Principal News

With Autumn arriving we know that the school year is well underway. Term One at Brookside College is always an exciting time as we roll out new initiatives and revisit our tried and tested practices.

This Term we are launching our new College Values; Rights, Respect, Resilience and Relationships. The Values were developed last year with input from staff, students and parents. Our Prep to 2, 3 to 6 and 7 to 9 Sector Assemblies showcased our new values with student leaders sharing their understanding of what the values mean to them. Our student leaders have created Values Awards to recognise the values driven contribution individual students make to the College. As principal it was one of my joys to be able to make the first Values Awards to students at the assemblies.

Also new this year are our Parent Information Sessions. Last week members of the College Wellbeing Team presented sessions on how parents can support and improve their child's wellbeing. The sessions were also used to gather information about what topics parents would like to learn more about so that they can foster positive behaviours in their children that support learning and engagement at school. Our next Parent Information Session takes place on Wednesday 20th March 6.00 – 7.00pm and looks at the very relevant topic of Cyber-Safety – all families are welcome to attend.

Finally, last Friday our Curriculum Day was dedicated to our work with the Berry Street Education Model (BSEM). Over the last year we have worked with the Berry Street Childhood Institute to develop our understanding of positive education to empower our students to fulfil their potential and positively shape the future. On Friday we explored character strengths and how we can use them to tap into student potential.

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Parent/Teacher Interviews take place on Tuesday 2nd April. Families will be able to book appointments through COMPASS from Tuesday 19th March.

This year we are focusing on powerful questions to get to know learners and learning. As a parent you may like to ask the following 5 questions at the Parent/Teacher Interviews;

1. What is my child learning?

2. How is she or he doing?

3. How do you know (how she or he is doing)?

4. How can she or he improve?

5. What supports can I provide and can you provide if she or he is struggling? When will we check in again?

School Crossings

As you know Brookside College is bordered by two very busy roads. Melton City Council provide crossing supervisors on Caroline Springs Boulevard and Middle Bank Road.

The Crossing supervisors do an invaluable job in keeping our students safe as they cross the roads.

Unfortunately there have been a number of incidents recently where parents have failed to stop when the supervisors have displayed the stop sign.

For the safety of all the children and families I ask that we comply with the supervisors instructions.