[On-screen text: Introducing your new principal]
[We see Wayart School principal Luke Bennett walking down a pathway with plants on either side, then entering a school building]
[On-screen text: Luke Bennett Wayart School]
[Luke enters the frame and stands in front of some children’s books]
Luke Bennett: Hi, I’m Luke Bennett, I'm the principal of Wayart School, the newest specialist school opening up in Officer on day 1, Term 1, 2027.
Wayart means “young eucalyptus tree.” The name was chosen in conjunction with the Bunurong Land Council. The story of the school is how the Bunurong people moved across land. This is incorporated through our buildings.
We're a P-to-12 specialist school catering for students with a diagnosed intellectual disability.
I became a school principal just due to my love for education and supporting students as a teacher, but then to have that greater impact to support staff on a whole-school level and to empower staff to get the best for their students and make the biggest impact to a bigger community.
I was a primary school teacher originally, taught in the UK, came to Australia, taught in secondary schools and specialist schools, then became a middle leader focusing on inclusion and wellbeing.
I put a lot of emphasis on being approachable. So building those relationships to people so they feel comfortable to come and talk to me, to ask questions, to collaborate, to work alongside the staff in the school.
I've got high expectations for all members of the community, but alongside those high expectations is the support I'll provide to staff and to students, to families, to support them, to get the best out of every single student, every single day.
The culture we're aiming to build at our school is that everyone feels like they belong. They’re respected. Parents feel like they’re heard at all times. Students have their interests and their individual needs catered for.
So we have state-of-the-art facilities, indoor and outdoor. One is the administration building, where there’ll be space for parents to meet, for families to come together with staff. We'll also have a community building. Within there will be a multi-purpose space. In there we'll also have an allied health space and fitness space. We also have a food technology space in there and performing arts to focus on our specialist subjects. We will then have 2 main learning buildings, a junior learning building and a senior learning building
The outdoor facilities at our school are also amazing. We have 3 playgrounds for junior students and the senior students. We've got 2 basketball courts, 2 sand pits where students can have fun and play at recess and lunchtimes. We also have a school oval as well for space and for PE lessons to happen.
My hopes for the first year of the school are that every single student that enrols feels like they do belong, they've connected, they've made new friends with the new students at the school. They make connections with their new teachers and educational support staff and the wider team that support every single day.
And it's going to be amazing place to be.
[We cut to a shot of Luke Bennett and two other people sitting around a desk in an office looking at the Wayart School renders]
[The VSBA and Victoria State Government logos appear, then the screen fades to a black background with white text]
[On-screen text: Authorised by The Victorian School Building Authority, 33 St Andrews Place, East Melbourne]
[End of transcript]
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