Principal News

Dear Parent/Carer

At the start of this year we launched our new Brookside College Statement of Values and Philosophy.

Brookside College is committed to providing a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for all students, staff and members of our community. Our College recognises the importance of the partnership between our College and parents and carers to support student learning, engagement and wellbeing. We share a commitment to, and a responsibility for, creating an inclusive and safe College environment for our students.

The programs and teaching at Brookside College support and promote the principles and practice of Australian democracy, including a commitment to:

elected government
the rule of law
equal rights for all before the law
freedom of religion
freedom of speech and association
the values of openness and tolerance.

Everyday we celebrate and embed our Statement of Values and Philosophy in our College community, by;

explicitly teach our values through the curriculum
using our values to inform all our dialogue with students, staff, parents and the broader community
displaying posters and banners that promote your values in our College
celebrating our values in our College newsletter
providing awards and recognition for students who actively demonstrate the values
discussing our values with students in the classroom, meetings and assemblies.

As part of this work we empower students and parents to become equal partners in our journey.

Last week we held Parent Forums for Prep and English as an Additional Language (EAL) families. The Forums were an opportunity for parents to share their experience of having a child at Brookside College. From our discussions we have two immediate actions;

1. Prep parents asked if there could be a regular opportunity for teachers, students and parents to share learning. As a result we are holding an ‘Open Classroom’ after the end of term assembly on Monday 24th June from 2.15 – 3.15pm. Regular Friday ‘Open Classroom’s will start in Term 3 for the Preps and if this is a success we will expand across the College

2. Our EAL parents suggested we translate key College information into multiple languages and this is now taking place.

We have also being more work this year to empower student voice. The principal Class now meet with our student leaders every two weeks to share ideas and drive school improvement. Our work at the moment is focussed on developing a series of new College wide classroom expectations that cover;

our values,
our relationships with each other
the use of the classroom spaces, and
teaching and learning,

These new expectations will apply to both staff and students and will be our shared commitment to continued high standards at Brookside College.

Simon Sherlock - Principal