I had a very specific vision for the school that I wanted to capture in our ethos; “we want our children to love coming to school, our teachers to love their students and our community to love our school”. This has been the moral purpose and vision that has driven all the decisions for Jilbup Primary School. Therefore, the recruitment process for me was one of the most important aspects of this journey and I can honestly say we have done a brilliant job! Every one of our team brings the dedication, professionalism and love we were looking for in our staff. For me “culture eats strategy for breakfast”, so I will work hard on building trust, respect and kindness to ensure our vision becomes a reality.

Naming our school was another very important decision we had to make early on in the planning process. I was very eager to have a Nyungar name for our school as we border the Beeliar Wetlands and the land on which our school is built has significant meaning to the local Aboriginal community. I would like to thank the Cockburn Council Aboriginal Reference Group for their unwavering support and consulting with us about the appropriateness of our name. It was a challenging process, but absolutely worth it for the outcome. Jilbup is the original name for Thomsons Lake which is the largest lake in the Beeliar Wetlands. Jilbup means grasslands, and is related to the season of Djilba, when all the wildflowers bloom on the grasslands. Our name and logo carry the theme of the local flora, and this has been the narrative for our school.

I was lucky enough to go on this journey with my amazing Principal colleague Daniel Bergin. Daniel opened Henley Brook Primary School this year and has created a wonderful school with his team. Together we visited schools, bounced ideas off each other, supported each other through the challenges of construction, picking furniture, naming the school and making a hundred and one decisions. Having the support of a colleague who is kind, funny and easy to get on with cannot be underestimated. I can’t thank Daniel enough for being my mental support and friend during this process (and feeding me when I was hungry!).

I would like to finish by acknowledging what a privilege it has been building a school and a community. It has filled me with so much pride and love for my job. I know being a principal can be daunting at times, but right now I feel I am in the right place, doing what I was meant to do.