Student Engagement & Wellbeing News

Hello, Moonee Ponds West Primary School community! 

My name is Anna Gbikpi-Benissan and I am the new Assistant Principal of your school. I have taken over from Elisha as she has chosen a sea change for her family. My last name is often a topic of conversation so I will give a high 5 to anyone who can pronounce it (Hint: The ‘G’ is silent). It comes from Togo which is a tiny country in West Africa, where my husband was born. 

I grew up locally (Ascot Vale) and have 3 children of my own. I have Michalea who is in year 8, Elikem in grade 4 and Edem in grade 1. We love soccer and the beach and have a dog called Reggie, who is a 16-month-old Spoodle. 

I completed a Bachelor of Commerce before completing my Dip.Ed. I have taught in secondary schools as well as primary schools. Most of my career has been in special schools or behavioural units in the UK. For the past 12 years I worked at Rosamond Special School where I was the Primary Section Leader for a couple of years and Numeracy Learning Specialist for 6 years. I decided to branch out from there and for the past 3 years I was an Inclusion Outreach Coach who facilitated a problem-solving process with leadership of mainstream primary and secondary schools and supported staff to increase inclusion at their settings. I managed this workforce for the last year and a half, before deciding to take the next step in my career, Assistant Principal at your amazing school.

I am passionate about inclusion and making schools a happy and curious place. I am currently completing my Masters in Intervention so the science of learning and reading are very important to me and I have been impressed with what is happening in these spaces at Moonee Ponds West Primary School.

I wanted to thank you all for the wonderfully warm welcome that I have received so far. Say hello to me when you see me!

Anna