Principal's Report
Welcome to 2020 at Brentwood!
On behalf of the school community, I would like to welcome all of our families to the 2020 academic year at Brentwood. In particular our 340 new Year 7 students and a number of new students in other year levels. I have no doubt that 2020 will be an exciting year where our students will continue to grow as learners and people.
As we all know, 2020 has begun with the bushfire crisis that has affected so many Australian communities. To all of the Brentwood families, and any others, that have been affected by the recent bushfires our thoughts and best wishes are with each of you. If there are any supports that the school can provide any affected families please get in contact with the school. There have been a number of staff and other community members who have been involved in fighting the fires or supporting those affected. On behalf of the Brentwood community, I thank each of them for the bravery, support and compassion during this time. The actions of everyone who has helped, and continue to support the communities, has been nothing short of amazing. They are certainly demonstrating the sorts of community values that our school stands for. Thank you.
2020 will see our school continue to evolve and grow as we consolidate the changes that were implemented last year. Students will continue to be involved in developing the House identities and culture at the school, our learning program and pathways for students will continue to grow, as will our facilities to keep up with the increased student population. I look forward to sharing these developments with our community as the year progresses.
Japan Exchange and World Challenge
In December last year, two of our international trips returned home to Australia. Firstly, a group of students led by Ms Tracey Campion and Mr Leon Lilly returned home from a visit to our sister school in Japan, ONO Senior High School. This partnership has been going for more than 20 years, and once again it was a rich learning and cultural experience for our students.
At the same time, 19 students, led by Ms Karla Scipione and Ms Carla Caminiti, went to Cambodia as part of a World Challenge expedition. The students were challenged in many ways, from trekking through the jungle, navigating their way through towns and villages, organising their accommodation and food to helping a small community build a hospital. The students have come home with experiences that they will draw on for the rest of their lives.
I would like to thank the teachers involved for giving up their time to provide these students with memories and experiences that they will never forget. I have no doubt that the students involved have grown immensely as a result.
The Principal Team
In 2020 there has been some changes to the roles of the Principal Team. Firstly I would like to welcome Ms Sonja Ardley who was appointed to an Acting Associate Principal Role starting this year.
Ms Ardley will be leading the ‘Excellence in Teaching and Learning’ area of the school along with Mr Evan Miller. A focus of their work will be continuing to lead teaching staff in further developing their craft to meet the needs of our students so they are able to learn in a connected community and grow as individuals who are future ready.
Mr Peter Rhodes and Mr Leon Lilly will be leading the ‘Positive Climate’ focus area of the school. This will involve continuing to lead the ongoing development of the House Hub, ASPIRE program and Wellbeing team so that Brentwood students feel safe, happy and connected.
Ms Robyn Geshev will continue as the Business Manager in 2020, leading the effective resource management of the school.
Leadership Team and Important Contacts
The following link contains a list of staff in various leadership positions in the school. They can be contacted at the school should parents or members of the community need to speak with them.
School Captains
The 2020 School Captains are Ricky Armstrong, Hayden Brown, Vidhi Korgaonkar and Navika Moudgil. I would like to congratulate them on their appointment to this prestigious role. They are all fine young people who are eager to leave their mark on Brentwood by helping create the best environment possible for students. They all participated in a Y-Lead Student Conference in January and have returned with enthusiasm and a desire to support the community. I have no doubt the community will hear more from them throughout the year.
Communicating with Brentwood
As a large secondary school of over approximately 1700 students and 150 staff, effective communication can be challenging at times. However, it is very important for all members of our school community to be actively engaged in the school. Therefore, it is important that all members of our community are familiar with the following documents:
I would like to emphasise to our parents and students the importance of using Compass to communicate with the school for everyday purposes. All relevant and important information is located here and it is the easiest way to make payments, provide absence approvals, communicate with teachers and more. The following guide will provide parents with more information on how to use Compass.
The school also has an active Facebook page that I would invite all community members to join. The Facebook page is used for celebrating student achievements, sharing information about College Events to the wider school community and increase engagement with the local community. Please follow us on facebook by clicking HERE.
Digital Learning
2020 is the final year of our transition to becoming a 1 to 1 laptop/tablet learning environment. All students should now have their own laptop/tablet computer with an active stylus. This will enable our teachers to continue their own professional development and work in reviewing and re-developing the curriculum to take advantage of the digital technologies our students have access to. We are looking forward to keeping the community informed of our journey in effectively integrating technology into the learning program at the school.
Facilities
Over the holidays the school installed lockers on the northern side of the Art block with lockable roller doors. This will help distribute students out of the other congested locker bays in the school. Services for a new student toilet block were installed over the break and we expect the building to arrive within the next two weeks. Both of these works have come from student feedback in 2019.
The Library has had new shelving installed and will be re-opening in the coming days, once the books have been re-shelved. Students will notice quite a different feel and look in the library that will provide a more inviting space that has collaborative study spaces within the bookshelves. The books will also be displayed to encourage more students to engage with them.
At the end of last year, a number of classrooms were painted, new classroom furniture purchased and a number of garden beds have been improved with new plants and mulch. I’m sure the students and staff will continue to appreciate the improved physical school environment that supports their learning and pride in the school.
Congratulations
Finally, I would like to acknowledge all staff and students who have had a wonderful start to the school year. The students quickly settled into class and engaged in learning. It is important to ensure the school year starts in an organised and orderly fashion. In particular, the students have responded very well to the new Mobile Phone and Laptop computer policy. Many staff have commented on the difference in the schoolyard already without students on devices. We look forward to this continuing.
John Ballagh, Principal