Principal's Report
Welcome Back!
It’s great to be back at Brentwood for the 2025 school year. I hope that our families had an enjoyable and restful break during the Summer Holidays.
Firstly, I would like to officially welcome our new families to Brentwood Secondary College. It is a privilege to be such a significant part of each student’s secondary education and see them grow as learners and people. I hope that all our new students have had a positive start.
The beginning of the school year is always an exciting time for students, staff and parents. Our students are excited to catch up with their peers, meet their new teachers and begin a new learning journey that will push and challenge them. Our staff are equally excited to get to know their students and create a series of learning experiences that are challenging, but achievable for their students. For parents, it is the realization that time is passing quickly as your children are another year older and becoming more independent as people and learners.
Welcome to Country Smoking Ceremony
This year we began the school year with a Welcome to Country Ceremony with our Year 7 and 12 students. The ceremony was led by Uncle Mark Brown from the Bunurong Land Council.
Protocols for welcoming visitors to Country have always been a part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Boundaries were clear, and crossing into another group’s Country required a request for permission to enter. When permission was granted the hosting group would welcome the visitors, offering them safe passage and protection of their spiritual being during the journey. Visitors had to respect the protocols and rules of the land owner group while on their Country.
Today, while these protocols have been adapted to contemporary circumstances, the essential elements remain; welcoming visitors and respect for Country.
During the ceremony, we recognised that whilst Brentwood is 56 Years Old, the Bunurong culture has been present on our land for more than 70,000 years. As a community that values learning and community it is important that we recognise, respect and learn about cultures that are important in our community. Participating in the Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony marks a respect of the traditional owners of the land and recognise the beginning of learning at Brentwood in 2025, particularly for our new Year 7 students.
Whole School Assembly:
At the beginning of each school year, it is a Brentwood tradition that we formally welcome all of our new Year 7 students at a whole school assembly. Each class enters to rounds of applause from their peers in other Year Levels. This is complemented with a formal exit through a ‘guard of honor’ from teachers on their final day of classes in Year 12.
The Assembly is also an opportunity to remind our students of the school values, our vision and expectations for students to be the best learner and person they can be so that they achieve our vision where they are able to “learn as a connected community to grow as individuals who are future ready”.
Our Values are the foundation for our School Wide Positive Behaviour Expectations and the Brentwood Teaching and Learning Model. The Lesson Framework and Student Learner Model support students in giving them guidance and clear expectations of them as a learner and how to be more independent in their learning as they gain new knowledge and master new skills. During the assembly, students were challenged to reflect on their responsibilities as learners and community members, to think about how they can be positive community and team members so that every student is able to achieve their best.
There was an over-arching theme throughout the assembly to encourage students to make the most of the opportunities that Brentwood has to offer each of them, both in the classroom, and through the vast co-curricular program on offer. Brentwood is an excellent school and place to be each day, and we know that when students do their best to live our values, participate fully in the lesson framework & learner model and play their role as positive members of the school community they will maximise their growth as learner and person.
International Tours:
In December last year we had two international tours safely return home. 20 students and 3 staff returned home after a 25-day cultural immersion in Germany. Students saw many wonderful sights and were fortunate to experience school at our sister school Erasmus Gymnasium in Denzlingen as they stayed with a German family. This is a unique experience, and we are very proud to be able to provide this for students. Thank you to Ms. Exton, Mr. Rhodes and Ms. Dickinson for volunteering to give students this experience of a lifetime.
Mr Palmer and myself, along with staff from Highvale Secondary College and South Oakleigh Secondary College, had the pleasure of taking 28 students from our schools to the United States of America for our inaugural Careers and Pathways in Sports Program. The tour took students from Seattle, to Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles where students visited a range of universities included Stanford, Cal Berkley, University of Oregan, UCLA, visited a high school, toured the Chase Centre and met with staff from the Golden State Warriors. A highlight was getting exclusive access to Nike World Headquarters where students met with Nike Executives. These rich and authentic learning experiences made a significant impression on all students about what it takes to find a successful pathway in sport. In addition to this, students saw an NHL game, 3 x NBA matches and an NFL game at SoFi Stadium.
I would like to acknowledge the students on both these tours who were outstanding ambassadors for their school and country. They were polite, curious, respectful and embodied what it means to be Brentwood student. Congratulations to each of them and we hope that these experiences will stay with them for many years to come.
Key Staff in 2025:
As the year begins, I would like to introduce our community to staff who hold key positions within the college.
The Principal Team continues to remain the same in 2025. Our purpose as a principal team is to lead strategically in partnership with the wider school community to improve the learning and wellbeing outcomes of all of our students.Sonja Ardley and Dean Korlos will continue their leadership of Teaching and Learning whilst Peter Rhodes and Aaron Palmer will continue to embed a positive climate for learning so that all students have the opportunity to do and be their best.
Throughout the year the team look forward to contributing to our fortnightly newsletter with our Principals’ Report.
The file below is a list of staff who are leading various programs or teams within our school. Through their roles, these staff will have responsibility for leading various aspects of our school that support students being their best learners and people.
Parents and Friends Association & School Council:
In the coming weeks we will be seeking parental involvement in our school. We have two formal ways that parents can contribute to Brentwood Secondary College.
Firstly we have our Parents and Friends Association, which aims to:
contribute to the wellbeing of the school community
encourage the participation of all parents in the life of the school and the education of their children
provide opportunities for parents to get to know each other and to be informed about their child’s school
provide opportunities for parents to extend their understanding of school operations, and general education policy
contribute to proposals on school policy and other educational issues (as identified or discussed with the Principal or School Council)
raise funds for the benefit of the school.
Over the past two years the PFA have done an amazing job supporting various College events through BBQ’s, morning teas and raising funds to support our sport program, performing arts program and robotics program.
We welcome new parents to our AGM on Monday February 10 at 7pm in the Administration Building.
For parents who are interested in being parent representatives on School Council, nominations will open in the coming days. This role of School Council is to assist in the efficient governance of the school with a high level oversight of the school and work with the Principal Team and staff in improving the learning and wellbeing outcomes of our students. If you would like more information about School Council please contact myself at school.
Facilities:
During the Summer Break the Maintenance Team were hard at work. A new K-Block courtyard was constructed in preparation for a new locker bay to be installed later this term. This will provide 160 extra lockers which will reduce congestion in our corridors, which has been a concern raised by students through forums over recent years.
The Library renovation has continued and will be completed in the coming weeks. We aim to have the Library re-open before the end of the term. This upgrade will provide students with a modern, comfortable learning space, a dedicated space for IT support and access to more staff for support.
I would like to thank all of the families who have donated to our Library and Building funds over recent years. Their generosity has allowed our school to continually improve these spaces for our students.
Finally, thank you to all the staff and students for their efforts in making the start of the school such a success so far. I look forward to a great year ahead at Brentwood!
John Ballagh
Principal