Schools & Teachers

WCCEB operates in the following schools:

Our Teachers

Deborah Groth

SRE Teacher at Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts

“By God’s grace, I love telling all different people about Jesus, and trying to show them what Christianity is really about through proclaiming God’s Word and living it out. I’m stoked to have the freedom to do this at Wollongong High School. I enjoy surfing and skating, and going on road trips and camping in random places. I also love wearing flanno’s and not wearing shoes.” Deb.

Deborah studied Primary Teaching before doing a ministry apprenticeship with AFES at Wollongong Uni. Now she teaches scripture at Wollongong High, works with youth at her church and is studying at Youthworks Bible college. She loves spending time with her family. She also likes weird fruits and enjoys doing active outdoor activities.

Deborah teaches Year 7 & 8 students at Wollongong High three days a week. She says “I have the privilege of teaching around 250 students over a fortnight and I love it.” Deb also runs the lunchtime group called RAW (Redeemed at Wollongong) and has just started a group called ‘Toasties and Chats’ where students can come and toast their sandwiches and ask questions. She gets involved in the Breaky club, sport and other school activities.

Ed Sowden

SRE Teacher at Keira High School

Became a Christian in high school and loves the opportunity to tell teenagers about Jesus. First and foremost Ed sees himself as a child of God and tries his best to humbly serve Him. He is studying at Youthworks College and is a part time Youth Minister at St Marks, West Wollongong. Ed really loves Jesus, his wife Jess, cricket and Doctor Who. Pray for him in this newly created role and exciting ministry that is just beginning.

Ed currently teaches one day a week at Keira High School. Over a fortnight he gets to teach all of year seven and play sport with the students in the afternoons. There is also a lunch-time group open to all ages that meets on Fridays. Ed says it is a wonderful privilege to have the freedom to teach so many young people about Jesus!

Samar Mikhael

SRE Teacher at Smith’s Hill High School

Samar enjoyed scripture at Jannali East PS and Jannali HS when she was a kid. The lunch group connected her up to the local youth group where she began going to church and when she was 15 and became a Christian on one of their summer camps. She loves swimming, hiking, snowboarding and generally being outdoors with friends.

Samar worked at Youthworks (Port Hacking) in outdoor ministry and studied Theology and Primary Teaching. She’s thankful to be ministering at Smith’s Hill and excited to see how God will work. Pray students would be keen to learn to love and know God more during lunch group and the friends they invite would come along.

At Smith’s Hill High, Samara teaches year 7 and 8 scripture, the elective ‘Christian studies’ for half a year and the elective ‘studies of religion’ for the other half. She also trains and helps the senior students to run the lunchtime group and runs a Q and A group at lunch where students can come and ask any questions they have. She loves seeing students challenged by God’s word and seeing God working in students’ lives at Smith’s Hill.