Dianne Sandberg was born in 1965 and married Chris Stevensonb in 1991 and became Dianne Stevenson
Current Activities
I am currently a full time mum of Matthew, Sophie and wife of Chris Stevenson (and loving it)!
Former EmploymentI started my teaching career as a Home Economics teacher at Arthur Phillip High School in Parramatta. (July 1989 - April 1994). During this time computers were emerging and becoming increasingly popular in classrooms. I developed an interest in teaching students in Computing Studies and undertook a Graduate Diploma in Commercial Computing to be better able to teach the senior syllabus. In April 1994, I was surprised to gain an interview on my first application for promotion and was further pleasantly surprised when I was successful in getting the position. 11 days later I started as Head Teacher of Home Economics and Computing at Riverstone High School. During my time at Riverstone High School we went from purchasing our first 10 IBM compatible stand alone machines (386SX-33) running Windows for Workgroups 3.11, to allow for future networking, to having a fully cabled school with around 100 machines connected on a network running Novell. I took leave from my position at Riverstone from June 1999 and spent time following Chris in his interstate travels for his job. In 2000 I was Head Teacher of Home Economics and Computing at Muirfield High School where I taught until I started maternity leave in September of that year. I am now on leave without pay because we are living in Singapore while Chris is managing a project to install new accounting systems for the OCBC bank.
Prior to teaching, I had several part time jobs including waitressing at Auburn Baseball Club and Ashfield RSL club during my HSC and early college years. I also worked for NSW Department of Sport & Recreation as a swimming instructor and Vacation Learn to Swim Supervisor during every summer holiday. I also spent a couple of the mid year holidays at their holiday activity centres (one for disabled children). In 1988 I trained to become an Austswim lecturer and went on to present and coordinate many courses in the Sydney metropolitan areas as well as Bathurst, Orange and Dubbo. I did this until my promotion to Riverstone because I was also at Uni part time and married and felt I needed to devote my energies to those things.
After finishing at College with my teaching degree I deferred being placed as a teacher and worked in a casual position as Recreation Officer for the Department of Sport, Recreation and Racing in their Water Safety section. I did administrative work for the running of Austswim Extension courses, answered phone queries, worked on educational material for Water Safety and compiled the drowning statistics on a computerised database (using DB3+). I enjoyed this work but the Department of Education, during a supposed period of not appointing staff, sent me a telegram in mid July appointing me to Arthur Phillip High School. Five days later, there I stood in a classroom being called "Miss Sandberg".
AcademicMy academic history is as follows:
You can see me in the team photo if you click here then click on the 1983 button on the left. I am in the middle of the front row, 6th from the left.
SportingI have participated in many sports since being grown up. I have been seen:
As a youngster I played netball from under 7's to teenage years with our local sporting club. I went to Physical Culture from age 5 until I was a teenager starting with BJP and changing to Edith Parsons somewhere along the way.
I learnt to swim when I was 9 years old and this became the sport that occupied most of my pre-teens and teenage years. I started training quite regularly and entered club races and district carnivals. I qualified for the National Age Championships in 1979 at age 13 and swam in Adelaide in the 13 & 14 years 400m Freestyle. I came 7th in the final. I kept training and the following year also qualified for the National Open Championships. So in 1980 I swam in Hobart. I won a silver medal there. In 1981 I swam in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane where I was selected in the Australian Open team to swim at the International Invitational Swim Meet in Chengdu, China. (I had my 16th birthday on this trip and won a gold and a silver medal). As a member of this team I also swam at a full dress rehearsal for the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, in 1981. I won two bronze medals there. In 1983 I was awarded a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport. As a member of the AIS Women's Swimming team I swam in Vancouver, Canada in the Canada Cup. I swam in the finals but didn't win any medals. Our team won the overall point score. One of the things I think I will always remember is the afternoon the coach, Bill Sweetenham, told me that my program for that session was to swim 10km without stopping. (I was the only one with this program). With a short time to get mentally prepared I hit the water and got started. I averaged 1min 15secs for each 100m for a while then dropped off a bit. Other girls in the team who had finished their program were waking up and down the side of the pool with me and waving their towels and whistling to keep me going. Boy, did I appreciate that, it was pretty monotonous just lapping and trying to keep count! My time at the end (200 laps of the 50m pool at Deakin, ACT) was 2 hours 36 minutes. I could hardly get out of the pool. I felt quite ill and remember just sitting on the floor in the shower and crying partly with relief and joy that I had done it and partly because I was hurting.
These days, I swim to unwind and to try and stay fit. I still love it and usually feel great after doing some laps.
PastimesDianne loves the following:
