Welcome to our Term 3 newsletter, I am not sure how we can be halfway through the term already, but here we are!

The term got off to a great start as we welcomed our parents into the College for our second Parent Teacher interviews of the year. It was great seeing so many of you coming in to speak with our teachers and discuss your child's progress. Even having a nice cup of tea from our wonderful student leaders.

Subject selections for 2025 have been in full swing. I would like to thank Mr Cheeseman and our Careers team for their individual course counselling and efforts in ensuring our students are well placed for next year.

As part of my commitment to prioritising student voice, I had the pleasure of meeting with our Year 10-12 Student Councillors during Week 3 for morning tea. We discussed a new proposal that would allow them to work alongside the School Board on 3 student led projects that would be implemented over the next 12 months. Further details will be reviled during our next Open Board Meeting scheduled for Monday, 2 November 2024.

In Week 4 we held our last Staff Development Day of the year. The focus this term was around Respecting our Learning Environment. Staff took the time to arrange their classrooms, add to their wall displays and make the most of the learning area spaces. Staff also had the opportunity to have input into our 2025/26 maintenance plan which will be finalised later this term and shared with students during year assemblies.

A huge highlight of the term was the entry of three Belridge Secondary College teams into our very first Hydrogen Car Grand Prix. The College is proud to announce that all teams placed in the Top 10 (2^nd, 8^th and 10^th) with BELRIDGE SECONDARY COLLEGE PLACING AS THE TOP PUBLIC SCHOOL. A big thank you to Mr Chen and Ms Edmonds for their efforts with the teams in preparation and on the day. Other highlights this term include our Year 7 Cricket Camp, Year 7 Lightning Carnival and Year 12 Outdoor Education Camps.

The College is proud to announce the return of our international and interstate tours. At the end of last term our senior school Cricket students travelled to Kuala Lumpa as part of their Cricket studies. The students had a fantastic time facing some tough opponents in some difficult conditions. A big thank you to Ms Hall and Mr Ogilvie for their planning and organisation of the tour and to Mr Hollows for giving up his time to attend and support the students.

During Week 4 of this term, our Year 9 and 10 students attended their first Canberra tour in 5 years. I have heard a mountain of positive feedback and followed their adventures on Facebook over the week. Thank you to Ms Linto, Mr Richardson, Ms Green and Mr McDonald for giving up their time to allow these wonderful opportunities for our students.

Later this week we will run our Primary Science Challenge for the third year. I can’t wait to see our amazing JLC primary students and what fantastic projects arrive. Watch this space for the photos. A big thank you to all primary teachers who have taken part with their classes.

Coming up in the second half of this term we have Numeracy Week, Whole School Athletics Carnival, OLNA, Wear it Purple Day and a Footy Colours Day fundraiser. 

Year 12 students should have received a letter with some important information and key dates for the remainder of this term. Invites for our Graduation evening will follow shortly. 

I look forward to sharing the rest of this bumper term with you via our Facebook and Instagram pages, please follow along.

Sharon Lyon
Principal