Birranga College
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Term 3 has been a term full of milestones, momentum, and moments worth celebrating together. From the joy and engagement during book week, the 100-day celebrations to the strong evidence of our NAPLAN and AToSS (Student Attitudes to School Survey) results confirming that the culture we set out to build in our founding year is taking root. The oyster shell found along Cardinia Creek reminds us daily that the potential within each of our students is waiting to be discovered, nurtured, and celebrated.

 

We welcome the following new staff joining our team this term. 

  • Nandana Shaan - Literacy/Numeracy Support
  • Bayden Parkinson – Literacy/Numeracy Support
  • Linette Sebastian – Learning Support Officer
  • Georgia Smith - Literacy/Numeracy Support

  • Ben McDonald – Youth Worker (Culture and Community)

     

Our whole-school Humanities excursion gave every student the chance to extend their classroom learning into a real-world context. Excursion days like this are an important part of how we build belonging beyond the classroom, and staff reported outstanding student engagement and behaviour throughout the day. Students represented the college with pride.

 

 Our Athletics Day was a wonderful event which brought the whole college together in house colours to compete, cheer, and celebrate. Events like this and our connection days, book week and RUOK day, continue to strengthen our sense of shared identity as a still-growing school community.

 

One of the most pleasing pieces of evidence of our progress this term has been our NAPLAN and Student Attitudes to School Survey (AToSS) results. Our founding Year 7 cohort has returned strong results across a number of key measures, including a sense of belonging, high expectations for success, and positive relationships with teachers. These results are a wonderful validation of the culture our community have worked so deliberately to build in our first year of operation, and they will directly inform our priorities as we plan for 2027.

 

Our student leaders continue to grow into their roles. Currently, student leaders are moving around the yard and recognising other students who are demonstrating our values by awarding raffle tickets. Students then have an opportunity to win prizes. Our leaders also work regularly to welcome visitors and help induct new students into the college. 

 

Our Challenge and Enrichment Program continues to provide valuable additional rigour and stretch to our curriculum. Running each Monday afternoon, the program has students working in teams on authentic, project-based challenges connected to our own school community, building the critical and creative thinking skills that will serve them well beyond Birranga.

 

Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Carer Opinion Survey and is seeking your feedback. The survey, offered by the Department of Education, is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. 

 

We sent you an invitation to complete the survey. If you cannot find the invite, please reach out and we can resend this invitation to you.

 

The Parent / Carer Opinion Survey will remain open online until Friday 18 September 2026.

 

Your opinions are important to us and will contribute to identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies. The department will use the results from the survey for research purposes and to improve outcomes for students.

 

The survey is being conducted online and only takes 20 minutes to complete. 

If you require assistance in completing the survey, please reach out to your child’s teacher, or the school if you require assistance in another language.

 

Scholarships for students  

The Department of Education manages a range of student scholarships. These are available for students who: 

  • complete Grade 4 to Year 11 in 2026 
  • are enrolled in Year 12 in 2026 and plan to do tertiary studies in 2027. 

The department will evaluate applicants on their: 

  • academic achievement 
  • participation in school and community activities 

  • financial need

     

Scholarships are either one-off payments or cover the duration of the student’s course. 

Applications for these scholarships open on Thursday 1 October 2026 and close on Monday 1 February 2027. 

To view all available scholarships and for more information on each, including how to apply, refer to Student scholarships. 

 

Conferences - Thankyou 

The College wanted recognise the support of all parents and carers who attend the conferences to support both their child and the College staff as we work together to get the best student outcomes for every student. These conferences are critical in parents and carers being aware of their child’s progress and the best ways to support them. Birranga College recognises that parents-carers are busy and this is why we have a focus on expecting that parents and carers only attend three conferences over each academic year. We are also hoping in the next conferences to have some further data on your child’s progress to present to you.

 

Booklists for 2027

Just a note to parents and carers that information about fees/booklists will come out in November for the 2027 school year. Once again we will take into consideration cost impacts and balance this with the needs of students/the College.

 

Key Information for the End of Term 4

The finish to Secondary School is different to Primary School and so the College will be sending out some key communication in Term 4 to all parents and carers. Students will have the opportunity in December to partake in two fun days and you can expect information about these coming out in week 1 of Term 4. These activity days require you as parents to make some decision with your child on what they like to participate in. Another key difference is the completion of formal classes for the year, which occurs earlier than Primary School. Finally, some early notice that Monday 2nd November (day before the Melbourne Cup Day) will have no formal classes running, and students that attend on this day will be undertaking an alternate timetable.