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When Things Don’t Go to Plan
There is always a plan at the start of the year. You map it out, think it through, and set things up with care and intention. And then, sometimes, things get in the way. It is Term 1, Week 8, and this is my first post for 2026. That probably says enough. The start of…
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Leading with Purpose in a Year of Firsts
Recently we had some school visitors, and as I walked them through our learning hubs, observed our students and Kin Teachers in action and answered their questions, I found myself quietly reflecting on our school and how we arrived at this point. Watching our children play, learn, create and collaborate, and seeing our staff teach…
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More than a Name: Culture and Connection
At Wirrigirri Primary School, our identity began with a name, but it has grown into something much deeper. When the Woi Wurrung word Wirrigirri was gifted to our community, it offered us more than a label. It gave us a purpose. Wirrigirri means messenger, and traditionally a Wirrigirri carried stories, knowledge and invitations between Aboriginal…
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Culture Built in Puddles
Every decision we’ve made at Wirrigirri feels like putting another piece into the jigsaw of who we are and what our school stands for. Each one shapes the kind of school we’re becoming, a place that reflects its landscape, honours connection to Country, and sees learning as something that happens everywhere, not just inside the…
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Sharing Meals, Building Community
Building wellbeing and belonging from the ground up. Schools have always been places for learning, but I wanted Wirrigirri to first and foremost be a place for belonging. From the very beginning, our goal was to build a community where care and connection were part of the structure – as visible and essential as the…
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Learning Begins in Play
When I started planning Wirrigirri Primary School, one of my strongest convictions was that play had to matter. Not as something reserved for the early years or tacked on to the end of a busy week, but as a serious and intentional part of learning from day one. In those first months of designing our…
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Building Wirrigirri: Fast, Fun, and Finding Our Way
Wirrigirri Primary opened in January 2025 as a brand new government school in Wollert. From day one, it has been busy, energising, at times overwhelming, but above all, fun. There has been little time to stop and take stock of what has been achieved. Now, eight months on, it feels like the right moment to…
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Hello
I’m Bec Spink. Welcome to my musings. This space is about exploring what schools can be when we look beyond systems and structures to focus on their deeper purpose. Too often, education is framed as a set of policies, programs, or quick fixes. I want to shift the conversation to what matters most: schools as…