Principal's Report

Principal’s Report 

Every Day Counts

The importance of regular school attendance. 

At Brentwood, we prioritise regular school attendance. We will work with families to ensure students are in class with their peers and teachers and enjoying all the benefits that brings.  

Attending school every day means experiencing what counts – the learning, friendship, fun and opportunities that can shape your child’s future. 

Last year, students at our school missed on average 24 days of school. This equates to almost 3 terms of missed learning over the 6 years of secondary schooling. 

We understand that there are times when your child will need to miss school but to ensure minimal disruption to their education, please consider scheduling family holidays or medical/dental appointments outside of school time. If your child is well enough to attend but is worried about friendships, schoolwork or exams, please encourage them to come to school. Avoiding school can make these feelings worse and can create a negative pattern of behaviour.  

If your child is having difficulty attending school, talk to their House Leaderabout getting support.  

We know that parents and carers can be juggling challenges daily to get your children to school. If your child must miss school, notify us as soon as possible via Compass or the School Attendance Officer so we can work together to support them. 

For more information about the importance of everyday attendance, see Attendance and Missing School. 

Remember, Every Day Counts. 

Bullying No Way Week.  August 17-21 

Small Acts, Big Impact 

Bullying is everyone’s responsibility, and small acts can make a real difference.  

This year’s theme reminds us that actions don’t need to be big to change someone’s world.  

Small actions – like including someone, speaking up or showing kindness – can create meaningful change.  

In our schools and communities, our goal is to build environments where everyone belongs, diversity is celebrated and bullying is never accepted.  

During Bullying No Way Week, we encourage students, schools, families and communities to engage in small acts that can have a big impact against bullying. 

For further information and practical approaches to responding to bullying and advice, see below and at  https://www.bullyingnoway.gov.au/bullying-no-way-week/   

Reconciliation in Action: Our RAP Progress 

Brentwood Secondary College continues to make meaningful progress through our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), developed through Reconciliation Australia’s Narragunnawali program. 

Our RAP provides a practical framework for turning our commitment to reconciliation into action. Over the past year, a number of important actions have been completed across the College, helping us to strengthen cultural understanding, challenge racism, review our practices and build stronger connections with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures. 

Some of our progress so far includes: 

• Taking action against racism – Brentwood has signed up to the Racism. It Stops With Me campaign, making a public commitment to standing against racism within our school and broader community. 
• Strengthening our curriculum – our English faculty has worked with the Victorian Association for the Teaching of English (VATE), alongside advice from academics from Deakin University and Macquarie University, to review curriculum content and texts and explore opportunities to strengthen the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices and perspectives. 
• Reviewing our policies – College policies have been reviewed and updated with a focus on ensuring they are inclusive of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures. 
• Increasing visibility and representation – the Torres Strait Islander flag has been added alongside the Aboriginal and Australian flags displayed at the College. 
• Building our understanding of contemporary issues – the College has subscribed to Reconciliation News, providing another avenue for keeping informed about current issues, perspectives and developments relating to reconciliation. 
• Building relationships with community – we have reached out to our broader school community to identify connections with Aboriginal community groups and explore opportunities to strengthen these relationships. 
• Engaging our staff – staff have received updates on our RAP progress and have been invited to contribute ideas and perspectives. 

Continuing the journey 

Our next phase is about building on these foundations. 

Throughout 2026, we are continuing to strengthen staff cultural responsiveness, including Cultural Understanding and Safety Training (CUST) for all staff. We are also exploring further opportunities for staff to engage with Narragunnawali professional learning, including learning focused on taking action against racism. 

Our RAP provides an ongoing commitment to examining what we do as a school and identifying practical ways we can continue to improve. 

We are proud of the progress made so far, while recognising that reconciliation requires sustained learning, reflection and action. We look forward to continuing to share our progress with the Brentwood community as our RAP develops. 

Ultimately, our aim is for reconciliation to be increasingly visible in what we teach, what we celebrate, the decisions we make, the relationships we build and the culture we create together at Brentwood Secondary College. 

Peter Rhodes

Associate Principal