Gillett working on many plans for her new role.

"At the moment I'm just trying to get my head into how the school works and immersing myself into the culture," Ms Gillett said.

"I hope to use my skills and expertise to take the school into the future with faith-based education and allowing students to reach their full potential in whatever capacity they desire.

"I've been asked a lot about which local sporting club I'll get involved in and at the moment I'm being Switzerland.

"But I'm interested in getting involved within the Camperdown community beyond the classroom."

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