Meet Courtney Orrin
If you’ve ever spent time in our junior years, chances are you already know Courtney Orrin — even if you haven’t officially met her yet.
For the past four years, Courtney has been a much-loved Reception teacher at Tatachilla Lutheran College, known for her warmth, energy and deeply relational approach to teaching.
Vivacious, fun and endlessly caring, she has a rare ability to make every child feel known, safe and capable. In 2026, Courtney is embarking on an exciting new chapter as she steps into Year 3 teaching at the college for the very first time.
But while Courtney is something of a hero in the classroom, her impact extends well beyond the school gates.
When she’s not teaching, you might find Courtney fishing for squid with her fiancé, tending her garden, planning her upcoming wedding — or answering a call in the middle of the night to fight fires.
For the past 12 years, Courtney has been a dedicated member of the Willunga Country Fire Service, serving her local community as a volunteer firefighter. On call around the clock, she has responded to countless emergencies, including the recent fires at Nangkita, where she was deployed as part of the Kyeema strike team. Working alongside crews from McLaren Vale, Aldinga Beach, The Range, Hope Forest and Sellicks, Courtney and her fellow firies battled a 650-hectare blaze on Nangkita Road.
Her shift ran from 10.00pm on Monday night through to 8.00am Tuesday morning — a long, demanding night that later saw Courtney featured on the front page of The Advertiser in a powerful image showing her offering water to a displaced young kangaroo.
Courtney says her desire to be a firefighter began early. When an out-of-control bushfire sparked some years prior, she cooked sausages and handed out drinks to volunteers in the middle of the night — just to help where she could.
“I’ve always loved community,” she says simply.
During the Nangkita fires, part of Courtney’s role involved “mopping up” — the process of separating hay bales, overturning tree trunks and soaking land with water and foam to prevent re-ignition. It’s demanding, unglamorous work, but vital to keeping people, property and wildlife safe.
This wasn’t Courtney’s first major deployment. She also assisted during the devastating Kangaroo Island bushfires of the 2019–2020 Black Summer, which destroyed almost half the island and resulted in immense loss of land, homes, stock and wildlife. Despite the fear and exhaustion that come with such work, Courtney’s motivation remains rooted in service and care for others.
That same sense of justice and compassion has shaped her teaching journey too.
Courtney’s very first teaching role took her to the APY Lands in the far northwest of South Australia, where she spent three years teaching in the Aṉangu community. The experience profoundly shaped her outlook as an educator.
“A child is a child no matter where they call home,” Courtney says. “And every child has a right to an excellent education and opportunities to grow and contribute to the world.”
Her respect for First Nations culture and her commitment to service learning saw Courtney join Tatachilla’s 2025 service learning trip to Ampilatwatja, 325 kilometres northeast of Alice Springs. For 13 days, Courtney worked alongside fellow staff and 11 senior students in the Alyawarre community, guided by Elders and local leaders. Together they shared food, stories, music, football, dance and conversation, gaining deep insight into culture, language, bush medicine and community life.
The experience was so meaningful that Courtney has already signed up to return in 2026.
“Experiences like this have the power to shift your life trajectory,” she says. “Spending time with Australia’s First Peoples in such a remote part of our country enhances the way we connect, perceive culture and engage with community.
Back at Tatachilla, Courtney also plays a vital leadership role as Coordinator of Ruby House — a position she has held with passion since 2023.
“My House team is my rock,” she says. “I love the culture we are building and what it brings me personally, giving me a great sense of purpose alongside my teaching. I’m proud to lead Ruby House.”
At the heart of everything Courtney does — whether in the classroom, on a fire ground or in a remote community — is relationship.
“Without strong relationships with my students, I don’t have a solid foundation to build their hearts and minds,” she says. “You must always start with relationship… from there, everything else will grow.”
And perhaps that’s why Courtney’s impact is felt so deeply. She sees teaching as a craft, a calling and a lifelong journey of learning.
“The very best part of my job is seeing a child do something they didn’t think they could do,” she reflects. “The light bulb goes on, the eyes light up, the heart expands… what could ever be better than that?”
We are incredibly grateful for Courtney Orrin — for her courage, her compassion, her commitment to service and the extraordinary care she brings to our students and our community every single day.
