I’m excited that work has already started after the Minister’s announcement for Capital Works and concurrently we are also continuing facilities/ground improvement works through the accessibility building program.

It is also wonderful that the college continues to be minimally impacted by the current Teacher Shortage and we continue to be fully staffed which ensures our students have consistency in their learning so they achieve their personal excellence. Currently for Semester two the college is in the final stages of recruiting two positions.

College Events

During this period some of our Year 7-9 students were involved in the “Friendship Saver” program. Our Year 9 cohort have also commenced their Morrisby Testing which provides an opportunity for our students to explore career pathways and options. This testing is an important tool for our Pathway program in ensuring students make informed decisions around their subject selections in the Later Years. Thank you to Andrea Medic for her work.

The College Arts week was once again a highlight at the college with diverse activities which provided opportunities for our students to engage and showcased the creative talents at Buckley Park College. Arts Week also promoted the diversity of opportunities available within the Arts both in and outside of the classroom at the college.

Currently our Year 9 and Later Years students are also involved in their Semester 1 Examinations which allows our students to demonstrate their understanding of the key knowledge/skills in their subjects. All our students also participated in the annual Attitude to School Survey which is a key tool in gauging how our students feel in relation to their schooling and the college.

In the coming weeks our Instrumental Music students will be working with the Navy Band and we will be hosting our annual Winter Concert

Our Year 10 students will also be off to their annual snow camp to Mount Buller. At the beginning of Term 3 our Year 9-11 students will commence their Subject Selections for 2026. This is an important process as it informs the college of the pathways which students wish to pursue and allows the college to plan so that we can best accommodate students' subject choices which includes the provision for students to be extended through their later years.

Capital Works

We are thrilled to announce that Buckley Park College has secured $19.3 million in capital works funding in this year's state budget to bring our long-anticipated Science and Technology Centre to life. This significant investment marks a major milestone in ensuring our students have the environment to achieve their personal excellence.

The new Science and Technology Centre will have modern science, wood technology, visual design, robotics and electronics spaces. This funding will enable us to break ground on a project that enhances our educational offerings and positions the college to perfectly prepare for the introduction of our STEAM Academy in 2026. Phase 1 construction of the Science and Technology Centre will begin in November this year, with completion anticipated in 2027. We are deeply grateful to the advocacy of our families, students, and school council. I also wish to thank our Minister for Education, Hon. Ben Carroll, for his continual support of the college and recognition of the importance of this project to the school.

We have commenced progressing on preparing the site to ensure the smooth commencement of construction. Working with the VSBA we are in the process of appointing a project manager and then tendering for construction. In the meantime, we have scheduled in July the moving of the North Portables (Rooms NP 1-6) to the southern end of the school allowing the space to be fully available for assessment/construction.

Stay tuned for more updates as we begin this exciting new chapter!

Uniform Transition

Throughout Term 2 we have now successfully transitioned to our new Uniform Provider “Uniform Group - Academy Uniforms”. The college has worked in minimising disruptions to uniform supply and provision though understand there are items which had issues. Additionally we also had to navigate the challenges of the contract amongst the introduction of new direction from DET.

We thank our community for their understanding and with the commencement of Term 3 we will see the introduction of new designs of uniform items/new items.

STEAM Academy

The college Year 7 STEAM program is now ready and in Term 3 we will commence selecting the students for the inaugural class of 2026. It has been wonderful to see the positive work of the team in developing a unique curriculum working with our partners, targeted to students who are passionate in STEAM.

This program complements the development of the STEM centre announced which is a fitting home of the program and provides a point of difference for our school.

I wish to thank Steve McGlade, our STEAM Academy leader for his work and am looking forward to seeing the STEAM Academy flourish welcoming Year 7-10 students in the coming years.

Year 7 Numbers 2026

The college has seen exceptional interest in enrolments after we made available for students to enrol out of zone. This is only possible due to the hard work of staff in establishing a culture of high expectations and the support of our community.

Thanks

It has been an exciting term at the college and wonderful to see our students engaged in their learning and our community come together. I want to acknowledge the strong family school partnership at the college and the immense support of our families. I wish to thank the staff for the immense effort in working collaboratively to ensure our students can reach their personal excellence. On a personal note, I also wish to thank the commitment and dedication of the School Council in overseeing the governance at the college.

Harold, Craig, James and Paul

Principal Team

We are proud to launch our new Buckley Park College uniform 'wardrobe' to the school community. Collaborating with design experts from Uniform Group, our students, parents, school council and staff have provided feedback to help co-design a modern, comfortable, unisex uniform which is well-priced, high quality, providing families with value for money.

Further below, clicking on each item will outline the key design features, and how we have responded to community feedback.

Please note the following points about our new uniform:

• Families are not expected to buy new uniform immediately to replace old uniform. We will phase this in over the next five years. Year 7s in 2026 will be the first cohort who will have the full uniform. However, as students out-grow, or items become damaged, the new items will replace old items. We understand that there will be a mixture of new and old being worn in cohorts for a while. We do not want to place unnecessary financial burden on families.
• From January 2026, tracksuit pants and sports shorts may be 'logo-free' - which means families can buy plain black tracksuit pants/shorts, in line with Department of Education uniform policy. This does not mean that students will be permitted to wear black tracksuit pants with black adidas, elite eleven, nike logos. There should be NO logos at all if students choose not to wear the college branded tracksuit pants.
• Our uniform is gender-neutral. Anyone can wear whichever official item of BPC uniform they choose

Enforcing school uniform standards across the college

As per the School policy/Expectation endorsed by School Council, all students are expected to wear college-approved uniform items. Students are NOT permitted to wear any other branded clothing in lieu of the school uniform. This means we will not accept track pants with adidas, elite eleven, nike or any other brand/logo. This is not our uniform, and we ask that parents/carers work with the college to ensure students have the correct uniform ready to be worn.

How the college will support students comply with the uniform policy:

Students not wearing the correct academic uniform or wearing the sports uniform on non-sports days:

1. The parent will be contacted, and the student will be issued a detention

Repeat offences:

1. Years 7 - 9: Parent contacted to come and collect child from school to get changed into the school uniform, then return to school when in correct uniform.
2. Years 10 - 12: The parents are contacted, and the student is sent home to change into the school uniform, then return to school when in correct uniform.

Parents / Carers are required to support children by ensuring that the uniform is washed/dried and ready for students to wear. From Term 3, Parent Notes regarding uniform will not be accepted, and students will receive an appropriate consequence.

It is important to us that all students wear the school uniform. This provides a level-playing field for all students, and this is the standard upon which the College Council. We ask parents/carers to ensure their child(ren) have the appropriate uniform, as agreed to upon enrolment.

Rehearsals are well underway for our 2025 production of Footloose, and it’s shaping up to be an exhilarating show! The cast, dancers and band are bringing much energy and dedication.

Holiday rehearsals are coming up on the 16th, 16th and 18th of August, from 10:00am - 4:00pm in the PAC. All cast, crew and band are required to attend. It’s exciting that we should be getting to do our first full run of the show, and really see it start to come together.

“What is Footloose about?” you ask.

Moving in from Chicago, newcomer Ren McCormack is in shock when he discovers the small Midwestern town he now calls home has made dancing and rock music illegal. As he struggles to fit in, Ren faces an uphill battle to change things. With the help of his new friend, Willard Hewitt, and defiant teen Ariel Moore, he might loosen up this conservative town. But Ariel's influential father, Reverend Shaw Moore, stands in the way.

“Cut loose” and come see the show at the Clocktower on 28th and 2th August. Keep your eyes peeled for when tickets go on sale soon.

Lonni Allan

Director

Later Years (9-11) students begin their Course Planning and Counselling Process for 2026 and beyond. The Course Counselling program is an important and integral part of a students’ planning for their future studies at Buckley Park College and life beyond school.

On Thursday 24th July, we will be conducting a Parent Information Evening and Subject Expo for current Year 9 and 10 students and families and your attendance is strongly encouraged. Students and parents will be presented with information on the VCE Vocational Major, VCE, subject choice and the subject selection process.

Later Years Handbooks for Year 10, VCE and VCE Vocational Major programs are available on Compass to all students from Years 9-11 and will provide important information regarding subject selection.

Key Dates: Course/Subject Selection

Thursday 24th July - Parent Information Night and Subject Expo (6 pm – 7:30 pm)

Tuesday 5th August- 10-11 Course Counselling (Current Year 10 students)

Thursday 7th August - 9-10 Course Counselling (Current Year 9 students)

At the beginning of Term 3 (Weeks 1-3) students in Year 9 and 10 will complete course planning and subject selection activities during Home Group classes.

Year 10 students will use Home Group time to complete their Pathways Planning booklet, this booklet is to be brought to their counselling interview completed.

Year 9 students will study the Later Years Handbooks and complete a subject selection form that they will bring to their interview.

I look forward to seeing you in attendance at the Parent Information evening and wish you all an enjoyable holiday and break from school.

Kind regards,

Lisa Vargas

Later Years Sub-school Leader

Grace has travelled to Europe where she is competing with her team partner Daniel, in the Senior Mixed Pair division at the Limes-Juniors-Cup in Germany. They then move on to the Rzeszow International Acro Cup Competition in Poland. These two events are running from 17 June – 30 June.

We wish Grace and her partner all the very best in the competitions.

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi

If there are any students who have a significant sporting achievement at a State, National or International level, please let Mr Knight know so we can celebrate your success with our school community.

Artwork of the month winners for June are three separate presentations from our Year 12 Art Making & Exhibiting class.

With Newton’s Laws of Motion as their guide and clean energy as their mission, students unleashed their inner engineers to bring science to life in the most creative way.

Using simple materials like cardboard, bamboo skewers, plastic bottle caps, and as many balloons as they could manage, students set out to design and build cars powered purely by air. The challenge: apply their understanding of motion, force, and energy transfer to make their vehicles move and hopefully move fast!

While not every design crossed the finish line flawlessly, every student gave it a go. Some cars zoomed ahead, others wobbled or veered off course but what stood out most was the persistence, creativity, and willingness to learn from trial and error.

It was wonderful to see students collaborating, problem-solving, and embracing the spirit of experimentation. As their teacher, I was proud to see them put theory into practice, testing their ideas with enthusiasm and resilience.

Well done to all our budding engineers, you've shown that great learning happens not just in success, but in the journey of discovery!

Nathaniel and Meika have been selected as this year’s Acquisitive Prize winners! Well done on producing such thoughtful and visually compelling designs. We look forward to seeing how you develop your ideas into finished artworks." The finished artworks will be revealed in Term 4

Soccer
Year 8 Boys were crowned Moonee Valley division champions after a 1-0 win in the final and finished 3^rd in their pool during the Western Metro Championships.
Senior Boys & Girls, Intermediate Boys and Year 7 Boys all finished division runners-up going down narrowly in the final each time.

Futsal

The Senior Boys futsal team participated in the Western Victoria invitational tournament and finished in 3^rd place.

Football

All football teams participated well and some strong results across the board, with Intermediate Boys, Year 8 Boys, Year 7 Boys and Junior Girls all finishing division runners-up.

Netball

Some great performances from all teams, and fantastic enthusiasm from all players who represented the school.

Tennis

Senior Boys & Girls, Intermediate Girls all represented the school at Western Metro Championships after being crowned division champions in Term 1. They were great ambassadors for the school and showed awesome team spirit.

Badminton

Year 8 Boys qualified for Western Metro Championships as Division winners and displayed great sportsmanship throughout the event.

Cross Country

We had a large team represent the school at the Moonee Valley Division Championships with Rosa Barbanti (11A) finishing 1^st in the 17-20 Year Girls, and Alexander Mortillaro (10D) finishing 2^nd in the 16 Year Boys. 12 students qualified for Western Metro Championships at Keilor Park.

It has been fantastic to see so many students get involved and a big thank you to the teachers who have given up their time to train, coach and transport these students. We look forward to more events coming up in Term 3.

With an excellent show of community support from Croft staff and students at the Bunnings Sausage Sizzle, they have leapt up the tally to 2nd place! Well done, Croft!

Ok Buckley - pressure is on!

Semester 2 - we continue to earn house points through community participation in events and of course through the display of our college values and effort in the classroom.

The weather was perfect, and the sausages were flying out the gazebo in the car park of Bunnings Maribyrnong. We raised $2500 which will go towards the purchase of 3D Printers and robotics equipment for use in the STEAM Academy. The success of this was down to the huge community support from our local businesses and our Friends of BPC Parents.

Some special thank you acknowledgements to the staff who helped behind the scenes and showed their support. The parents and students who gave up a few hours on their weekend to help out - this is a true testament to our Community school value on display. It's the good-will of our school community that makes Buckley Park College an amazing school to be a part of. Thank you!

We were overwhelmed by the comments from members of the community who wanted to come and say g'day and buy a sausage when they saw the BPC Banners. So many people have a connection to our school reaching back decades, and were so complimentary to us for the community perception we have built. The comments about our recent funding news has also spread into the community, and they can't wait to see the new STEAM building developed and our students and staff benefiting from the major upgrade.

House Points have been awarded to the students, parents (towards their child's house), and staff who were involved and/or popped in to show their support.

Friends of Buckley Park (FoBP) are excited to announce our 2025 Raffle Fundraiser which has a first prize of $1200 in vouchers from local businesses!

There are 5 prize packs to be won for a total prize pool of $2400!! Plus, as an EARLY BIRD SPECIAL, all tickets purchased before the end of July go in the running to win a $250 voucher to online footwear retailer Styletread.com.au

All proceeds from the raffle go towards the purchase of 3D printers which are part of Buckley Park College’s exciting new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics) Academy starting in 2026.Tickets are only $10 each so get in early and purchase yours now! Raffle will be drawn on Friday 12th September 2025 BUY TICKETS

1st Prize Pack - $1200 in vouchers from the following local businesses-Calmer Café-Uniform Shop- Fotomo Art & Picture Framing- Essendon Fields Hyatt-Ruxsa Thai Massage-Poyntons Nursery-Goons Korean BBQ-Eats Gift Card-Pegasus Leisure Centre-North & Eight Café-Velvet Bean & Bar Restaurant-Woolworths-Bunnings

2nd Prize Pack - $600 in vouchers from the following local businessesCalmer Café-Uniform Shop-Studio Pilates-Thai Herbs-Ruxsa Thai Massage-Blooms Chemist-Goons Korean BBQ-Coles-Just Threading

3rd Prize Pack - $300 in vouchers from the following local businesses Chao Praya Thai Massage-Aastha Indian Restaurant-La Porchetta-Goons Korean BBQ-Pegasus Leisure Centre

4th Prize Pack - $200 in vouchers from the following local businesses-Aloha Flowers-Aastha Indian Restaurant-Gourmet Butchery-Mama Linas

5th Prize Pack - $100 in vouchers from the following local businesses-Coles-Woolworths

A message from Moonee Valley City Council Queens Park

Did you know fishing at Queens Park is not allowed? Our lake is home to some special wildlife like turtles and ducks and fishing at the lake puts them at risk. Did you also know that carp (the species of fish found in the lake) are noxious which means it’s illegal to throw them back into the water once caught. But don’t worry – you can go fishing in neighbouring locations such as Maribrynong River and Maribrynong Park. Thank you for helping to protect our wildlife and fishing in the right places. For any enquires please contact council@mvcc.vic.gov.au