Principal's Report
Every Day Counts
At Brentwood Secondary College, 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. Students can now more easily monitor their own attendance percentage on both Compass and our new data platform, Optick. We look forward to providing families their own access to Optick in 2026. Optick will allow you to engage more meaningfully with your child’s learning and wellbeing growth.
Attending school every day means experiencing what counts – the learning, friendship, fun and opportunities that can shape your child’s future. Regular attendance builds habits that support lifelong learning, resilience, and active participation in society, underscoring the need for schools, families, and communities to work together to reduce avoidable absences.
Missing one day per fortnight adds up to missing four weeks of school a year.
We understand that there are times when your child will need to miss school but to ensure minimal disruption to their education, please schedule 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 assessments, 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 Teacher, House Leader or a member of the Wellbeing Team about 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 phoning the Attendance Officer or recording the absence on Compass, so we can work together to support them.
Remember, Every Day Counts.
Free public transport for people aged under 18
From 1 January 2026, people aged under 18 can travel free on all Victorian public transport services. This includes trams, trains, buses and coach services.
To access free travel, they must use a new youth myki card and tap the card on and off each time they travel. For areas that do not use myki cards, they must show their myki card to travel free.
More information – refer to the myki types webpage on the Transport Victoria website.
VCE Exams
VCE exams are happening now and we congratulate students for their positive approach to Unit 3 and 4 exams. We are extremely proud of the growth demonstrated by our 2025 Year 12 cohort as both learners and people. Brentwood students continue to demonstrate our values right up to their last exam and we all wish our graduating year 12 students the very best for when the VCE results are released on Thursday December 11.
We also wish them enjoyable and safe post exam celebrations.
We encourage students and families to engage with the relevant safe partying resources shared by our Wellbeing Team.
Peter Rhodes
Associate Principal