What a Busy Term So Far!

As we head into week 7 and reflect on the term so far, it is pleasing to see and hear about all the wonderful learning that is happening at our College. The students have been very settled and are well established into learning routines and continuing to build connections with their peers and teachers.

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

The NAPLAN Online testing period begins on Wednesday 13 March and concludes on Monday 25 March 2024. It is a nationwide measure through which parents/carers, teachers, schools, education authorities, governments and the broader community can determine whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community.

NAPLAN results allow parents/carers and educators to see how students are progressing in literacy and numeracy over time – individually, as part of their school community, and against national standards.

We wish all of our students the very best for the NAPLAN testing period.

School House Captains

At Brookside College the house captains have the opportunity to develop and lead activities within the school, aiming to build and promote a sense of belonging and school pride. The house leaders work hard to promote their house and encourage students to participate and engage in whole school activities.

Students completed an application process which involved a written application followed by a speech delivered to their house group. Students and staff then voted to elect the successful applicants. We thank all the students who applied, prepared and delivered speeches to their house group. We are in a great position here at Brookside with some amazing, aspiring young leaders. We are pleased to announce the successful house captains are:

Irwin (Green) House:

Captain: Saad 8A Vice-Captain: Phoenix 6C

Freeman (Blue) House:

Captain: Aussie 8B Vice-Captain: Jhasan 6C Newton (Yellow) House:

Captain: Messi 8C Vice-Captain: Chelsea 6C Stynes (Red) House:

Captain: Jacob 8B Vice-Captain: Emily 5B

School Council Elections

The School Council election process for the student and staff representative category has concluded and the successful candidates will be announced shortly.

We are pleased to announce the successful candidates in the parent/guardian category are the following:

Melissa Braybrook
Arzoo Kanwal
Abigail Ong
Manika Sirohi
Arjee Renaud

Year 9 Camp Information Night

Information sessions were held via Zoom on Tuesday 5 March for the upcoming Year 9 Gold Coast Camp. The evening provided the opportunity to update families and deliver information about each camp, as well as answer any questions.

Thank you to Ms Caitlin Pretty; Year 9 Leader and to all other staff who were involved in presenting the information to the families.

Smartwatches at School

Please note that the State Government mandated policy regarding student mobile phone use in schools, also stipulated that smartwatches be used conditionally at school. Students who wear a smartwatch to school must have all notifications switched off whilst at school, and use their wearable device for time telling purposes only.

Where students are observed using their wearable device for any purpose other than telling the time whilst at school, a warning will be issued in the first instance, and the device confiscated following further instances.

The purpose of this policy is in-line with Brookside’s focus on cyber safety and appropriate use of technology, which is taught through our SWPBS framework and supported by our responsible user agreement.

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.

Parent Helper Induction Session

For parents/guardians who are interested in volunteering their time to assist at the college and haven’t completed the induction, are invited to attend. The induction session will be held on Tuesday 26 March from 9:00am-10:00am in the school’s Library. Information will be posted on Compass closer to the date for parents/guardians to register their interest.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend!

The Executive Team

Outdoor Ed

with Ashleigh Gunn