When Felicity Levett was in primary school, she helped her mother, a teacher at Charnwood-Dunlop School, make lunch for students in her class who might need it.
"My mum would go off to work on her bicycle with up to nine extra sandwiches in her basket because children might not come to school with lunch," she said.
"When we would go to Belconnen Mall and buy shoes for school, we would buy extra pairs in the same size and my mum would take those with her, too."
Ms Levett will be the inaugural principal of Whitlam School, a new primary school currently in construction in the growing suburb of Whitlam.
She said her experience watching her mother go above and beyond for her students will guide her leading principles for the first school year in 2027.
"What that taught me is that every child has a right to education, and a right to have the things in place that they need to access learning - like food and good shoes."
Ms Levett has been a teacher since the late '90s and previously led both Mount Rogers Primary School and Neville Bonner Primary School as principal.
"I always knew I'd be a public education teacher because I wanted to follow in my mum's footsteps," she said.
"I learned a lot from my mother about the importance of inclusion. I want people to feel that they're valued, and that they belong at their primary school."
Whitlam is one of Australia's fastest-growing suburbs. In 2020, just seven people called Whitlam home; now, more than 1600 people live there.
Ms Levett has been holding weekly sessions at Whitlam's Mingle Community Space to hear from these residents about what they need from the upcoming school.
Currently, families in Whitlam are in the priority enrolment area for Evelyn Scott School, accessible via a bridge across Molonglo River.
"The Whitlam community can't wait to not be reliant on a bridge to get to school," Ms Levett said. "They're excited for what the school might offer and the opportunities that the community will have to engage in the school."
Once construction is completed before term 1, 2027, Whitlam School will have a double gymnasium with facilities for basketball and volleyball, as well as a hall with a music room attached.
It will also have a community hub with a kitchenette which will be "totally ready for the community to use," Ms Levett said.
"We're already imagining what we could use that space for."
Whitlam School will have a capacity of 780 students, with planning under way for an early childhood education and care centre in the future.
Ms Levett, backed by a leadership team including Melissa Mongan as deputy principal and Daniel Thompson as business manager, is in the process of recruiting teachers for the school.
"Every person I've met with who wants to work at the school has seen a vision board," Ms Levett said.
The vision board includes a quote from Gough Whitlam, the school's namesake: "I do not for a moment believe that we should set limits on what we can achieve, together, for our country, our people, our future."
"We're not going to set limits," Ms Levett said. "Whitlam School is going to be amazing."
The Whitlam School logo will be revealed on Wednesday, 3 September. Ms Levett, along with Ms Mongan and Mr Thompson, is available for a chat every Wednesday from 2pm to 4pm at Mingle Community Space, 3 Klaus Moje Street, Whitlam.
Enrolments for preschool to year 2 are open for the 2027 school year.
