Principal News

Dear Parent/Carer,

It is hard to believe that the Term is over already. It has been an action packed and successful ten weeks in which we have laid the foundations of powerful learning for the year ahead.

It has also been a year of new beginnings.

In March we welcomed our new Assistant Principal Keda Meagher to the College. Keda will be leading whole College work on inclusion and student engagement and wellbeing. Keda brings to the College a wealth of experience and expertise in the field of special needs education. We also welcomed PE/Sport/Health teacher Robert Lake to the College this Term.

Also new Term was the introduction of our new Vision, Mission and Values. Students worked with their teachers in the ‘Start-Up’ Program to unpack our Values of Rights, Resilience, Respect and Relationships. Our Values are already becoming part of our everyday work and have been celebrated in Assemblies. The right to be safe and respect the safety of others was further supported by our whole-College day of action against bullying.

Students of all ages engaged in activities that showed a community commitment to student wellbeing and safety. Among the many activities was the creation of a powerful wall display that can be seen in the Main reception Area of the College.

Another first for the Term was our first Multicultural Festival on Thursday 4th April. We are a rich and diverse community of over 50 different nationalities and we celebrated this wonderful cultural richness with food, music, dance and art. Once again this event showed our commitment to ensure the inclusion of all children and families at Brookside.

This Newsletter showcases a range of learning experiences students have enjoyed this Term. I would like to highlight the launch this year of the Mac Lab. With state-of-the art computers the Mac Lab is enabling our students to take part in virtual world learning, film-making and animation.

Still on the subject of digital learning the College has also invested in robotics and our youngest learners are already getting to grips with coding; the future is exciting!

I would like to thank you for your support over the Term and wish you a fulfilling and safe vacation. I look forward to working with you when we return on Tuesday 23rd April for the start of Term 2.

Curriculum Day 26th April 2019

A reminder to all families that Friday 26th April is a Curriculum Day and students are not required to attend.

Our Curriculum Day on the Friday is devoted to the start of our work on Assessment for Learning. This work enables teachers and students to set meaningful goals that empower learners and enable teachers to reflect on the impact of their practice. Goal setting will support students to stay highly connected and fully motivated as they transition through the College.

Our Curriculum Day is being facilitated by Luke Mandouit and Sophie Murphy. Luke and Sophie are currently working with world renowned educator John Hattie at Melbourne University and will be supporting the College with this work over the coming years.

Kind regards

Simon Sherlock

Brookside College School Council

I would like to welcome our new Council members; students Jayden D'Souza and Kaelan Marriner, parents Lucia Storrar and Melanie Keltie, and teaching staff Luke Meissner, Renee De Bono, Adam Bright, and Patrick Clarke.

We farewell with our thanks to the outgoing Council members Sharee Ainsworth, Maria Appiah, Dianne Morton, and Catherine Johns.

Our meeting started with the election of office bearers for the year, and they are Rachel Morgan (me) as President, Carly Marriner as Vice President and Peter Auld as Treasurer.

Brookside College welcomes a new Assistant Principal for years 7-9 Ms. Keda Meagher, who started with us on the 18th March.

We currently have over 30 parents/carers who have completed the OHS/induction training sessions, which is wonderful. If you couldn't attend the sessions previously or are new to the school and interested in volunteering your time in class, please leave your name with the staff at Reception who will notify you when additional sessions are run.

The Brookside Parents and Friends Subcommittee are always looking for parents/carers to be involved with their many activities throughout the year. Coming up we have the BBQ being run on Parent/Teacher Interview day (April 2nd), and the Mother's Day and Father's Day stalls. If you are interested in getting involved, meeting other parents and volunteering at school please chat to a School Council member or leave your details at Reception and someone will be in touch.

More classroom furniture has been ordered to supplement the new furniture purchased over the Christmas break. The new sets of tables and chairs brighten up the classrooms and provide the children with opportunities to work effectively in groups and brainstorm ideas.

The Colour Fun Run will be held on the 30th of April. If you have any questions please ask your teacher.

We have approved a further term of 3 years for School Canteen Contract, the school will go to tender after this term and we will also have a new washroom supplies contractor.

It is important that the school receives any feedback in relation to our contractors, this helps the School Council in making decisions.

Please don't hesitate to approach any School Council Members with your questions, we are your representatives and all care about the children's experience at the school.

Thanks

Rachel