Educator Ms Katrina Dunne shares how the Dare to be a Rockstar program empowered her leadership and fostered a culture of wellbeing across her school community.
When Ms Katrina Dunne began her teaching career in 2006, she never imagined that nearly two decades later, she’d be leading a school community through a transformative wellbeing initiative.
Her journey – from upper primary teacher to principal, and now classroom teacher once again – has been shaped by a genuine commitment to staff and student wellbeing, and a pivotal partnership with mindset coach Ms Peta Jeppesen, founder of Beyond the Classroom Australia, through her Dare to be a Rockstar program.
Ms Dunne’s leadership story is rooted in regional Queensland, where she taught across a range of settings including the School of Distance Education, Charleville State School and St Mary’s School in Charleville. It was at St Mary’s that she reconnected with Ms Jeppesen, who had once been her principal and left a lasting impression.
“She really stood out to me,” Ms Dunne recalls. “She put staff wellbeing at the forefront of everything she did. I’d never seen that before.”
Melbourne Education Summit. Image: Katrina Dunne
As Ms Dunne stepped into leadership roles, including a deputy position within the Western Alliance – a unique collaboration between distance education schools across Charleville, Mount Isa, and Longreach – she began to see the potential of Ms Jeppesen’s work beyond her own development.
Initially, Ms Dunne engaged in the Dare to be a Rockstar program for personal growth. “I’d turn up to those sessions feeling like I didn’t have time,” she admits. “But I’d always leave feeling more equipped. It helped me navigate courageous conversations and lead with calm and clarity.”
One such conversation centred on a long-standing leadership challenge within the school. With careful guidance, the issue was approached with empathy and strategic insight. The outcome was a difficult but honest dialogue in which the individual came to recognise that the role had become unmanageable, and that the current structure was having a broader impact on the school.
Recognising the program’s impact, Ms Dunne introduced Dare to be a Rockstar to her entire staff. The program, tailored by Ms Jeppesen to meet the specific needs of the school, quickly gained traction – even among the most sceptical. “One school officer who was completely anti anything ‘touchy-feely’ came to me and said, ‘I’m really enjoying what you’re doing with us’. That was huge.”
The initiative brought a renewed sense of energy and trust to the school culture. “People felt valued when they could be vulnerable,” Ms Dunne explains. “It created a safe space for that.” The program’s success with staff inspired Ms Dunne to extend it to students, launching a pilot with Years 4 to 6. “We only had 12 months, but it was powerful. Peer voice and peer-led sessions made a real impact.”
Now based in Toowoomba, Ms Dunne has taken a step back from leadership to support her daughters’ transition to high school. She’s currently teaching Year 1 on a short-term contract, but her passion for wellbeing in education remains strong. “I’d absolutely love to see more schools adopt Peta’s program,” she says. “We hear a lot about wellbeing being a priority, but we don’t always see it in action. This program is a long-term solution – not just a chocolate in the pigeonhole.”
Ms Dunne’s reflections are grounded in experience across both public and Catholic sectors, and a clear-eyed view of the evolving challenges in education. “Society has changed. Children are different. The expectations on teachers are bigger than ever. We need programs like this.”
For Ms Dunne, the essence of Dare to be a Rockstar lies in its emotional intelligence and authenticity – qualities she saw in Peta from the beginning.
“You don’t remember what people say or do, but you remember how they made you feel,” she says. “That’s what this program does. It makes people feel seen, supported, and strong.”
For more information on Beyond the Classroom Australia’s coaching programs visit https://beyondtheclassroomaustralia.com.au/programs/
