With Term 4 well under way, there has been lots to celebrate at the College this term.  After a few weeks away on Long Service Leave, it was great to come back to such a positive start.

The Year 12’s final days were celebrated in style, starting with a celebratory breakfast with parents and carers. The Home Economics staff, and hospitality students did an amazing job preparing and serving the food. This was followed by our Year 12 assembly, which was a great celebration of these wonderful students. Thank you to Mr Pisano for stepping in and delivering the Principals address on my behalf.  Luckily, I was back in time to be part of our formal Graduation ceremony at Kingsway Christian College. It was great to see the achievements of our students, both of Belridge SC and Belridge Education Support. It is always a very proud moment for me to stand on that stage and congratulate each and every one of our students. The night is a true example of our 2 schools, 1 community and is a real highlight of the year.

On Friday 28^th October we celebrated World Teachers Day. As part of the celebrations the students wrote thank you notes to their chosen teachers.  We converted some of these notes into a short presentation and presented teachers with their notes during a special morning tea.

Our Year 6 half day Transition Program, involving students from our local intake primary schools have also started this term. These have been a great success so far, with lots of happy faces seen around the school as they prepare for their move to the College. A big thank you to Alison Zarrop who has done a wonderful job with the Year 6’s since commencing in her new role as Year Coordinator. The College staff are looking forward to building strong relationship with our new families over the coming months.  

This term we also held our annual Open Board Meeting. The night showcased the strategic journey Belridge has taken to forward STEM at the College and our exciting plans for the future. The planned update of the library, conversion of a new Science lab, the planning of a new $1.5 STEM space and the addition of an indoor Sports facility are all on the horizon. 

We also farewelled Scott Amy, our long standing board chair who is off to pastures new over east. I thank Scott for his commitment to the College over his tenure of 7 years and thank him for the support he has provided me during my time here. He will be sorely missed, however I wish him all the very best with his future endeavours. I’m sure he will be back to visit us.  Our new board Chair, Steve Hall will take the reigns from here, helping guide the future direction of the school. See Steve's introduction under Board Matters. 

This term we also celebrated our Academic Enrichment Program Showcase – Wow! What a buzz there was in that room. Each students bursting with enthusiasm to share their project with the visitors. A huge thank you to Mrs Edmonds and the AE team for organising the event and giving up your time to support our students.

On 11^th of November the College remembered all those we have lost in defending and protecting our nation. I would like to thank the staff and students involved in Remembrance Day, in particular, Jade Wright, Kristie Wintle, Alison Saare, Lisa Manning and our College Captains for 2023 for their remembrance address. The displays, including our poppy garden looked amazing and I know meant a great deal to our school community.

This term we have also held our Year 11 River Cruise, came away as winners in the SSWA Interschool Athletics Carnival (see report further on in newsletter), ran the Year 9 taster excursion to NMTAFE, were involved in our very first Tech Trails event, held Year 9 OLNA for the first time, commenced WACE exams, completed Year 11 exams and undertook Workplace Learning.

Our staff have also been keeping busy, with Audra Keeble involved all weekend  in showing students' creations at the Bricktober Event, Jodie Grieve recording our many memories through her wonderful photography, Anna Dyer for her achievements at Mandurah Arts Festival, Rebecca Edmonds cupcakes for Word Teachers Day, Home Economics Team catering for events, staff who took part in the Bunnings Sausage sizzle fundraiser raising money for our Year 8 camp. Thank you ALL for giving up your time and to support our students.

To finish I would just like to remind the community that we will be running our Christmas Hamper Appeal again this term. Last year we were able to provide over 30 hampers to local families in need. I know this made a huge difference to our families, as well as providing our students with the opportunity to help others.  See flyer further on in this newsletter with key dates, please give what you can and support local during this festive season.

Sharon Lyon
Principal