We would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which our school stands. We pay our respects to all First Nations elders, past present and emerging.

Meet the Teachers

Today we are introducing our SPECTACULAR SPECIALIST team. All the staff here at BNW are pretty special humans with aligned philosophies and a focus on students' wellbeing and learning and our specialist team really demonstrate the richness of our curriculum through excellent talent, expertise and enthusiasm in their areas of speciality.

With all our specialists we are really lucky to have people who not only have a real passion for their subject area but also for the benefits their subjects bring students. We are all very proud to be part of a team that works hard to give students opportunities to learn about who they are, how they can help to shape the world around them and, very importantly, to give them safe spaces to explore their ideas, think creatively and critically and share some of who they are.

Andrew, or Andrew the Art Teacher and Quick Draw McDraw of YouTube fame, has been teaching for longer than any of the kids at this school have been walking the earth. He has worked as a classroom teacher, a CRT, a Music and a PE teacher, but he says teaching Art at BNWPS is the best of the lot. Every day in the Art Studio he is surprised by at least one student’s creative solution to the challenges he presents to them. He also runs Comic Club every Thursday lunchtime which the students love, especially the younger ones. Hopefully ART ATTAK! will happen this year too, a biannual Arts celebration curated by Andrew at the end of the year.

Linda works alongside Ian in Enviro-science. Linda has found working with the Foundies and the Senior school a great opportunity to see both ends of the Primary School spectrum. Her return to teaching has made her realise yet again, just how clever children are. Linda’s background is in journalism, so it may not be surprising to learn that during 2020 and 2021 she took a break from education and wrote a book. We are so glad she has come back to BNWPS to fill a new role as part-time Enviro-science teacher in our new STELA building. Linda is a believer in knowledge, beauty, swimming and communicating - so she’d love to hear from you sometime!

For Jack, our music teacher and performer extraordinaire, music lessons are so much more than music theory. Jack’s lessons are joyous events: he gets the kids movin’ an’ feelin’ and performin’. Performing to each other in groups, in the classroom, whole and part school performances and when covid allows, performances outside the school as well. Even during our darkest lockdowns Jack brought us BNWPS radio, giving our students an avenue for their voice, performance opportunities and… lots of joy. In his spare time Jack likes listening to music, playing music, making collaborative music… oh yeah…. and traveling the world performing in his international chart topping band Shouse.

Kas, aka, Ibu Kas, is passionate about what language learning can bring to students and loves seeing children's eyes growing wide as they make some fascinating new discovery about the world they live in or laughing with them at the crazy stories and role-plays they create with just a small amount of language and some imagination. Her first teaching job was as a chemistry and physics teacher in a small village school on the island of Flores, Indonesia. None of her students could speak English so Kas learnt to speak Indonesian. A former research scientist and Elizabethan privateer come sailor/tour guide on an historic tall ship, Kas has had lots of adventures before settling with us at BNWPS. When not at school Kas is busy with her three children who are all now taller than she is - a fact that has this year been making some of our younger students’ eyes go very wide indeed.

Tom is our energetic PE teacher who has been at BNW for 6 years. He loves to play lots of games that teach students fundamental PE skills that are inclusive and lots of fun as well. He’s also trying to help students develop their teamwork and communication skills every lesson by doing lots of partner and group work together. Tom believes there’s a form of movement for every-body and loves helping people get active. When he’s not being a teacher, he’s watching basketball, playing games or taking his dog, Ragnar for long walks and a play at the park. You might even see Ragnar around school joining in the PE lesson!

Ian teaches Environmental Science with Linda. He loves cooking, gardening, learning science, building things, and camping in the bush, so we found him a job that lets him do 4 out of 5 of those things every week with kids here at BNWPS! Before joining this wonderful school community, Ian worked in hospitality, sustainable transport planning, high school teaching, and parenting his own three kids. He is always trying to nurture the curiosity, love of nature, and wonder in science that we get to see in all of our students. If you're looking to get your hands dirty at our school, come and have a chat with Ian - you'll probably find him in the garden.

The Nor'Wester

BNWPS is committed to Child Safe Standards and prevention of child abuse

Issue 6 · 11 Mar 2022

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