On Friday 24th February, the college had the pleasure of celebrating our wonderful Year 12 students with a magical ball at Frasers in Kings Park. The event was a success from start to finish with all attendees enjoying the occasion. A big thank you to Mr O’Neil and Mr Dawkins for their efforts in making the night such a special occasion. Also, thank you to Miss Grieve for her wonderful photography, Ms Carr for her support with administration and to all staff who supported on the night.

Our annual Belsurf event was held on the 3rd March at Sorrento Beach. This is one of the highlights of the school year and is very unique to Belridge. The event involves our two schools, Belridge SC and Belridge Education Support coming together. This is a shared event, filled with sporting events, activities, and fun with friends. The students had an awesome time and really made the most of the opportunity, with high participation seen in all events. Thank you to Mr Bennett and the HPE staff for their efforts in the planning and implementation on the day.

During week 5, students across the college who had maintained their good standing and shown positive behaviours towards others were treated to a visit from the Ice-cream van. Ice-cream was provided free to all students who qualified. It was great to see the students who do the right thing each and every day being rewarded for their behaviour and positive contributions to the college.

The college held a School Development Day for staff during week 7 in which we focused on one of our main priorities this year, Trauma Informed Practice. The school has committed significant funds in partnership with Berry Street Education to build the capacity of our staff in this area. We are hoping the knowledge gained will help us support the needs of our students and build a culture of respectful behaviour and restorative approaches.

Our interim reports evening was held in week 8 for parents of Years 7, 11 and 12. This is an important point of contact in building relationships with our parent community. It provides a good opportunity to share information early and ensure our students are settling into their new school or WACE pathway.

This term we also celebrated Harmony Day, this involved a display in the library and students and staff wearing orange to spread the message of Harmony Day across the College. Staff also brought into school a range of cultural food from their home country to share with staff members during lunchtime.

NAPLAN Online was early this year with testing taking place during weeks 8 and 9 instead of the usual Term 2. This means as a school, we will have earlier access to results allowing us to plan more thoroughly to meet student needs for the remainder of the year.

On Wednesday 28th March, we held our taster program across our specialist programs (Cricket, Netball, Music, Fashion Design, and STEM AEP). During this time, we also held our first our parent tour of the year. In the evening, a parent information night took place for new and prospective parents, providing information about the specialist programs we have on offer and the college as a whole. If you were unable to attend these events and are interested in seeing what Belridge has to offer or would like to attend a future tour, please contact the school administration.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Belridge community for their support this term and thank the Belridge staff for their ongoing efforts. I hope you all have a very enjoyable Easter break and get to spend some quality time with family and friends. I look forward to seeing you refreshed and ready for an exciting Term 2.

Sharon Lyon
Principal