Brentwood Newsletter

Principal's Report

From the Principal, Mr John Ballagh

Welcome to our new look Brentwood Newsletter. We are excited to publish our first newsletter in this new format. Our aim is to make the reading experience of our newsletter as easy as possible for our readers. This new format has a range of features that we hope will further engage our school community. These include:

  • Larger and more photos of our students and school in action,
  • Automatic reformatting for viewing on smart phones and tablet devices,
  • Ability for our community to subscribe to our newsletter and receive an ‘email digest version’ prior to reading the full newsletter. Please note we will still be sending out a news feed alert on Compass and maintaining our links on the College website,
  • Ability for the newsletter to be easily translated into more than 100 different languages for families who may not speak English at home.

I hope you enjoy reading our updated newsletter!

Student Free Day

On Monday April 16 our staff engaged in a wonderful day of professional learning led by the College School Improvement Teams and a number of other teachers at the school.  These professional learning days enable staff to learn and develop their practice together and are a great demonstration of our values for learning and community.

 

The purpose of the day was to continue our focus on improving Brentwood so that our students have the best possible education.  To achieve this, the staff worked through a range of potential future organizational and structural improvements that will enhance the teaching and learning program at the College.  The energy, discussion and ideas were flowing which resulted in a wealth of information for the School Improvement Teams to work with in developing recommendations for the future.

 

In the afternoon, staff engaged in a professional learning program to further build their knowledge and skills in applying digital technologies in their classrooms to improve student learning.  This resulted in staff exploring how to use Microsoft OneNote and Teams in a classroom environment. Many of our teachers have already been using and/or trialing these with various classes this year.  Over time, their use will continue to expand as our new laptop program continues to grow.  These devices are an exciting opportunity for students and teachers to enhance the learning environment in classrooms at Brentwood and further challenge our students in their learning.

 

I would like to thank our teachers for their high level of engagement and input during the professional learning day, and the number of teachers who willingly shared their practice with their peers.  Once again, this demonstrated the commitment our teachers have to being the best they can be.

College Council Office Bearers & Student Representatives

The new College Council held its first meeting on March 19.  As a result I would like to confirm the following Office Bearers for next twelve months:

President – Mrs Kerry Whitehand

Vice President – Stella Koutsikos

Treasurer – Leon Lilly

Minute Secretary – Peter Rhodes

 

The following members of our community also make up our School Council this year:

Kathleen Davies

Elaine Hanley

Helen Higgins

Manish Kalra

Evan Miller

Bridget Sadler

Srinivas Sridharan

Daniel Webber

Victoria Yap

 

Whilst Brentwood has always had student representatives on School Council, the Department of Education and Training have created an official member category for students as of this year.  Therefore, I will be overseeing a process to elect two students to our School Council.  This is another great example of student voice in action at schools, and I am very much looking forward to the input from our students on Council once the selection process has been completed.

Staffing Changes

Mrs Lauren Bourke had her last day at the end of Term 1 before starting her maternity leave.  We wish her all the best for the safe arrival of a healthy baby.  Ms Lisa Bradley has been appointed to replace Mrs Bourke and we are looking forward to working with her and I’m sure the students are enjoying meeting and getting to know Ms Bradley.

 

We also said farewell to Mrs Carol Walker who retired on the last day of Term 1. Carol has been working and managing the College canteen for 17 years.  Her contribution and dedication to our College has been simply amazing.  She has worked tirelessly with no fuss for years, managing a very important service to our students and enabling our parents to engage in the school community by volunteering in the canteen.  We are very appreciative of her service to our school community.

Shade Sails

Over the holidays the first stage of installing shade sails outside the Gymnasium and the Senior Learning Center took place.  This will be completed later this term and will provide students with more shaded areas during their breaks as well as more shade for Physical Education classes in preparation for the warmer weather later in the year.

Parent Survey

Last term the College asked parents to complete an online survey regarding various areas in the College.  This was followed by a parent forum on Monday March 19.  The purpose of this consultation was to help the school implement improvement strategies in 2018 and beyond.  This, along with the already mentioned staff professional learning program will be very valuable for the School Improvement Teams in shaping any future recommendations for improvements.  During this term there will be both student surveys and forums as well.

 

I would like to share some of the results of the survey and forum with the broader community as they demonstrate how great our school is and are a reminder to all of us how lucky we are to be a part of such a great community.  As you will see, most of the scores are skewed in the positive, with most above a 3 out of a possible 4.  There are, however, a few scores that are not positively skewed, however these are interpreted in a positive fashion due to the nature of the statement being responded to.  

 

Survey Results Summary (Results reported below are the average for various statements on a scale of 1 – 4, with 4 being the highest possible score)

 

College Communications and Parent Involvement

Highest Scores:

  • I always read newsfeed items when they are posted on Compass (3.37)
  • I feel confident using Compass to communicate with the school (3.33)
  • I access Compass at least once a week to learn about my child's progress (3.33)

Lowest Scores:

  • I am more likely to read school news on Facebook than the school newsletter (1.70)
  • I feel well informed about the Senior Pathway (subjects) options at Brentwood (2.59)
  • I would like more opportunities to be involved in the school (2.63)

Relationships

Highest Scores:

  • My child feels safe at school (3.32)
  • My child is well supported by their classroom teachers (3.10)
  • Brentwood supports my child's personal development. (3.06)

Lowest Scores:

  • My child has been bullied at school (2.05)
  • The school manages bullying effectively* (2.89)
  • My child's Home Group teacher knows them well (2.91)

*A significant number of parents did not respond to this question as it was only relevant to situations where the school has worked with families who have experienced bullying.

 

College Values and Culture

All scores:

  • I know the College Values (3.01)
  • My child knows the College Values (3.13)
  • I support the College Values (3.34)
  • I am proud to be a parent in the Brentwood Community (3.36).
  • Brentwood is well respected in the local community (3.37)

Student Learning (Senior Pathways Options)

The results showed a positive support of the College exploring broadening future Senior Pathways as a way to engage more students effectively in their learning. For example:

  • I support the introduction of VCAL to cater for all learners (3.47)
  • I support the introduction of greater VET options to cater for all learners (3.36).

The outcomes of these results will now be used, along with a range of other evidence and information to inform our planning for future years at Brentwood.  Having said this, the survey results and discussion at the parent forum have shaped future information evenings this year for parents around cyber safety and pathways options for Brentwood students.  They have also helped shape our work in developing a communications policy to help further improve the flow of information to parents and processes for parents to engage with staff at the College.

Uniform Feedback

Nearly 300 people responded to the College Uniform Survey by the end of Term 1.  I would like to thank all of those people who took the time to provide feedback on the current school uniform.  As previously communicated, the School Council are due to review the student uniform this year.  The school is not looking at implementing significant changes to the uniform, but more to update the uniform dress code to ensure it is in alignment with our community’s expectations and standards, whilst also investigating any improvements to the current uniform items.  A sub-committee made up of parents, students and staff will review each of the responses and make recommendations to School Council later this term. I am expecting that an updated Uniform Policy and Dress Code will be developed and publicised to the school community by the beginning of Term 3 this year.

A Message from one of our students

Earlier this term one of our Year 11 students, Christian Salguerio, approached me regarding the recent and very tragic school shooting that took place at Marjory Stoneman High School, Florida in the USA.  He was wanting to find a way to encourage the Brentwood Community to reach out and support the victims and members of the school community by contributing to the School Newsletter and sending a letter to the school.  This is another example of one of our students demonstrating our school values for community, by showing both empathy and compassion for others.  Please read an extract from his message below:

 

"To those who know families or friends of the victims you have our deepest prayers and sympathies. And on the behalf of Brentwood Secondary Collage, we grieve your loss with you and respectfully offer you our condolences towards your loss. 

We would like all of the affected families to know that we offer our full support and we all would like to raise awareness that this is not a one-time thing and that this letter also goes to all those times students have died in a shooting at a school. I would like those families to know that they are not alone."