Ibis Flyer

I would like to open this newsletter by highlighting that March 8 is International Women’s Day. A day where we  recognise the achievements of women and promote gender equality. Today some of our Year 6 students, Bianca, Abi and Rosie and I attended the Women of Westernport, International Women’s Day event held at Westernport Secondary College. We heard from key note speaker, General Manager of Regenerate – Claire Bauska as well and a community panel who discussed the importance of encouraging girls and women to peruse opportunities and how boys and men can be allies in supporting our society and systems to be free from gender bias and stereotypes. I want to acknowledge all of the talented and compassionate women we have on staff at Balnarring Primary School as well as the women within our broader school community. I want to inspire the girls in our student community to never place a ceiling on their dreams and aspirations. I also want to thank the wonderful men and boys on my staff, within our community and as part of our student body who take every opportunity to stand with girls and women in support of equal opportunity.

As you may be aware there are ongoing investigations into the storm water drainage on our school site. I am pleased to share that works have been approved to rectify the drainage issues that our site experiences however this is still in the very early stages of assessing and designing the plans for moving forward. The information that I have at the moment  indicates that this will likely be a very complex and time consuming project. Until there is more clarity around the design and plan for moving forward this does mean that our Living Project area and other major grounds works will need to remain on hold. I have also recently had the Department of Education confirm with me that the relocatable classrooms(currently empty – beside where our Year 3 classes are) that were due to be removed from our site during this next school holiday break will remain on site until the drainage rectification project is completed. This is a good outcome for our school.

This term our school is going through the School Review process. Every school participates in this process once every four years. The process involves looking back over the last for years, understanding the current needs of the school and then planning for the future direction of the school. Day 1 of our Review took place on Tuesday this week with the review panel consisting of an external Reviewer, the Senior Education Improvement Leader and Education Improvement Leader for our area, two Principals from Bayside Peninsula schools alongside Krysha and I spent time understanding the story of Balnarring Primary School over the last 4 years. During the upcoming Fieldwork Day, the review panel will spend time observing lessons, and meeting with focus groups of students, staff and parents/carers. On the final day the review, the panel will pull together all of the information gathered and set targets for our school to work towards for the next four years.

‘Ibis’ is definitely the word I am hearing as a major topic of conversation amongst staff and students this week and that is because every class is making an Ibis that will be part of our 30 Years of Nurturing Nature celebration for the Balbirooroo Wetlands on 14 March. I have been lucky enough see many of the Ibis’ either finished or in construction and I have loved hearing about the meaning behind them and the process involved in their creation.

Although the 2025 school year has only just started we are already getting prepared for 2026 Foundation school tours. I would like to ask for the support of our school community to make any local families with pre school aged children aware of our school tour dates. With the refurbished classrooms in out main building now open after refurbishments works we have more capacity for enrolments for 2026 than we did for 2025.

I had a wonderful time at the Womin djeka Festival over the weekend. I was so proud to see our school marquee with our promise signed by our students and featuring their handprints on display. Congratulations to the Balnarring Pre-School for the book launch of The Journey of the Ilk. It is so wonderful to see the learning of young children elevated to this level and that young children can understand the stories and perspectives of First Nations People so deeply. I would like to thank our teacher of First Nations Mel Brooks for her involvement in the organising committee to plan and coordinate this event.

Our Year 3 and 5 Students will participate in NAPLAN next week. NAPLAN is a national assessment that tests students’ ability in three domains of literacy—reading, writing and language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation)—and in numeracy. I would like wish our students all the best in completing their NAPLAN assessments. We are proud of our students for all of their efforts at school and NAPLAN is one of many opportunities for them to highlight their learning.

Last week you will have seen my Compass post about the recruitment of an Acting Assistant Principal who will join our school community at the beginning of Term 2. Bronwyn Green has written an introduction to share with you all.

Over the last fortnight I have been visiting the local Pre Schools and Early Childhood Services to invite all of the 3 and 4 year old children and their families to come along to our Wetlands celebration and experience what being part of the Balnarring Primary School Community is all about. I had great help from some of our students to decorate brown paper bags that contained a gum tree seedling (koala food) and an invitation to come along to our wetlands event. I would like to thank Belinda Eden and the Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation group for providing the koala food trees. A big thank you also to Kate our science teacher who helped to care for our trees and craft the invitations for the pre-school children.

Bethany Jackson
Principal

Dear Students and Families,

I am excited to write to you all to introduce myself as the new Assistant Principal for Wellbeing and Inclusion at Balnarring Primary School. Having worked as a leader at Frankston Primary School, I have had the privilege of supporting students and families, and I am passionate about building strong, supportive school communities.

Living nearby in Red Hill, I have always heard wonderful things about Balnarring Primary School—both in terms of the incredible work being done here and the strong sense of community that surrounds it. This sense of connection is something I deeply value, and I am thrilled to now be a part of it.

I believe that every child has the right to a high-quality education and that students thrive when schools and families work together. My approach is built on relationships, understanding, and inclusion, and I am committed to supporting and celebrating the wonderful things already happening at Balnarring. I am also eager to continue to strengthen connections between families and the school, ensuring that every child feels supported both inside and outside the classroom.

Beyond my work in education, I am a mum to two girls—Nora (6) and Juni (almost 3). I love living on the Peninsula and spending time at home with the girls reading, working in our garden, or on small projects around the house.  However, my favourite way to spend weekends, is surrounded by friends and family. This is often enjoying the beach and local bushwalks, drinking coffee at markets, seeing live music and camping.

I am really looking forward to getting to know you all. My door is always open, and I can’t wait to be part of this wonderful school community.

Looking forward to meeting you soon,

Bronwyn Green

Assistant Principal