Principal's Message

As we approach the conclusion of 2025, I find myself reflecting on a year that has been defined by deep community consultation, significant cultural milestones, and a renewed commitment to the values that bind us together. It has been a year of learning, reflecting and looking forward.

First, I must extend my personal gratitude to this wonderful community. I would like to formally thank Mr. Kayes, Mrs. Maloney, and Mr. Knott for their steadfast leadership in relieving Deputy Principal and Principal roles during Terms 2, 3 and 4, ensuring that our school continued to thrive. I would also like to thank Mrs Roberti for her many years of service to the school. I wish Mrs Roberti all the best in her exciting new role as Deputy Principal at the newly established high school at Box Hill.

The centrepiece of our work in 2025 has been the collaborative “unpacking” of the school’s three pillars of Learning, Excellence and Integrity – defining the values and expectations we teach to our students and, in turn, expect them to demonstrate.  We engaged in extensive consultation with students, staff, and parents to come up with 15 core values and expectations that will be central to our revised Reward and Recognition scheme in 2026. 

During the consultation period parents, staff and students told us clearly what matters. Regarding Learning, our community emphasised that it is not just about marks and grades, but about developing study habits and accepting feedback for growth. For Excellence, we heard a strong call to shift the focus from "coming first" to "personal best." You told us that excellence means embracing challenges and viewing mistakes as opportunities to become stronger. Finally, Integrity was identified as the foundation of our character—the courage to be accountable and do the right thing, even when it is hard.

These insights have helped us define our shared vision: 

"We value a learning culture of excellence by focusing on the whole child to enable respectful, resilient and aspirational citizens".

Another achievement in 2025 occurred during National Reconciliation Week. We made the decision to change our newsletter’s name from Marella Muse to Bayalagulang Ngurra, a Dharug phrase meaning "Learning Place".

This was more than a cosmetic change; it was an act of truth-telling. We acknowledged that the Marella Mission Farm was a site associated with the Stolen Generations. By adopting Bayalagulang Ngurra, we pay respect to the Traditional Custodians and align our identity with a future focused on education and healing, rather than a distressing past.

As we have highlighted throughout the year, our students continue to inspire us. We recently celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2025, a group of young women and men who have shown immense dedication. With their HSC exams completed in mid- November, we are confident their results will reflect their commitment.

We also looked to the future by inducting our new Student Leadership Team. It was a privilege to introduce leaders like Evie, Jamie, Izaiah, and Sarah, who have already begun to represent the student body with pride. Furthermore, we are reinvigorating our House spirit and at the same time empowering our student leaders to explore how House names can better reflect our diverse community and our core values.

2025 has also been a year of strategic preparation. Thanks to a generous $30,000 donation from our P&C, we successfully launched a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trial with a Year 7 class in Term 4. We have listened closely to parent feedback regarding equity, ensuring that our full transition to BYOD in 2026 includes support for families in need. Please refer to the school’s website for the latest information in relation to BYOD for all years 7-12 in 2026.

Additionally, to support our senior students, we have begun converting a computer space into a dedicated Senior Study, which will be ready for the new Year 12 cohort at the start of next year. Equally important, is the creation of a dedicated Wellbeing Hub, where students will be able to access additional wellbeing support when required. Finally, following our collaboration with Transport for NSW, we have confirmed that the school day will shift to an 8:50 am start in 2026, better aligning with nearby primary schools and transport options.

Thank you for a remarkable year. We have a lot to look forward to in 2026, and I am confident that by working together we can make an already great school even better.

I wish all our families a safe and restful break.