A Message from Keir and Emma
“We would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people, the first people to dream, create, wonder, dance, play and learn on this breathtaking land. This land was cared for and respected for tens of thousands of years. The First Nations people lived in companionship with the animals and the life on this land. We acknowledge that this is stolen land and we pay our respects to elders, past, present and emerging.”
Rayma Atkinson (2023 Suzanne Peterson Award Recipient)
2026 Teaching Teams
We are very happy to announce our 2026 teaching teams.
You will see that we have a significant amount of staff returning in 2026 to teach in some capacity, and we are very happy to welcome them back. All of our 2026 teaching staff (new, returning or existing) have significant experience working at BNWPS which will mean that we can easily settle into teaching and learning as soon as 2026 begins.
Our teams are as follows
| Foundation | Jnr (Year 1) | Jnr (Year 2) | Middle | Senior |
FNF - Nici Fausten (Team Leader) | JDR - Deb Robins (Team Leader) | JLK - Lori Kirk (Team Leader) | MCD - Celia Dickinson (Team Leader) | SJH - Jesse Hughes (Team Leader) |
FJJJ - Julia Jackson-Jin | JJL - James Lytras | JBA - Bev Andrews | MEB - Ernesto Bobadilla | SMM - Michael McLaughlin |
FTD - Tom Dartnell | JKJ - Jenny Wheatcroft (Mon) Kate McCormack (Tue - Fri) | JSR - Shalani Marasinghe (Mon - Wed) Rebecca Ewer (Thur & Fri) | MAT - Tim Harward (Mon & Tues) Ann Laming (Wed - Fri) | SRK - Rebekah Tankard (Mon, Tue, Fri) Kate Middleton (Wed, Thur) |
MTA - Tim Plummer (Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri) Alice Hamilton (Wed) | SEA - Emma Costard (Mon - Wed) Andrew Lang (Thur & Fri) |
Our Specialist teachers will be
| Indonesian | Kas Grant | Tue - Fri |
| The Arts | Jenny Wheatcroft | Tue - Fri |
| STEM | Ben Guest (Team Leader ) | Mon - Thur |
| Phys Ed | Martin Richards Ben Guest | Mon - Wed Fri |
Our 2026 teams will be supported by
Disability Inclusion & Middles Support | Lilly Van Dyk | Wed - Fri |
| MHiPS | Rebekah Tankard | Wed & Thur |
| Numeracy Support | Alice Hamilton | Mon & Tue |
When you look at our 2026 staffing, you may notice a higher number of shared classrooms in 2026. BNWPS already has a number of very successful shared classrooms, and we are able to use these as a model for new pairings and partnerships. It is well worth celebrating that BNWPS is not having the staffing struggles that many other Victorian Schools have experienced, and providing opportunities for shared classrooms and part time work honours the need for
work/life balance and wellbeing for our amazing staff.
2026 Class Lists
2026 Class lists will be shared with families through email next Monday (8th December).
The 8th of December is a curriculum day, and students are not required to attend school on this day.
On Wednesday 10th December students and teachers will be working in their 2026 groups throughout sessions 3&4.
Volunteers Morning Tea
BNWPS would not be the lovely community that it is, and would not be able to run some of the amazing activities that we do without the generous support of volunteers. Volunteers help us out in so many ways; excursions, Sprout, helping out in the classroom - we really couldn't do it without you!
To say a big Thank You, we are having a volunteer morning tea on Friday 12th December at 10am on the Sprout deck. If you have volunteered your time at school, at a school event, on a committee or a working bee, we would love to see you there.
Volunteers Needed for Moving Day!
We're gearing up for our big school furniture move, and we need extra hands to help make the day run smoothly! Several classes will be relocating to new rooms in 2026, and your support will ensure everything is ready for students to settle in quickly.
Date: Monday, December 08 (student-free day).
Time: From 09:00 onwards.
Meeting Point: Front office (to sign in)
To show our appreciation, free OSHC care will be provided for all families who volunteer on the day.
Whether you can spare an hour or stay for the whole day, every bit of help makes a huge difference.
If you're able to assist, please sign up here.
Thank you for supporting our school community!