Principal Page
Welcome to Term 4. I hope everyone enjoyed a restful break. As we head into the final term of our founding year, I’d like to look back on a wonderful end to Term 3 and share what’s coming up.
Belong
This term we held our first Transition Evening for families joining us in Year 7 in 2027. Our student leaders ran the school tours and spoke with real confidence and warmth about what Birranga means to them. It was a proud moment to see some of our founding students welcoming the next group of Year 7s.
Our whole-school Athletics Carnival on Wednesday 9 September was a highlight of the year. Students took part in a full day of track and field events, and their sportsmanship and school spirit showed just how much our young community has grown together. Book Week brought plenty of fun as staff and students dressed up as their favourite characters. For R U OK? Day, Headspace joined us to run lunchtime activities that reminded everyone to check in on one another and that support is always available.
Believe
Thank you to every family who completed the Parent Opinion Survey. We are now analysing the results. Your feedback, together with what our students told us in their own survey, will directly shape our priorities as we prepare for Year 8 in 2027. Students have told us they feel a strong sense of belonging and value their positive relationships at Birranga, and we are committed to building on that.
Become
Our student leaders keep growing into their roles. They now move around the yard recognising students who show our values and handing out raffle tickets that go into a prize draw. They also welcome visitors and help new students settle in. I’m also excited to share that a group of student volunteers has formed our Yearbook Committee. Working with our librarian, Ms Karys McEwen, they are collecting photos, writing stories and designing Birranga College’s very first yearbook as a keepsake of our founding year. We can’t wait to share it with you.
Welcome to our new staff
Please join me in welcoming three new members to our team this term:
- Tiara Rongonui, Reception
- Karen Bell, Mental Health Practitioner
- Ben Mitchell, PE/Health Teacher
Emergency Management
We want to let you know about our school’s emergency management plan. Our school plans for a range of hazards, such as (bushfire, severe weather, medical emergencies, building fires, intruders, etc – select a few most applicable to school). We develop specific response procedures to address these risks. We also conduct drills regularly, ensuring that our core procedures of on-site and off-site evacuation, sheltering-in-place, and lockdown/lockouts are well-rehearsed and understood by staff and students.
If we enact our emergency management plan, we will notify you by (email, Compass notification, etc) with updates on our actions. If there is anything we need you to do, we will let you know. During emergencies, we will work with emergency services and the Department of Education for safety advice and support. Please know that keeping our students and staff safe is our top priority.
Summative & Formative Assessment at Birranga College
Students, Parents-Carers play a crucial role in working with the teachers to support and monitor progress. This Friday the Cycle 5 Progress Reports are out for viewing via Compass and we encourage Parents-Carers to reflect on this progress with their child. The College will also support a reflection of this cycle in its PEARL session with each student, where they as individuals track their academic progress but also their growth alongside our three key values of: Belong, Believe & Become. Importantly parents-carers play a key role in supporting teachers in ensuring that set tasks are completed (learning tasks, homework etc) and they can view these at any point in time via their parent compass portal. These summative tasks also show progress of student skill and knowledge – but importantly also prepare students for expectations of work submission as they progress through each year level.
Student Absences
We kindly remind families to provide a medical certificate or other supporting documentation when students are absent from school due to illness, where available.
These documents help us maintain accurate attendance records and support the appropriate recording of student absences.
We appreciate your support in providing this documentation and helping us keep our attendance records up to date.
Family Holidays
Extended family holidays can impact educational outcomes of your child. If you are planning a family holiday, please notify the school in advance. Parents/carers must complete a form from the office prior to leaving on the holiday and meet with the Year Level Coordinator.
If no explanation is provided by the parent within 10 school days of an absence, it will be recorded as an ‘unexplained absence’ and recorded on the student’s file.
Parents will be notified if an absence has not been excused.