Playing a central role in establishing Yarrabilba's newest school is a career dream for its foundation principal, who looks forward to conducting education differently.
The Yarrabilba State Secondary College opened its doors yesterday, and Belinda Tregea looks forward to building it from the ground up.
Mrs Tregea hopes to establish a strong team of leaders, and a staff who believes every child can learn.
"This is an opportunity for us to do school differently to better meet the needs and interests of our students," she said.
"We will specialise in project-based and outdoor learning as our way of delivering the Australian curriculum.
"We are blessed with beautiful college grounds in a community where green spaces and sustainability are strong features.
"We plan to use the college grounds and community spaces for real-life and hands-on learning so that students see the relevance of the skills they are learning in their classrooms."
An English, history and legal studies teacher, Mrs Tregea has previously overseen the end of a school.
She was the last principal at Dinmore State School, which she said closed under a government initiative.
Mrs Tregea's first principal appointment was at Brisbane Youth Education and Training Centre.
She has also worked on the Darling Downs and in north Queensland.
Mrs Tregea is now looking to the future the school can play in the fast-growing Yarrabilba area.
"We look forward to growing with the community and providing all our students with valuable pathways into education, training and employment within the Yarrabilba community," she said.
Education is changing, and Mrs Tregea said the school recognised students were not all the same.
"We are getting much better at recognising that all kids are individuals with individual strengths and opportunities for growth," she said.
This is an opportunity for us to do school differently to better meet the needs and interests of our students.
- Yarrabilba State Secondary College principal Belinda Tregea
"We are better at tailoring curriculum and teacher practice to student learning styles - students learn in different ways and at different rates and that is OK."
The staff welcomed 260 students through the doors on the first day, and 20 teachers have started lessons.
Education minister Grace Grace was on hand for the opening of the college. Yarrabilba's is one of eight new schools in Queensland.
"The Palaszczuk government is proud to have delivered eight new state schools which all open today, an investment of more than $450 million," she said.
