Principal News

Dear Brooksiders,

Welcome to another addition of the Brookside newsletter!

Year 4 Camp

Students thoroughly enjoyed themselves last week during their 3 day camping experience at Camp Alexandra. Students participated in various outdoor activities such as the flying fox, archery, leap of faith and canoeing…just to name a few. The highlight for the majority of the students was spending time with friends, having fun and enjoying the tasty food! Thank you to the Year 4 Teachers for organising and providing such a positive experience for the students.

Brookstock 2019

Last week the Young Warriors band from Brookside were visited by Doveton College as both schools came together to create wonderful music together. Performances were held throughout the day, and were immensely enjoyed by our Brookside students who bopped along to their favourite tunes. Thank you to Matthew Apted for his talent and for guiding our young musicians to shine!

Prep – 2 Swimming Program

During the last 2 weeks students across the Prep-2 sector participated in the yearly swimming program held at State Swim centre. Students engaged in various water activities to learn basic swimming skills as well as build their water safety knowledge. Thank you to Robert Lake for organising the swimming program for the students.

Primary Hats

Whilst the weather may still be cold and grey (or even raining as it has been this week) please don’t be fooled - it’s the UV that can damage our skin and eyes. We can’t see or feel UV but at this time of the year it starts to increase in intensity. Please ensure that your child brings a hat to school, which is appropriate, Sunsmart and navy blue in colour.

Year 7 Orientation Day

A reminder to all parents that the Orientation Day scheduled for all students who will be attending State Government schools in Year 7 in 2020 is scheduled to occur on Tuesday 10th December. All families should by now have received information regarding Year 7 transition at their chosen Secondary College, but if you have not please ensure that you contact your child’s Year 7 provider directly, as soon as possible.

During Term 4 Year 6 staff spend time in class discussing transition with the students. However, we also encourage parents/guardians to discuss their child’s feelings about transitioning to secondary schooling, and address any concerns they may have. Please contact your child’s Home Group teacher if you or your child needs any further assistance, or if you have any questions.

Brookside Christmas Concert

Students and teachers have begun busily rehearsing for the annual Christmas Concert to be held on Monday 16th December under the Hayshed. Gates will open at 5pm, with Year 7-9 performances kicking off the festivities from 5:15-5:45pm, followed by primary performances from 6pm. Families are invited to bring dinner and a picnic rug (no chairs or furniture that will obstruct the view of others) to enjoy throughout the concert. The HOL Café will also be seeling drinks and treats on the night. We look forward to seeing all of our Brookside families there to support this wonderful annual event.

Leaving at the end of 2019?

If you believe that your child/ren may be leaving Brookside College at the end of 2019 please let us know. We would hate to see you go but your early notification will really assist us with our planning for next year.

Updating Personal Details

Please ensure that you keep the school informed of any changes to your personal details. This includes changes to addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. It is extremely important that the college has accurate details on record, as it enables us to contact you quickly in the case of an emergency. It also allows us to provide you with necessary information such as your children’s reports.

Thank you in advance for your support.

2020 Classes

Our classroom teachers have been busily putting together class groupings for next year. During this process we try to accommodate requests while also balancing the judgement of our staff to ensure that each year level is balanced. With almost 1200 children to consider I am sure you can understand how important and lengthy this task is for our teachers and leaders - a lot of time and effort is put in as there are many factors to consider: male and female numbers, friendship groups and the additional needs of our children. This year we will continue our annual ‘Meet the Teacher’ day so that our children can meet their new teacher/classmates and see their learning space for 2020. No changes will be made to class lists after this experience.

Prep 2020

This is a friendly reminder to our Prep families that during the first 5 weeks of 2020 our Preps will be attending school part-time, and are not required to attend school on the first 5 Wednesdays. The first day of school for Prep 2020 is Thursday 30th January, with full time attendance beginning on Monday 2nd March.

2020 TERM DATES

TERM 1

YEARS 1-6 – 29th of January - 27th of March

**PREPS begin 30th of January

TERM 2

14th of April - 26th of June

TERM 3

13th of July - 18th of September

TERM 4

5th of October - 18th of December

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

The Principal Class Team

Brookside College