Bowral Primary School welcomes new principal Aimee Perfrement

And on Thursday, August 17 Southern Highland News was invited to a special school showcase, to welcome Kindergarten students of 2024.

READ MORE:

This is Ms Perfrement's third principal placement. She was principal at Yanderra Primary School before her last principalship at Bulli Public School.

"Before that I worked in south west Sydney, central western NSW and back in Wollondilly," Ms Perfrement said.

Of finding herself "back home" the new Bowral Primary School head said: "I always knew it was a special place."

"It's not until you come back again that you realise how lucky we are," Ms Perfrement said.

The opportunity to work at Bowral Primary School was simply too good to pass up.

"It was the school first and foremost," Ms Perfrement said.

"In my first year at university I volunteered here, doing reading groups."

Since taking the helm five weeks ago it's been an almost constant reminder of her roots, as Ms Perfrement has found familiar faces in almost everyone she comes into contact with.

"It seems to be the more people I meet - and the parents here are all of a similar age to me - we've all experienced that same draw to come back home," she said.

There are lots of special communities but the Bowral Primary School community is "especially special", according to Ms Perfrement.

"People take great pride in their schools but it's at a significant level here," she said.

"There's been lots of jobs that have come up, and I wasn't necessarily ready to leave my last school, but Bowral was that school. It just made the opportunity so much more enticing.

"I absolutely have made the right decision," Ms Perfrement said.

For now, Ms Perfrement is commuting from her home at Macarthur. Her eldest child has just started high school and her youngest is in Year Five.

As for what she hopes to bring to her new role, she said it was "around developing what's here".

"I think there's so much capacity here," Ms Perfrement said.

"There's great traditions and dedicated teachers and obviously a very connected community, but there's also very curious learners, and I think for me it's about tapping into what can we offer here, to ensure that everybody is able to tap into their special talent."

She said there were experiences and offerings unique to Bowral Primary School that she hopes to be able to share with the community.

"I think that's probably going to be a significant part of my role," Ms Perfrement said.

"There's so many great things here, we just need to share them with the right audience."

Those unique offerings and experiences include the Kindergarten 2024 showcase, which Southern Highland News attended.

Greeted at the gate by happy smiling kids, the day's goal was to celebrate all Bowral Primary School has to offer to students starting Kindergarten next year.

Ms Perfrement said she was grateful to the community for welcoming her so warmly.

"To come into a school with such a long history and tradition as Bowral, I think that's really special," she said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: