Principal News
Remote Learning
Our students, families and staff continue to amaze us with their resilience as we continue on in remote learning. The culture of support for one another, which has only strengthened throughout this time, really demonstrates what an amazing community spirit we have at Brookside.
Our Primary students have now mastered using the SeeSaw Class platform, and our Secondary students continue to demonstrate great engagement with their online Zoom classes and task submissions on Compass.
Keep up the great work everyone, we hope to have us all back onsite as soon as possible.
Official Welcome
We would like to extend a warm welcome to the newest member of our executive team, Mrs. Kate Newitt. Kate will be overseeing Wellbeing and Engagement P-9 and comes to us from Springside Primary School, bringing along with her a wealth of knowledge and experience. Kate has definitely hit the ground running in her first few weeks here at Brookside and we, as an executive team, are excited for the road ahead.
2022 Prep Enrolments
Brookside College is now accepting Prep enrolments for 2022.
If you have a child/ren currently attending Brookside and you will have a child beginning Prep in 2022, he/she will still be required to go through the enrolment process. Your child will not be automatically enrolled. Please contact the school for further instructions about the enrolment process.
This term we will also be holding Q&A sessions for prospective families to have the opportunity to receive information about our school as well as ask questions. The Q&A sessions are scheduled as follows:
Thursday 26th August 1:45pm-2:15pm
Thursday 26th August 6:00pm-6:30pm
Thursday 2nd September 1:45pm-2:15pm
Thursday 2nd September 6:00pm-6:30pm
For prospective families who are interested in registering for a Q&A session, please click on this link. For further information, please direct any family and/or friends who are interested in enrolling their child in Brookside College, and who reside within the zone, to either contact the school on 7379 1555 or visit the school’s website Brookside.p9@education.vic.gov.au
Curriculum Day Update
Please note that due to extended Remote Learning, we have rescheduled our Curriculum Day to occur on the first day of Term 4, Monday 4th October. Brookside College staff will be participating in professional learning regarding the curriculum. The school will be closed on this day. Out of School Hours care via Camp Australis will be available for families who need it.
Pie Drive Update
At this stage Pie orders have been reschedule for collection from the college on Thursday 9th September. More information will be available closer to the date pending on the announcement regarding the lockdown.
Book Week 2021
PJ Day
Brookside staff and students enjoyed some fun on PJ Day Thursday 12th August. The weather definitely called for Ugg boots & there was a colourful array of Oodies on display in the class and staff Zooms. Following the positive feedback from PJ day, we decided to have a Wacky Wednesday the following week on August 18th, with staff and students dressing up for the day in the wackiest way possible.
Being eSafe
During periods of At Home Learning, the amount of time that students interact with digital devices increases. It is important to make sure that we are doing all we can to keep the students of Brookside College safe in digital environments during this time.As part of our School Wide Positive Behaviour program, teachers are currently focusing on the area of cyber safety during Zoom calls with their classes. This focus allows teachers to have discussions with students about safety and privacy when learning online.To support parents in continuing this conversation at home with their families, we have sourced a “Parent’s Guide to Online Safety” booklet from the Office of the eSafety Commissioner. This booklet discusses some of the key eSafety areas that parents should be aware of and how to create safe online environments for their children.A copy of the book has been added to this post as a PDF document, however, the book can also be accessed online at: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/online-safety-bookThis website also has versions of the book available in:- 繁體中文 (Traditional Chinese)- 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese)- ελληνικά (Greek)- Italiano- Español We encourage all families to have a read of the book and plan for safe use of digital technologies at home.If you have any digital concerns that you need more help with, please reach out to the college for extra support.
Wellbeing
After recent announcements of an extended lockdown, and with the current exposure sites around our local area, it is important that we are reaching out for support if needed. Remember it is OK to take some time away from online learning if you think it will benefit your own mental health or the mental health of your child/ren. It is OK to switch off! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at the college if you are needing support.
We really cannot wait to welcome everyone back onsite on Friday September 3rd and hopefully finish the rest of the year on a positive.