Brentwood Newsletter

Principal's Report

Central Australia Camp:

The Brentwood Central Australia Trip is highly valued by our school community, and this year was no exception.

 

Last week more than 90 year 11 students and 10 staff spent 7 days in Central Australia experiencing parts of our country that they had not seen before. This year, the camp had a deeper focus on exploring both the historical and cultural significance of various landmarks in Central Australia. This included staying at Lilla Remote Outstation where students met the traditional landowners, experienced a smoke ceremony, and learnt about the cultural significance of the land.

 

Students also explored Uluru, Kings Canyon, Kata Tjuta, the West MacDonnell Ranges and Alice Springs creating memories that they will have for a lifetime. Thank you to Mr B for leading the camp and all the staff for giving our students this wonderful experience.

 

We look forward to many more Brentwood Central Australia trips in future years.

Staffing Changes:

Over the coming weeks I am pleased to welcome the following staff members to the Brentwood Community.

  • Ashleigh Holmes who will be teaching Science from the beginning of Term 3 as Suzanne Emerton begins family leave.
  • Miley Liu will be starting June 19 teaching Humanities. Miley is replacing Laura Durham who has transferred to a new role at a different school.
  • Mariani Lim will begin a new role as one of our Mental Health Practitioners working in the Wellbeing Hub. Mariani has been involved with our Wellbeing Team for an extended period of time as a casual replacement and previous volunteer. She will be replacing Cate Charles.
  • Laura Zalesiak will return next term teaching Music for Semester Two .

The following changes in leadership will also occur:

  • Danielle Mortimer has recently started as the Director of Professional Learning Communities; supporting staff in continually adjusting their teaching practices to meet the learning needs of their students. She is replacing Emma Stevenson who has been promoted to a regional PLC role supporting schools in our region by sharing our best practice at Brentwood.
  • Kate Bennett has replaced Danielle Mortimer as a Learning Specialist working with the Leadership Team in continually leading our school improvement objectives.
  • Sarah Heemskerk will also start in a Learning Specialist role replacing Suzanne Emerton from July 10.
  • Ben Franklin will replace Dean Korlos as an Acting Associate Principal for the first 5 weeks of Term 3 before Dean returns from a period of long service leave.
  • Nicole Green will take on the role of Acting Director of Pathways and VCE at the beginning of Term 3. Nicole will also continue to lead the VCE Vocational Major pathway.

Pathways:

As the end of Term 2 approaches, students start focusing on their subject and pathways choices for 2024 and beyond. We are fortunate to have a well-resourced Pathways Team at Brentwood who provide support to students in a range of ways. This is further supported by the ASPIRE program where all students engage in the ‘My Future’ component of the curriculum.

 

We strongly encourage students and families to take the time to learn about the possible pathways and subject opportunities available to students. There are many ways to do this such as:

  • Exploring our subject guide available on our website:  (https://brentwood.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/Subject-Guide-2024-1.0.pdf).
  • Engaging in the parent and student presentations/webinars from Elevate Education.
  • Exploring the Pathways website where there is important information for students and parents in all year levels: https://www.brentwoodpathways.com/home.
  • For our Year 9 students, discussing their Morrisby Career Profiles with their parents.
  • For our Year 10 students reflecting on their Work Experience placement, they will be doing from June 19 to 23.
  • Speaking with one of the Careers Managers and/or counsellor about the future opportunities at Brentwood and beyond.

Ultimately, the more informed students and families are about the vast pathways opportunities Brentwood students have, the better choices students will make. This will lead to students being able to achieve their potential and experience success as learners and people over the coming years so that they are future ready.

 

I would like to thank and acknowledge the significant work and dedication of our Pathways Team who continue to lead the way with our outstanding pathways program. Our students and families are lucky to have access to such a wealth of information and resources.

Semester Two:

This week students started Semester Two of the Academic School Year. I would like to congratulate all our students who have continued to grow as learners and people by engaging with all the opportunities Brentwood has to offerso far this year. As we begin Semester Two, I encourage students to think about their goals for the rest of the academic year and to get involved in the many activities and experiences yet to occur at Brentwood this year.

 

I look forward to seeing all our students continue studying hard and being the best learner and person they can be as the year progresses.

 

John Ballagh

Principal