Principal News
Welcome to a New School Year!
A warm welcome back to all of our returning students and families, and a huge welcome to the Brookside community to all of our new students and families!
It has been a fantastic start to the school year, and it has been wonderful to see our students settle into another year of learning. During the first week of school our staff and students worked through our ‘Start Up’ program, during which students participated in wellbeing and ‘getting to know you’ activities. Staff also focused on school and classroom expectations throughout this time.
Students and staff are filled with excitement about the year ahead, and we look forward to working with everyone in what we hope we are sure will be an amazing 2023 school year!
First Day of Prep, and the Parents and Friends Committee (PFC) Tea and Tears morning
Our Prep students were very excited to begin their education and get into the classroom for their first official day on Monday 6 February. There were lots of smiles and not too many tears from students… or their families!
Thank you to all of the families who attended the Tea and Tears morning after their prep children entered their classrooms. It was lovely for staff to be able to chat with the families in attendance.
Thank you also to the PFC members who attended the session. We hope that many more of our wonderful community decide to join our PFC and take part in the wonderful events that are scheduled to happen this year!
P-6 Monday Morning Assemblies
Our Monday morning assemblies are back! Our first one was held on Monday 13 February, and it was very exciting to see all of our P-6 students and many parents in attendance. Our Monday morning assemblies are a great way to keep up to date with what is happening at the school, and is also a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the successes of our students each week. We encourage all P-6 parents to attend whenever you can!
Bunnings Sausage Sizzle Fundraiser
On Saturday 11 February, Brookside College manned the sausage sizzle stand at Bunnings in Caroline Springs, fundraising for our School Wide Positive Behaviour Support program.
The event, led by Kate Newitt (Assistant Principal) and Abi Smith (Education Support), was a smashing success with over $2000 profit made!
Thank you to all of the staff, families and community business who supported the event in various ways. The money raised from the sausage sizzle will all be put towards the purchasing of items for our termly Brookside SWPBS shop, so students can look forward to spending their hard-earned Brookside ‘4 R Superstar’ Bucks on some great prizes later this term!
Notice of Election/Call for Nominations for School Council
A reminder that we currently have 5 available positions in our parent/guardian member category on School Council, and 1 position in our student member category. These positions are 2 years in length and will encompass both the 2023 and 2024 school years.
This is a fantastic opportunity to become a member of School Council, which has the ability to set the key directions of a school within state-wide guidelines and directly influence the quality of education that the school provides.
Nomination forms may be obtained from the College Reception from Monday 13 Feb and must be lodged by 4pm Monday 20 February. The timeline for the nomination and election process can be found on Compass and is also on display at the College. All completed nomination forms are to be delivered or sent to Karen Fernandez (Business Manager) via the College Reception or College email address brookside.p9@education.vic.gov.au
NAPLAN 2023
Students in Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 will be participating in NAPLAN Online in 2023. This is the second year that the school will be conducting NAPLAN using the online platform, but it will be the first time that these specific students will complete the tests online.
The NAPLAN testing period is scheduled to take place earlier in the year to give teachers and parents important information about a student's skills and capability sooner, so that more targeted support can be delivered to improve literacy and numeracy skills throughout the year. It will be held during Term 1 from Wednesday 15 March to Monday 27 March, (instead of in May) and will encompass the same areas of Reading, Writing, Conventions of Language and Numeracy.
A timetable will be communicated to families in the coming weeks, detailing when students at Brookside College will be participating in the tests. We ask parents of students in Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 to record these dates in home diaries/calendars.
To prepare our students prior to the official testing period, students in Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 will participate in a practice online Reading and Mathematics test on Tuesday 21 February.
A brochure detailing important NAPLAN information for parents has been posted for parents/guardians on Compass. Please take the time to read the information provided in the brochure, and please contact your child’s teacher or Brooke Gillis (Assistant Principal) if you have any questions.
Uniform
Please note that all students at Brookside College are expected to wear the correct school uniform, including wearing a visible school logo and black shoes. For further information about our school uniform, please view the following link on our website: https://brooksidecollege.vic.edu.au/families-community/#uniform
Students in Years Prep-6 MUST also wear a hat when playing outside during Term 1 - students who do not wear a hat will not be able to play outdoors during the summer months.
Consent Forms
A friendly reminder that all parents & guardians are asked to complete the Seesaw and Acceptable User Agreement Forms for each child. Your child needs your consent to be able to use digital technologies while at school and may miss out if you have not submitted your consent.
You would have also recently been sent a notification to complete Photo & Media consent for each child. Brookside College requires permission from parents and guardians in order to publish the participation and achievement of our students in the form of photographs or footage through school media platforms such as newsletters or the school’s website.
Please make sure that you read through all of the information and attachments carefully before submitting your response. If there are any concerns or clarifications needed feel free to contact your child's classroom/home group teacher, or you can contact Brookside's Digital Technologies Learning Specialist, Steven Bennett.
Positive School Attendance
At Brookside P-9 College, we are committed to providing your child with a high-quality education. Regular school attendance is vital and missing school days can have a big impact on a child’s future - missing one day per fortnight is equal to missing four full weeks by the end of the year… and by Year 10 these students will have missed more than a year of school!
There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, which can affect their educational outcomes.
As a College we closely monitor each individual students’ attendance and have a clear process in place to support with maintaining expected attendance rates.
If your child is absent from school please phone the College attendance line. Alternatively, you are able to log your child’s absence and the reason directly on Compass, as this will help to keep teachers informed. If you know your child will be absent in advance (holidays or medical appointments) please enter the dates on Compass prior to the date of absence.
Parents of students with unexplained absences will receive a follow up phone call or SMS to request a reason for the absence.
If for any reason your child must miss school, there are things we can do together to ensure they don’t fall behind:
- speak with your classroom teacher and find out what work your child needs to do to keep up.
- develop an absence learning plan with your teacher and ensure your child completes the plan.
Camps, Sports & Excursion Funding (CSEF)
The 2023 CSEF program is now open until the 23 June 2023. All eligible concession card holders will receive $125 per student that can be used to contribute to any costs relating to a camp, sporting activity or excursion.
If you have applied for CSEF previously, you do not need to apply again. If you think you might be eligible, please contact the front office for more information.
Annual Privacy Reminder
Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy. Please take time to read our school’s collection notice, found on our website. For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:
* Amharic
* Arabic
* Dari
* Gujarati
* Mandarin
* Somali
* Sudanese
* Turkish
* Urdu
* Vietnamese
Focus on 2023
Each year schools develop an Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) based on a range of data sources, so as to ensure that we focus on the right work and continue to show growth and improvement.
In 2022 we experienced some great successes, and so in 2023 we aim to continue with the work that we have begun. Below is a snapshot our 2023 Annual Implantation Plan that highlights our key focuses, which will drive all of the work across the school this year.
We hope you have a wonderful weekend!
The Executive Team