College News

Take part in a survey to help shape the future of education in Australia 

Parents and guardians are invited to take part in a survey to help inform the Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System. 

The online survey is an opportunity to help shape the future of education in Australia. It closes on Friday 23 June 2023. 

The survey is open to anyone who cares for a school-aged child and makes decisions about their education. Students aged under 18 years can also take part, but require consent from a parent or guardian to do so. 

The expert panel for the review will use the results to inform recommendations for the final report to all education ministers, by 31 October 2023. The final report will advise education ministers on what targets and reforms should be included in the next National School Reform Agreement.  

The Social Research Centre is conducting the survey.  

For more information on the survey, refer to parents/guardians survey on the Australian Government Department of Education website. 

Donations to State Schools Relief

State Schools Relief is a not-for-profit organisation that improves the lives of tens of thousands of disadvantaged Victorian students every year. 1 in 10 Victorian State Schools are supported by State Schools Relief.

State Schools Relief values are as follows,

Unity:  Working together to support every young person.

Equality:  Supporting equal life chances and access to opportunity for all young people.

Dignity:  Making sure every young person can participate with the same pride and dignity as their peers and 

Belonging:  Fostering young people’s sense of participation, inclusion and belonging to their school community.

State Schools Relief programs and ongoing resources improve the learning and wellbeing of our students who are experiencing Financial Hardship.

The philosophy at State Schools Relief is Participation in education is the main way out of poverty and this pathway must remain open to every child. State Schools Relief services ensure that all students can attend school in warmth and comfort with a greater sense of belonging.

Brentwood Secondary College is an important part of this vital process. Every year our school donates money through student activities such as profits raised from BBQ sales on Athletics Day and other fundraising conducted throughout the year.

In 2022 on behalf of our Community we were able to donate profits from Market Day, Athletics Day, Valentines Day Roses and VCAL Raffle - a total of $4697. A wonderful result from these fundraising efforts, thank you to all of the students and staff who organised these events.  

Robyn Geshev

Business Manager

Excursion Payment and Consent

It is a legal requirement that consent is given for students to attend and or participate in events such as excursions and sport. Payment and consent on the day or the day prior to an event is not sustainable for the college. Teachers and coaches need to know who is attending events with sufficient notice for buses, providers and fielding sporting teams.

Consent and payment for events is due two school days before the event at midnight – for example if an event is on a Friday, consent and payment will be due by midnight on Wednesday. If the event is on a Monday the consent and payment will be due by midnight on the Thursday prior.

Parents and students will no longer be able to consent and pay for events on the day before an event or on the day of an event. If consent and payment are not received by midnight two school days before an event the student will not be able to attend.

Payment and consent can be completed on Compass, if you do not have a Compass log in please contact the office on 8545-0300.

For families who would like to use Camps Sports and Excursion Fund (CSEF) for payment of an event, please print out students excursion form via compass, complete the written consent and have students hand forms in to the general office with an instruction to use CSEF for the payment using the same timeline as above, two school days prior to an excursion or sporting event. Students can print their excursion forms in the library.

The college appreciates your cooperation and if you have any questions, please contact the general office on 8545-0300.

Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF) 2023 

CSEF will be provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to help cover the costs of school camps, sports and excursions. Families holding a valid means-tested concession card for e.g. Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card and Temporary Foster Parents are eligible to apply. 

A Special Consideration category exists for:

• Families on a Bridging Visa, Temporary Protection Visa, are in community detention or are asylum seeker or refugee families
• Students in out of home care
• Students in statutory kinship care 

Please also note the parent/carer of a student who is 16 years or older and who holds a valid concession card (such as a Youth Allowance Health Care Card or Disability Support Pension Card) are eligible to apply. 

The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, sports and excursions for the benefit of your child. The annual CSEF amount per student is $225 for secondary school students. 

CSEF Application Forms 2023 are attached on Compass or can be downloaded on Compass under School Documentation (two person icon on Compass dashboard).

Please scan the completed Application Form and a copy of your Centrelink Card and Email to brentwood.sc@education.vic.gov.au

CSEF Applications for 2023 are Now Open and will Close for processing End of Term 2, 23 June 2023.

For more information about CSEF and information in other languages CSEF Information Click Here

Please Note late applications can not be accepted.

Discounted School Uniforms

Brentwood has minimal stock of the following items to be cleared out at heavily reduced prices.  Please note these items are ONLY available at the reduced price through the school, NOT at PSW.  If you are interested in purchasing some items please contact Kellie Rosenfeld Kellie.Rosenfeld@education.vic.gov.au

OLD STOCK CLEARANCE

CURRENT STOCK

Public Transport - Prepaid Buses

To support safer bus journeys and the rollout of all door boarding , cash transactions were permanently removed from myki-enabled buses from 13 July 2020. Parents and students can ensure they continue to travel with a valid ticket by using the following:

• Online at ptv.vic.gov.au/myki
• New PTV app
• Auto top up
• Myki Retailers
• Quick top up  machines
• Myki machines
• Ticket offices including train stations and PTV Hubs

Prepaid boarding will help reduce travel time for passengers as well as increase the reliability of services and Public Transport Victoria is continuing to make improvements to help passengers' transition to this new model. More information is available at ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/myki/buy-a-myki-and-top-up/ 

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 remind yourself of the school’s collection statement, found on our website.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in nine community languages:

• Amharic
• Arabic
• Dari
• Mandarin
• Somali
• Sudanese
• Turkish
• Urdu
• Vietnamese

Student accident insurance, ambulance cover arrangements and private property brought to school

The Department of Education does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students. Parents/carers of students, who do not have student accident insurance/ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance attendance or transport as well as any other transport costs.

Parents/carers can purchase insurance policies from commercial insurers.

Private property brought to school by students, staff or visitors is not insured and the Department does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage.

This can include mobile phones, calculators, toys, sporting equipment and cars parked on school premises. As the Department does not hold insurance for personal property brought to schools and has no capacity to pay for any loss or damage to such property, students and staff should be discouraged from bringing any unnecessary or particularly valuable items to school.