Principal News
Welcome back to a New School Year!
It has been so wonderful to see our students and staff return to school, happy to be back and ready to learn! It has also been very exciting to welcome our new Preps, who have eagerly joined us and are already establishing routines and learning some new and exciting things.
We look forward to working with everyone in what we hope will be an amazing 2022 school year!
Covid-19 Safety
Thank you to all families who have been completing the Rapid Antigen Tests throughout each week – this process helps to identify cases quickly and ensures that students are not coming to school when sick with the virus.
Please advise the school if anyone in your family tests positive at any time, and please contact us should you need any support.
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 - students who do not wear a hat will not be able to play outdoors during the summer months.
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.
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.
Remember, every day counts. If your child must miss school, speak with your classroom teacher as early as possible.
The impact of COVID over the last two years has had significant impact in maintaining regular routine. We understand that COVID is continuing to have an impact on regular student attendance and as a school we will do our utmost best to support students and families for the period of time students are required to isolate.
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 you have attendance concerns in regards to your child, please contact your child’s classroom teacher so we can work together to get your child to school every day.
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.
Our New Look Library
During the summer holidays our library had a makeover, and we are incredibly pleased with how it turned out! The new furniture encourages both collaboration and independent reading, and we look forward to continuing to develop this space.
We have had some amazing feedback from students who have come through so far, with many saying it is fabulous and one student even remarking that “The library is like a Millionaire's Mansion!"
Prep Tea and Tears morning
Thank you to all of the families who attended the Tea and Tears morning which was run on the first day of Prep. It was lovely for staff to be able to chat with each of the families in attendance.
Thank you also to the staff, students and parents who attended the session, and particularly Sarah Jarman and the Hands on Learning students who provided coffees and teas for all!
Brookside College 2022 - House Captains and Vice Captains Announcement
The Brookside College Student Leadership Program is a whole school program that lays the foundation for the development of leadership qualities. At the beginning of each school year a number of student leadership positions are made available and this year we have started them off by completing the process of electing House Captains. One House Captain for each house has been elected in Years 7-9 and one House Vice Captain from Years 3-6. House Captains have the opportunity to develop a calendar and lead activities/projects within the school that build and promote a sense of belonging to a house group (Green, Yellow, Red, and Blue). These Student Leaders will work hard to promote their house and encourage students in their house group to participate in activities and projects running throughout the school.
After completing applications and then bravely delivering speeches to their peers last week, it is our absolute pleasure to announce Brookside College’s House Captains and Vice Captains for 2022;
We would like to once again thank all applicants for their incredible effort with both their applications and speeches. The standard was set extremely high and we commend you all for your efforts in this process.
Mental Health in Primary Schools Pilot
We are very excited to announce that our school will be involved in the Mental Health in Primary Schools Pilot in 2022. The MHiPS Pilot is a Department of Education and Training initiative, designed to promote a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing. The Pilot is being delivered in partnership with Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the Melbourne Graduate School of Education.
The Pilot provides our school with funding during 2022 to employ a teacher-qualified professional as a Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinator who will lead a whole-school approach to mental health prevention and early intervention approaches that are embedded in the classroom. This will enable us to further deepen our current practices to support our students’ wellbeing.
The mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinator will complement the school’s existing wellbeing team, and strengthen our connections with Department of Education and Training regional staff, local community services and other health professionals to engage and build relationships with appropriate mental health and wellbeing supports.
Notice of Election/Call for Nominations for School Council
A reminder that we currently have 6 available positions in our parent/guardian member category on School Council, and 2 positions in our student member category. These positions are 2 years in length and will encompass both the 2022 and 2023 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 Wednesday 16 Feb and must be lodged by 4pm Wednesday 23 February. The timeline for the nomination and election process can be found on Compass and is also available at the College Reception. 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
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.
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 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.
We hope you have a wonderful weekend!
The Executive Team