With Term 4 well under way, there has been lots to celebrate at the College this term.  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. It was fantastic to see so many parents this year join us for the final assembly, supporting their children and the College.

On Thursday, 24 October 2024 we celebrated our Graduation Ceremony at Kingsway Christian College, and it was a fantastic evening. It is always a very proud and rewarding moment for me when I get to congratulate and celebrate the success of each and every student who walks across the stage. Seeing the excitement and pride on their faces as they walk towards me is very special. Having a joint event with Belridge Secondary Education Support Centre is always a heart-warming moment. I love watching our students clap, cheer and celebrate the success of these students, knowing the difficulty they have overcome to achieve these goals.

On Friday, 25 October 2024 we celebrated World Teachers Day. As part of the celebrations, the students wrote thank-you notes to their chosen teachers.  We celebrated the day with cupcakes and coffee in the staffroom, brewed by our newly barista trained staff.

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 up to high school. A big thank you to Rebecca Edmonds, Chadd Richardson and Andrew Wright for their efforts with the program. We look forward to welcoming them all to the Belridge Secondary College family next year.

On the sporting front, I am delighted to inform you that we won our division at the Interschool Athletics Carnival. Our Netball students also cleaned up at the West Coast Fever Cup competition.  Our Cricket Academy held its annual Year 9 camp, and our Outdoor Education students completed their camp to Moore River.

This term we also celebrated our Academic Enrichment Program Showcase. Wow! What a buzz there was in that room. Each student bursting with enthusiasm to share their project with our staff and the many visitors that attended. A huge thank you to Ms Green and the AEP Team for organising the event and giving up your time to support our students.

On Monday, 4 November 2024 we held our annual Open Board Meeting. The night showcased the amazing work we have undertaken at the College in the last 12 months and shared our successes in the fields of STEM, ATAR, Follow the Dream, and AEP as well as highlighting the importance of trips such as the Canberra Tour. We also shared with the community the progress on delivering our promise of updates to the Library, a new Science Lab and a new STEM build that will be ready for the start of the 2025 school year.

This term we have also held our Dance and Fashion Showcase – amazing! Completed Workplace Learning (Years 11 and 12), undertook OLNA and held exams. The College also hosted the First Lego League Competition.  Walking away with 3^rd place and winners of the Peer Award and Best Coach was a great achievement.

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 volunteer and help others. There is a box in the front office available for physical donations. Items can be dropped off between 8am and 4pm. Financial donations are also accepted, please contact the front office to arrange this. Please give what you can and support local families who are doing it tough this festive season.

Sharon Lyon
Principal