Having moved to the area with a pre-schooler, the decision about which school to send her to was daunting. After touring the larger, more known schools in the area, we thought we owe due diligence to our child and booked in to check out the “little school down the street”. From the moment we stepped onto the grounds we knew this was absolutely the place to be.
Touring the school with the pupils themselves, not the principal or staff with marketing degrees, we were brought into the Belle Vue world through the eyes and experiences of the children. They told us how supportive the teachers are. They told us how much fun they have during sports days. They told us that the art teacher is so creative. They told us how nervous they were during the mid-year performance but how they were encouraged, and they had a blast. They told us how proud they are to be Belle Vue kids.
They didn’t look like kids that missed opportunities because they weren’t at a big school. They were kids that were encouraged. They were kids that were empowered. They were kids that were polite, generous, and social.
They were kids that were proud. They are kids that participate in every school event no matter what year level they are.
If you’re sensing a pattern here, you’re correct – Belle Vue is all about “They” – and that “They” is your child.
Every teacher knows every child and every child knows every other child (and they know every parent!). This sense of community is strong and when they were separated by pandemics and lockdowns those relationships were well established and the resilience of the entire community shone through like a beacon in the darkness.
That was over 10 years ago. Our pre-schooler is now deep into her secondary years and still looks fondly at the school where she was understood, supported, coaxed out of her shell, and encouraged to be bold and courageous. She often looks with nostalgia at her sibling, now in her own Belle Vue uniform, wishing she could pull on the comforting reds and greens and submerge herself, if only for a day, back into the warm embrace of Belle Vue Primary School – the little school down the street with the heart of gold and the results to match.”