Principal News
What a Busy Term So Far!
As we head into week 8 and reflect on the term so far, it is pleasing to see and hear about all of the wonderful learning that is happening at our College. This is a credit to our amazing teachers and students who have settled wonderfully into the school year. There have already been a few school events, with more to come including NAPLAN, Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences and Year 9 Camp.
Student Support Group Meetings (SSGs)
Meetings were held throughout the last 2 weeks with families of students with additional needs to discuss how they have settled into the term and set goals. Thank you to our Inclusion Leader, Crystal Ambelas, for organising and meeting with our families.
Swimming Carnival
The swimming carnival was recently held over two different days for our students in Years 3-9. Both days provided exceptional weather and our students were super excited to be able to participate in their first event for the year. Thank you to Miss Caitlin Pretty for organising the swimming carnival and to all staff involved who made the event such a successful one. Congratulations to all students who progressed to the next round of Districts and Division Swimming competition.
Ongoing Reporting
We are very happy to announce a new pathway forward with how the school will be reporting student progress and achievement to families. We are calling this 'Ongoing Reporting' as we endeavour to bring updates to families on a more frequent basis throughout the entire school year.Previously, official reporting has involved an end of semester report that included assessed tasks and comments on areas of achievement and future focused improvements/goals. Our new program aims to get this information to you sooner, giving you a more accurate indication of current progress and achievement, and also a chance to action feedback from teachers in a timelier manner to increase educational success.
Keep an eye on Compass for more fact sheets and ‘how to’ videos in the coming weeks as we roll out this new process. If you have any questions or would like support, please reach out to your child's home room teacher in the first instance.
Evidence of learning in classes is already being worked on and being uploaded for you to see. We hope you enjoy our new ongoing reporting program, and we look forward to presenting all the success of Brookside P-9 College students to our families.
NAPLAN 2023
Students in Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 will soon participate in NAPLAN Online 2023. This is the second year that the school will be conducting NAPLAN using the online platform, but it will be the first time that these specific students will complete the tests online.
The NAPLAN testing period is scheduled to take place earlier in the year to give teachers and parents important information about a student's skills and capability sooner, so that more targeted support can be delivered to improve literacy and numeracy skills throughout the year. It will be held during Term 1 from Wednesday 15 March to Monday 27 March(instead of in May), and will encompass the same areas of Reading, Writing, Conventions of Language and Numeracy.
A timetable will be communicated to families in the coming weeks, detailing when students at Brookside College will be participating in the tests. We ask parents of students in Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 to record these dates in home diaries/calendars.
A brochure detailing important NAPLAN information for parents has been posted for parents/guardians on Compass. Please take the time to read the information provided in the brochure, and please contact your child’s teacher or Brooke Gillis (Assistant Principal) if you have any questions.
Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences
Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences will be held on Monday 27 March, and families will soon be able to book an interview with their child/ren’s teacher/s via Compass. Families will be able to book either a face to face appointment or an online appointment.
The Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences are an opportunity for parents/guardians and students to discuss progress thus far and to ask any questions. There will be no classes held at the school on the day, and we ask that all students attend their conference (where possible) with their parent/guardian as attendance will be recorded. Watch for a Compass notification with more information, including when the booking cycle will open.
School Photos
School photos were held on Thursday 2 March. There will be a catch-up opportunity on Wednesday 8 March for students who were absent on this day, and sibling photos will also be taken. We also have another day scheduled later in the year during which we will take our cohort photos for the 2023 Yearbook.
Uniform
Please note that all students at Brookside College are expected to wear the correct school uniform, including wearing a visible school logo and black shoes. For further information about our school uniform, please view the following link on our website: https://brooksidecollege.vic.edu.au/families-community/#uniform
Students in Years Prep-6 MUST also wear a hat when playing outside during Term 1 - students who do not wear a hat will not be able to play outdoors during the summer months.
Positive School Attendance
At Brookside P-9 College, we are committed to providing your child with a high-quality education. Regular school attendance is vital and missing school days can have a big impact on a child’s future - missing one day per fortnight is equal to missing four full weeks by the end of the year… and by Year 10 these students will have missed more than a year of school!
There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, which can affect their educational outcomes.
As a College we closely monitor each individual students’ attendance and have a clear process in place to support with maintaining expected attendance rates.
If your child is absent from school please phone the College attendance line. Alternatively, you are able to log your child’s absence and the reason directly on Compass, as this will help to keep teachers informed. If you know your child will be absent in advance (holidays or medical appointments) please enter the dates on Compass prior to the date of absence.
Parents of students with unexplained absences will receive a follow up phone call or SMS to request a reason for the absence.
If for any reason your child must miss school, there are things we can do together to ensure they don’t fall behind:
- speak with your classroom teacher and find out what work your child needs to do to keep up.
- develop an absence learning plan with your teacher and ensure your child completes the plan.
Insurance
Please note that Brookside College does not have a whole school policy covering parents/guardians who do not have student accident insurance. Parents and guardians are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of an ambulance and any other transport costs. If they wish, parents/guardians can purchase insurance policies from commercial insurers for this purpose. We do encourage our families to obtain ambulance cover to avoid any unexpected costs. In the unfortunate event of an emergency, our duty of care to the children and community will always be paramount.
We hope you have a wonderful weekend!
The Executive Team