Belinda Leksas
What is your official job title?
Head of External Relations and Facilities
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How long have you worked at TSH?
10 years
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Briefly, please explain what your role entails.
I oversee all marketing and fundraising activities. I also manage TSH facilities and the Chevron Pilbara Ear Health Program.
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What is the single best thing about your job?
I love the variety and the people I get to work with every day.
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Please run me through an average day in the job:
There are so many different facets to my job that sometimes it feels like one big juggling act. Each day is different, but it is always busy, and often with a queue of people outside my door!
What is something that people probably don’t know about you?
Every second year I dress up as Elsa for the Shelford’s Staff Family Christmas Party. I make a grand entrance to the Frozen music (Let it go!) and the kids come running - they love it. Many think I’m the real Elsa and you can see the excitement on their faces.
Last year I went all out. I hired a costume, bought the wig and had my hair and makeup professionally done. I even had to learn the lyrics to the Frozen songs.
Afterwards, I help Santa (my partner Gerald) hand out presents.
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What do you wish there was more of?
Time on the weekends. A three-day weekend would be a great start.
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How do you like to unwind after a busy day?
After a long day at work, I embrace my inner Elsa and 'let it go'. When I manage to sit still, I enjoy going out to dinner with my husband.
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Please tell us a little about your life outside of work – your family, pets, hobbies…
I have two adult children and two beautiful grandchildren. Arthur is two and Oscar is eight weeks old. I have a dog called Winston, which is my daughter’s, and I am looking after him while she is living in London.
I love spending time catching up with friends and going out to try new restaurants, as well as seeing any good musical shows that are on in Perth. My husband and I are foodies, and our friends often rely on our reviews before trying. I also love to travel and spend time with my grandchildren.
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Belinda's Super Six
Food? Schnitzel or Steak Tartare
Holiday destination? Amalfi Coast
Sports team? Port Power!
Restaurant? Da Paolino Restaurant in Capri
Season? Spring (the cold never bothered me anyway!)
Guilty pleasure? Sour Cream Pringles or Allen’s snakes
What is your official job title?
Teacher
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How long have you worked at TSH?
This is my 14th year
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Briefly, please explain what your role entails.
I am a teacher in the Chatterbox early intervention program for deaf / hard of hearing children. I run two playgroups and the Chatterbox/Outpost kindy program.
I work with a lovely team of EAs and therapists to offer programs that support language, listening and learning.
Playgroups include: the Little Explorers (2 to 3 year olds) and the Little Learners (3 to 4 year olds). Children attend playgroup with a parent.
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What is the single best thing about your job?
The people. It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with such a caring, dynamic team of professionals to deliver quality programs to our students and their families.
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Please run me through an average day in the job:
I share my classroom with other groups and the age ranges vary from 0 – 1 year olds through to kindy so we are kept on our toes in terms of clearing the decks after each session to leave the room free for the next day’s group, and then rearranging and setting it up again when we next come in.
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We start with a mat session, which always includes singing, a language activity and a story. This sets the scene for the rest of the session. The team and I organise a variety of engaging activities to spark conversations, tap into children’s sense of curiosity and imagination, encourage problem solving and negotiation, provide opportunities to extend sensory play and encourage children to engage with activities and peers.
Jenny Giddy
In our playgroups, our role is as much about supporting the children’s development as it is about encouraging and supporting the parents to engage with their child and helping them to use the activities to facilitate language, listening and learning.
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When everyone has enjoyed a few activities, we have a mid-morning snack break. This is a time for parents to chat amongst themselves and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee made by us. We also use this time to run parent education sessions a couple of times a term.
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Once morning tea is over, we head to the gym with our OT, which is everyone’s favourite time of the day. We return to the playgroup room to sing our goodbye song, gather our belongings and finish for the day.
What is something that people probably don’t know about you?
Some mornings our classroom is like the local wash house because we have the only washing machine at the Wembley site, so I often start my day sorting and folding washing!
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There is never a dull moment. It is lovely to have a job where I look forward to coming to work every day, the time flies and I love every minute of it.
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What do you wish there was more of? Time.
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How do you like to unwind after a busy day?
A cup of tea or a glass of wine, listening to music, a chat on the back verandah.
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Please tell us a little about your life outside of work – your family, pets, hobbies…
I have two grown-up children. Jess is an early childhood teacher, and James is a busy self-employed artist. They both have their own homes but live nearby and we see quite a lot of each other. We have a sweet-natured golden retriever called Ollie who is the most loved and spoilt member of the family.
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My husband Mark and I enjoy looking after our home and garden together. We go for gentle weekend bike rides most Sundays – the reward being a cooked breakfast at a nice destination.
We like going to movies and shows, and when we can, we go away for weekends to explore the beautiful places WA has to offer. We also enjoy travelling further afield when we have the chance.
Jenny's Super Six
Food? Mum's roast
Holiday destination? Too many to mention but have a soft spot for the Cape in South Africa, and Portugal
Sports team? No favourites but love to support the underdog
Restaurant? Zamia Café in Kings Park, Ha Lu Japanese in Leederville
Season? Spring
Guilty pleasure? Blue Castello Cheese with crackers and a cold glass of SSB