Principal's Report

50th Assembly

This week was a significant moment in our school's history as the school community came together to formally acknowledge Brentwood’s 50th Anniversary on April 3. This involved 3-year levels gathering in the school hall and the assembly being broadcast into other year level meeting spaces in the College. Our local member of parliament, Matt Fregon, the Mayor of Monash, Shane McCluskey, and past Principal Class members Elida Brereton, Gus Martin and Gordon Claney were also in attendance.

The highlight of the assembly was the keynote speech from ex-Brentwood student Maxine Morand. Maxine studied at Brentwood from 1971 to 1976 and went on to have a successful career in health, cancer research, politics, and senior management. Notably, she was a state member of parliament and member of cabinet. She is currently the chair of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and teaches in the School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine at Monash University. Maxine reflected on the changes that have taken place around Brentwood since it opened in 1969, her career, and journey in life since graduating. Through this was the message for our students to dream big and not put a ceiling on their ambitions. She encouraged students to take the opportunities that Brentwood and the broader community provides so that they can achieve their own successes.

After the assembly, all students, staff and special guests from the assembly gathered on the school oval for a school photograph in the shape of a ‘50’. A copy of this photo will be given to each student and staff member as a keepsake and recognition of their involvement in this historic occasion. There will also be a large print on display at the school as a permanent reminder of the day.

Learning Conferences

The learning conferences between teachers, students and their parents were another great success. The evening was very well attended and had a positive community atmosphere. With the increased learning information shared with parents on Compass, the learning conversations are able to focus more on ‘what next’ in terms of student learning and how to achieve their goals. For students, this sort of feedback is invaluable in progressing their learning further.

Student Voice at Brentwood

For a number of years, Brentwood students have been providing feedback to teachers regarding their learning. This year, the school has shifted away from a survey tool designed by the school to a more sophisticated and powerful survey tool that provides richer data and resources to teachers. Over the past three weeks, classes from all subject areas and year levels have been asked to undertake a 10-minute survey on their learning experience in class.

This survey provides actionable feedback directly to teachers on their practice. This enables the teachers to use this, along with other feedback sources, to continually adjust their teaching to best meet the needs of their students. All teachers are engaged in professional learning teams where they discuss their practice and trial different approaches based on a range of student information, including this survey. The impact of these changes is then measured and discussed further in an ongoing cycle of inquiry. Whilst this process of inquiry is not new at Brentwood, it is continually evolving with current educational research and the needs of our community.

From a Principal perspective, I am very impressed with the professionalism of the teachers in seeking feedback from their students, and each other, in helping them make professional judgements on their teaching to best meet the needs of the students. The ongoing development of all teachers is a very important factor in supporting students to achieve their best. This is why Tuesday, April 23 is a student free day where all staff will be engaged in professional learning around how to best structure lessons to enhance student engagement and learning growth.

On behalf of the Principal Team, I would like to wish all of our families a wonderful two week holiday period and a very happy Easter. We look forward to seeing everyone back on Wednesday, April 24 where we will be having our ANZAC service in the afternoon.

John Ballagh, Principal