After eight remarkable years at Blackburn Primary School, the time has come for me to close this chapter and hand over the reins (Please keep an eye on compass for news on this early next week!).

As you can imagine, it’s a mix of emotions — equal parts pride, gratitude, nostalgia, and a healthy dose of “How on earth did that go so fast?” To be honest, I feel a bit like our Year 6s at graduation: ready for the next step, but deeply connected to the place that shaped me.

Leading this school has been one of the great privileges of my professional life. BPS is an exceptional community, high-performing, values-driven, and authentically committed to the success and wellbeing of every child. It hasn’t been an accident; it’s been the cumulative impact of dedicated staff, supportive families, and students who bring their A-game (and occasionally their questionable lunchbox choices) every day.

Over these eight years, we've achieved more than I could ever list in a single newsletter without your coffee going cold. Together we have:

Strengthened our academic performance to some of the highest in the state.
Embedded a culture of high expectations, shared leadership, and continuous improvement.
Navigated lockdowns, remote learning, and more Webex calls than any human should endure.
Invested in technology, learning environments, and infrastructure that set our students up for success.
Celebrated our students’ achievements in sport, band, the arts, STEM, leadership, and citizenship.
Grown a school culture that truly reflects our values: Believe, Persevere, Succeed.

And importantly, we’ve done it together. That’s the secret ingredient.

I also want to acknowledge the incredible teachers I have had the priviledge to work alongside. Their professionalism, passion, and unrelenting commitment to students have made leading this school an absolute honour. A particular thank you must go to Marianne, who has been my steady hand and—on more than a few occasions—my saviour when the wheels were wobbling. Her leadership, integrity, and loyalty have been second to none.

This community has trusted me to lead, to innovate, to challenge the status quo where needed, and to honour our traditions where they matter most. For that, I am genuinely grateful. Schools like this don’t just happen—they are built carefully, deliberately, and over time. It has been a privilege to help carry that legacy forward.

While I am excited about the next stage of my professional journey, please know that leaving BPS is not easy. This school, its people, and its spirit will stay with me long after my office keys are handed in. The pride I feel in what we have achieved together is something I will carry well beyond the gates of Surrey Road.

Thank you for your partnership, your support, and your unwavering belief in our school. It has been an honour to serve this community, and I leave with deep respect and enormous affection for BPS.

Wishing you all continued success and every future achievement the school so richly deserves.

2026 STAFF LIST

00B - Wendy Bennett

00C - Alannah Cole

00S - Vicky Soldatos (Team Leader)

00W - Simone Wood

1C - Eileen Crabb

1N - Joel Nestor

1R - Michael Ringin

12G - Kirsten Goss (Team Leader)

2F - Emma Finnerty

2M - Michelle Fabris & Angelo Merlino

2Y - Jasmine Yze

3C – Emma Callery

3M - Sarah Morris

34T - Lou Tribolet

4A - Fiona Arthur (Team Leader)

4S - Kelly Sotiriadis

5L - Daniel Liebrich (Team Leader)

5T - Emily Tainsh

56R - Sarah Rohit

6B - Will Burke

6L - Molly Lawlor

Art - Liz Dixon (Team Leader)

LOTE - Yi Zhang

Music - Lisa Shacklock

PE - Merissa Pickford

Science - Tanya Stansfield

Patch - Trinity Parker

Disability Inclusion Leader - Amanda Chetcuti

I am very pleased with the teaching team we have put together and know their collective expertise and strong expectation of collaboration and best practise will see students flourish.

Please note that teachers are allocated to classes on the detailed knowledge we have as a school on their strengths and how this will best match the composition of the entire class. It is on this basis that teacher requests are not considered.

FAREWELLS

Esra Uzunbay

In some recent news, we also would like to acknowledge Esra as she has made the tough decision to step away for 2026 and prepares to return to BPS in 2027. Her involvement right across the school and mentoring have been invaluable. We wish her a restorative and fulfilling year ahead and look forward to welcoming her back refreshed and ready for the next phase of our work together.

CURRICULUM DAYS 2026

Tuesday 27th January

Friday 6th March

Monday 2nd November

Friday 18th December

One more day to be confirmed.

REPORTS

Teachers have been working on your children's reports, BPS provides comprehensive reports that detail students’ achievements and progress, along with the next steps for educational development. The report aims to provide consistent, clear and concise information to parents about your child’s achievement against state-wide standards.

Taking on board feedback from families, we have designed a simplified report that includes a general comment about a student’s social and emotional development, work habits and overall performance. Reporting about the curriculum areas is in checklist form and uses jargon-free language and provides clear personalised areas for future learning (goals) looking at the students next stages in the learning progression.

Feedback from teachers is that our new report format is clear, concise and easily understood, without losing the personalised qualities that characterise our reports.

Reports will be released on Wednesday 18th December at 4pm.

All Year 6 families are encouraged to download all copies of their children’s reports as soon as possible and definitely before the commencement of the 2026 school year. Once the school year begins, there will be no further access to the COMPASS portal for past students.

All reports can be downloaded in PDF format.

YEAR SIX GRADUATION

I am looking forward to celebrating our Year 6 graduation tonight. Congratulations and thank you to the students, teachers and parents for all of their preparations. It is a significant milestone in the lives of our students and is a testament to their efforts, your perseverance, and your ability to rise above challenges. You've not only conquered academic pursuits but have also grown as individuals, learning the values of friendship, respect, and empathy and importantly the ability to Believe, Persevere and Succeed.

New webpage to help families and students prepare for a new school year

A new school year is an exciting time for students and families, but it can be a big step – particularly for those starting Prep or moving to secondary school.

The Department of Education has published a webpage with resources and information to help you prepare for the new school year.

During the school holidays, please consider reading through the resources, which include:

tips to help transition between kinder and Prep and primary to secondary school
what to expect at school
help with school costs and fees
health and wellbeing guidance to support children’s mental health.

Please refer to the New year of learning webpage.

How to support your child under 16 with the new social media age restrictions

From 10 December 2025, the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 will require social media platforms to:

prevent children and young people under 16 from having a social media account
deactivate or freeze existing accounts held by people under 16.

Delaying access to social media protects the health and wellbeing of young people and gives them extra time to build real world connections and digital literacy skills.

The responsibility will be on the social media platforms, not parents, carers, children or schools, to implement these new restrictions.

Most popular social media platforms will be age restricted. These include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Reddit and YouTube.

Messaging services and online games, as well as apps and platforms that support health and education, can still be used.

How to help under 16s prepare for the change

Parents and carers play an important role in supporting their children to be safe online.

To help get under 16s ready for the social media minimum age requirements, you can go to the eSafety website to learn more about the social media age restrictions and find tips on how to talk about social media age restrictions with young people.

What the change means for our school

At our school, all age-restricted social media platforms are blocked for student use on the school network.

To keep up to date about the new social media age restrictions, visit the eSafety website and subscribe to their newsletter.

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Last but not last a huge thank you to the many many parents who have been involved with BPS and their children's learning throughout 2025. We greatly appreciate the ongoing support of our parents and community that enriches the learning and lives of every child at BPS. We look forward to continuing this and furthering our BPS community into 2026.

2025 END OF SCHOOL YEAR

The last day of school is Thursday 18th December, with school finishing at 1.30pm. Parents are asked to ensure their children are picked up on time or booked into after school care which will commence at 1.30pm. Friday 19th is our final student free day for the year.

BPS Netball