Principal Update

Message from the Principal

Belonging at Balmoral

Earlier this week, Kellie Baumgart and I had the privilege of attending a professional learning seminar led by Dr. Doug Fisher, a renowned educational researcher from San Diego State University. One of the most striking takeaways from Dr. Fisher’s presentation was the critical impact of student attendance on learning. He highlighted that just one day of absence results in the loss of four lessons—or 280 minutes—of live, interactive, and context-rich learning.

Since the disruptions of the pandemic and the shift to online learning, schools across the globe have observed ongoing challenges with regular student attendance. At Balmoral, we’re committed to reversing this trend.

In response, I’ll be working closely with our leadership team and staff throughout the remainder of the school year to trial new strategies that encourage consistent attendance. These efforts will include initiatives that promote student agency, helping students take ownership of their attendance and reflect on the learning they may miss when absent. We’ll also be enhancing our support structures—whether through mentoring, check-ins, or tailored conversations—to strengthen each student’s sense of belonging and connection to school life at Balmoral.

To help keep this front of mind, we’ll be displaying a new visual resource around student-facing spaces across the school. This will serve as a reminder of the real impact of missed days and reinforce the importance of daily learning.

As part of our ongoing engagement with student voice, I continue to meet weekly with our student leadership team. We explore ideas and co-design improvements aligned to our Annual Improvement Plan. I’m excited to share a fantastic update that emerged directly from this student leadership forum: after a popular vote and endorsement from the P&C Association, our school tuckshop has officially been named Perry’s.

The name celebrates the myth, magic, and local legend of a crocodile sighting in Perrin Creek following the 2011 floods—a waterway that flows into the nearby Maiwar (Brisbane River). This week, our student leaders launched a school-wide design competition to create a logo and visual identity for Perry’s, which will be displayed at the canteen and featured on our new contemporary staff uniforms.

We look forward to showcasing the creative talents of our students through this competition and will keep our school community updated as finalists are selected and designs come to life.

Timothy Barraud

Principal