Principal's Report
Mobile Phone Use
On Wednesday, June 26, the Minister for Education James Merlino announced mobile phones will be banned for all students at Victorian state primary and secondary schools from Term 1 2020. From a Brentwood perspective, this has been very timely. During term 2 the Principal Team have been consulting with students and parents regarding the issue of mobile phone use at our school and have written a new policy that will come into effect on the first day of Term 3, July 16. As of this date during class time, students' mobile phones must be switched off or locked securely in their locker. Phones cannot be used in class. To read the new policy please click here.
Capital Works Project
As previously reported, Brentwood Secondary College has been allocated $4,600,000 in the 2019-20 State Budget as part of the Government’s Capital Works Program. This program is are providing students and teachers across Victoria with 21st-century learning facilities.
This funding will be used to demolish and rebuild the existing VCE Centre at Brentwood Secondary College. The timeline to the beginning of construction is currently September 2020. Whilst this seems quite a long time, there is a lot of planning that needs to be done to ensure Brentwood gets the best possible outcome for our students. The teaching staff have already been engaged in identifying the future needs of teaching spaces at Brentwood by reviewing the current teaching spaces and identifying areas for improvement that will enable greater enactment of the Brentwood GROWTH instructional model. Further consultation will continue into next term. As the project develops we will keep the community fully informed with its progress.
Works Over The Holidays
The Watson’s Road entrance has improved markedly and will hopefully be completed with new signage over the holiday period. This will be complemented by much needed fencing to replace the old wire fence around the school. This will not only increase the look of the school on Watsons Road, but it will also help foster pride in our school and provide a safer waiting area for students who catch the bus after school.
We are also expecting a new relocatable building to replace the building lost in the fire earlier in the year. Hopefully, this will be operational early in term 3.
Careers Day
The Careers Day at Brentwood is a significant event to support students and parents in navigating the various future pathways options either in Years 11 and 12 or beyond school. According to the Foundation for Young Australians, our students, on average, will have 17 jobs over 5 different careers. They also report the changing nature of our the future workforce with our students competing in a global market for skills and knowledge. This, along with automation and a flexible working environment is resulting in it “now taking young people on average, 4.7 years to transition from full time education to full time work”. Preparing our students for this rapidly changing world may sound challenging, however, I am confident Brentwood students will be well prepared.
As an example, during the Careers Day, our students heard from a number of past Brentwood students who shared their journey after Year 12 at Brentwood. All of whom, are successful in their own right. Whilst they may all have a different story to tell, there are always similarities. For example, many have changed careers or are working in fields they didn’t expect they would be when they were at school. This is consistent with the reports from the Foundation for Young Australians who report that students will need ‘a set of transferable enterprise skills, such as digital literacy, problem solving and creativity ….. to thrive in the future of work”. Please see the graphic below from the New Work Order Report Series from the Foundation for Young Australians.
This highlights the importance of our educational programs to keep evolving and for schools to ensure students are exposed to the future needs of the workforce during careers days. Thank you to the Careers and Pathways team for organising such an informative day for students in Years 10 – 12.
A Great Semester!
Finally, I would like to congratulate all of the staff, students and community for such a wonderful Semester. The way in which our community has embraced the new House System and engaged in the four period day has been impressive, to say the least. In addition, the 50th celebrations along with the capital works investment has given the school the opportunity to not only reflect back on the rich history of our school but to plan forward knowing that there will be future investment in the learning spaces to better support the Brentwood GROWTH Instructional Model.
Most importantly I have visited a large number of classrooms this semester and witnessed students engaged in their learning and teachers striving to provide the best opportunities for their students. I am very proud of our students and staff and wish everyone an enjoyable and well-earned break over the next two weeks.
A reminder that students start back on Tuesday, July 16. Staff will be participating in a Professional Development Day on Monday, July 15, which is a student free day.
John Ballagh, Principal