I am delighted to be writing to you for the first time as Principal here at Woodmans Hill. I thought in the first newsletter I would share a little about my background, so you have a bit more information about who I am and what I stand for.

I am originally from Scunthorpe, an industrial garden town in North Lincolnshire, with the main industry being steel making. (I often describe it’s location as four hours directly North of London – to save you looking on a map!) I am fortunate to have grown up in a supporting and nurturing family, however we, along with many families in the area had our hardships. It is these challenges that have shaped me to always work in schools with families from a diverse range of backgrounds and hopefully has given me the humility to understand and empathise with the challenges faced.

My parents still live in the same house in which I grew up, however, I haven’t lived there since my university days (I studied at Loughborough University, gaining a degree in Physical Education and Sports Science, and a subsequent Post-Graduate Certificate of Education). I started my career as a teacher of Physical Education and Science. I soon moved into KLA (Key Learning Area) and subsequently school leadership roles, whilst maintaining my classroom teaching. I am passionate about both Anatomy and Physiology, and Sport and Exercise Physiology, and was successful in supporting students in their completion of these courses in their VCE equivalent PE qualifications. I am also incredibly proud of the success I had with coaching sports teams, but also with the individual opportunities I was able to shape for students away from sport, through “going into bat for them” and making sure their background did not limit their outcomes.

I moved to Australia at the start of 2013 following my first Principal (Headteacher) role back in England. That school was a secondary college, in a rural location, with about 400 students. I decided I wanted to learn the Australian system so worked at Dandenong West Primary School as a Casual Relief Teacher when I first arrived. This led to my time working in Primary Schools. I was pleased to become Principal at Banyan Fields Primary School, Carrum Downs, a couple of years after arriving. Woodmans Hill is therefore my third principalship…and I have a sneaky suspicion it will be my best. Early indicators certainly signpost that!!

In between my time at Banyan Fields and Woodmans Hill I was promoted to work as a Senior Education Improvement Leader (with 25 schools) in Frankston. I am a reflective person and realised that role, at the time wasn’t quite what I hoped for and therefore began my work as a School Reviewer, (alongside other education consultant, Principal and leadership mentoring and coaching roles). These roles allowed me to continue to fulfil another passion of mine, supporting the next generation of leaders to develop. However, they also allowed me to learn from the colleagues and teams I worked with, and I’m pleased to say helped grow me as an individual and professional too. I hope to model the power of learning and education as a lifelong learner. These roles, across Department of Education (DE) schools and regions have afforded me the opportunity to keep engaged and up to date with schools, Victorian education initiatives, and I have a detailed knowledge of school improvement.

I feel at home in a school however my recent work kept me at a relative distance. I decided the time was right to return to a school to enable me to have a direct positive impact on student learning and wellbeing. The rapport, connections and fostering of positive working relationships with students, staff and community members is important to me in my work. That has been a focus of the first few days of term, for all staff and will continue throughout the year.

The Woodmans Hill values of respect, determination and excellence, resonate deeply with me and if I am leading the school well, I would hope to instill these and empower others to adopt these in their everyday lives too. Additionally, when researching Woodmans Hill I noted the school’s desire to maximise the potential and help all student to meet their personal best. I believe my values and background genuinely fit the Woodmans Hill way! I pledge to you that I will always do my best for the school and people within it, but also acknowledge that we don’t always get things right. We are all human. Therefore, we can all continue to learn and grow together.

Our students, as a group have demonstrated their openness in welcoming me to the school. They have been described by staff as accepting and engaging young people, they are indeed! I hope to help them to build their connection and feeling of pride being a member of our wonderful school; our new House teams will assist (more on that in future WHSC newsletter articles) and will be launched shortly after this newsletter goes live.

The students and a highly dedicated staff team make Woodmans Hill a thriving, vibrant and diverse place to be. Every school is unique, but Woodmans Hill has a very special feel to it. I am privileged to be able to lead the school in the next phase of its development and look forward to building on current and future community links.

Please say hello when you are passing or are next in school. It would be great to meet you!

Instrumental Lesson

Libby Fowkes