Welcome to the first newsletter of the 2021 school year.

After a delayed start to the year, it was great to see our returning students and greet our new Year 7's.

The first few weeks raised a few challenges for our staff and students, but they dealt with these challenges in a flexible and proactive manner. Our focus was to ensure our school community was safe following the protocols and guidance provided by the Department of Education and that teaching and learning was our priority.

Adjusting to a new routine can be difficult, making new friends and finding your place in a new environment. However, it has been pleasing to see how quickly our Year 7’s have adjusted and settled into high school life. Feedback from our staff has been very positive regarding our newest cohort.

Our Year 12 cohort from 2020 certainly did the College proud and achieved some great results. The WACE achievement rate was 93% which is higher than both Like Schools and Public Schools. Students who completed their ATAR resulted in a median ATAR of 72.5 which was slightly lower than our like schools, however is a huge increase on 2019 (66.3). This is the highest median ATAR we have achieved in recent years, with 6 students achieving an ATAR above 90, one of which achieved an ATAR of 99.7. The school also achieved the Subject Exhibition and Certificate of Excellence in the ATAR course of Computer Science. With 8 students achieving a Certificate for Merit for their overall achievements. Our Strong OLNA results saw 98% of our eligible cohort achieve the minimum standard in both literacy and numeracy. We also had 42% of our students leave with two or more VET qualifications, placing them in a strong position for future pathways.

As part of the Department of Education’s strategic direction, the college is committed to achieving the outcomes set in Focus 2021. With a clear focus on future pathways and STEM education, we aim to provide the best possible support for our students to achieve a successful future through education and beyond. Our new teaching framework “R LEARNERS” aims to embed a whole school approach to teaching and learning across the college. The framework will give staff and students a common language to support the delivery of excellence in teaching and learning in every classroom. Our strong focus on building leadership capacity and professional growth aim to develop our leaders to deliver effective and evidence based practices at the highest level. The college has engaged in a number of leadership development programs to ensure our staff and students are provided with the support they need to be at their best.

The wait is over! After a year of disruption and building works, the highly anticipated new Performing Arts Centre is ready for use. Completed on time and handed over ready for the start of the school year this is a massive boost for the school. This world class facility designed by Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects and built by McCorkill Constructions is both practical and beautiful. Its thoughtful design and advanced technical capabilities will transform the way we teach. With custom Artwork designed by Artist Rick Vermey, it is the shining light of the community. This investment in the College has brought a sense of pride and self-worth to our school community. A feeling that “We are worth it, and better things are coming!” gives us optimism for the future. The Performing Arts Centre was officially opened on Monday 22nd February with a VIP evening. This was a fantastic night and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody involved in the organisation and delivery of such a fabulous occasion.

Building on this we then had a visit from non-other than the Premier himself, the Hon Mark McGowan! The Premier visited our Science labs and spoke with staff and students. He then met our wonderful Robotics student team who couldn’t wait to tell him all about their work and efforts in the First Robotics League competition. With his press conference then taking place on our front lawn, some lucky staff and students got to see firsthand this rare media event. Following this visit, it was announced that Belridge SC will receive $1.5Million in STEM funding for updates in facilities. We are so pleased with this announcement and know that this will make a massive difference to the education and future careers of our students.

Term 1 has started off at a very fast pace, with so many events already underway. The delivery of our Elevate seminars for parents and students have been well attended over the last few weeks. These seminars aim to get our students into good study habits, forming a routine to help them develop the skills they will need to be successful in the future.

We also held our BYOD parent’s seminar for our Year 7 families, which focused on supporting parents to assist their child in navigating their new machine and developing skills around the use of Microsoft 365 and the internet.

Week 4 saw us celebrate the annual Year 12 Ball at the amazing Optus Stadium. WOW, what a night! The event went off without a hitch due to the fantastic planning and preparations of our Year 12 Coordinator, Alicia Holliday. The students looked absolutely amazing and their behaviour was exemplary. There were some very tired feet, but lots of smiling faces at the end of the night. With all the madness in the world at the moment, I am so glad that they got to celebrate this special occasion. I would also like to thank our photographer Jodie Grieve and all of the staff who gave up their time to supervise and celebrate with our students.

Some upcoming events to be aware of include Year 10,11,12 OLNA and the planning and preparation for Year 7 and 9 NAPLAN.

Our VET information evening is scheduled to take place on Monday 8 March from 6.30pm to 7.30pm. We also have a session on E-Smart learning available for parent sign up - this aims to assist in supporting your child access to IT platforms in use across the college – Tuesday 9 March (Week 6).

Belsurf is also scheduled for Friday 12 March. This is a whole school event, for all students to enjoy down at the beach. Last year was fantastic, hope to see all of our students down there again this year enjoying the fun events arranged by the Phys Ed Team.

Parent/Teacher interview night is Wednesday 17 March, booking information will be emailed shortly.

To finish, I would like to say a huge thank you to some of our community partners. Firstly, Rotary Club Northbridge and Joondalup for their sponsorship of our students to take part in STEM summer school programs at ECU. Secondly to RAC for their donations to our Autos program and finally to our students, staff, parents and community members for their contribution to the Christmas Hamper Appeal at the end of last year. The college with your support, was able to send more than 25 hampers home to families for Christmas who were struggling to get by. I know your donations really meant a lot and helped make a difference over the Christmas period.

This time last year, I thought I would be here for just 6 months, over 12 months later, I am still here, loving the Belridge journey and doing all I can to provide the best possible education for each and every child.

Thank you for your ongoing support – get ready for a bumper 2021!

Sharon Lyon
Principal