Dear Students, Staff, and Families of Buckley Park College,

It has been an action packed commencement to Term 3 and it has been a pleasure to see the school come alive again with positive energy. I would especially like to extend a warm welcome to our new staff members who have joined us this term:

• Ms Alison COOGAN - Office Manager - Job Share
• Mr Stefan POPESCU - Maths

I also want to welcome back from Family Leave Ms Emily Russell - Office Manager.

Term 3 is shaping up to be a vibrant and busy one, with many exciting events and opportunities for our students across all year levels.

NAPLAN 2025 Results - Buckley Park College continues to excel, achieving higher results compared to State, Our Network and Similar Schools

We are proud to share that Buckley Park College continues to excel in NAPLAN, with our Year 9 students achieving outstanding results in 2025. 78% of our students have performed in the Strong or Exceeding bands in Reading, Writing and Numeracy, which is higher compared to the state average, our network, and similar schools.We, as a college, are extremely proud of our Year 9 students’ NAPLAN successes. These results are a testament to:

•     The hard work of our students,

•     The dedication and expertise of our teaching staff, and

•     The ongoing support of our wider school community.

Congratulations to all students and staff!Together, we are building a culture of high expectations and academic growth. It is through a collective effort that we can best position our students to achieve their personal excellence.

School Production – Footloose Shines Bright

One of the major highlights is our annual whole-school production of Footloose, performed at the Clocktower Centre on 28 and 29 August. I am incredibly proud of the 96 students involved — whether on stage, in the band, behind the scenes, or part of the lighting, hair, and makeup teams.

The dedication, talent, and teamwork displayed were outstanding. My sincere thanks to the dedicated staff who have worked tirelessly on what will be an amazing show.

I encourage all our families to purchase a ticket to see the creative talents of our students across the college.

Important Dates This Term

Please take note of the following key events coming up:

• Parent–Teacher Interviews
  Thursday 4 September - An essential opportunity to discuss your child’s progress. Bookings will open soon.
• Year 8 Camp – Tasmania
  8–12 September - Our Year 8 students will travel to Tasmania for a week of learning, adventure, and personal growth.
• Year 11 Senior Ball
  Thursday 12 September - A special celebration for our Year 11 students. I look forward to seeing them enjoy this milestone.
• Year 10 Work Experience
  15–19 September - We wish our Year 10 students all the best as they head into workplaces to gain valuable experience and insights of potential future careers.
• Year 12 Trial Exams
  Our students completing Unit 3 and 4 subjects will take their trial exams during the upcoming term break. I encourage them to use the coming weeks wisely and prepare thoroughly.

Get ready to tap your toes and clap along to Footloose, a fun-filled musical full of dancing, friendship, and standing up for what’s right! Packed with catchy songs like “Footloose” and “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” this heartwarming musical reminds us all that joy, music, and movement should never be banned.

So kick off your Sunday shoes, and enjoy the show.

Clocktower Centre, Moonee Ponds, 28 & 29 August. 6:30 PM Show starts.

Tickets available BOOK NOW CLICK HERE or @clocktowercentre.com.au

Over the next three weeks, teachers will be trialling the implementation of consistent classroom routines at the beginning of each lesson across the whole school.

Classroom routines foster a learning-focused environment

Routines can be used to foster a learning-focused environment by establishing positive teacher–student relationships, setting high expectations for student behaviour and learning, and maintaining clear communication through providing structure, consistency, and predictability.

Routines that help students prepare for and stay focused on learning include routines for entering the classroom, exiting the classroom, gaining all students’ attention, students gaining your attention and moving to other areas of the school.

Teachers will implement the following three routines:

• Positive Primer/Hook (Positive Primers are proactive activities at the start of a day or learning period that boost positive emotion to support learning outcomes.)

• Building Relationships

• Laptops to remain closed until instructed by the teacher.

We look forward to your support in creating positive learning environments for our students at Buckley Park College.

During the Term 2 holidays, our three Northern Portable buildings were successfully divided and prepared for relocation. The expert relocatable team undertook the monumental task of transporting the six buildings, necessitating the temporary closure of Spencer Street and Cooper Street to facilitate the transfer of classrooms to our South oval area. Following their relocation, skilled tradesmen worked diligently to reassemble the classrooms, ensuring the seamless integration of essential amenities, including electricity, Wi-Fi, speakers, and projectors. The concreters completed the relocation process by constructing new pathways to connect the portable buildings with existing infrastructure. Notably, the vacant space previously occupied by the Northern portables will be developed later this year to accommodate our forthcoming STEAM Academy building.

This mid-year concert highlighted the musical progress made throughout Semester 1 and featured a rich variety of performances across a wide range of ensembles. We were captivated by students showcasing their individual musical expression and technical development. We enjoyed the unique sounds and textures created by our chamber groups and smaller ensembles. The evening featured performances from the Junior Band, Combo Band, Guitar Ensemble, Production Band, Symphonic Band, Choir, and for the first time, our newly formed Junior Contemporary Ensemble and Senior Contemporary Ensemble. Each group brought something different to the stage, highlighting a range of styles and musical influences.

Bravo! to all our music students and staff for a wonderful evening of live performance.

Badminton

Our intermediate girls' badminton team recently competed in the Western Metro School Sport competition at the Altona Badminton Centre. The team, coached by Sam Hunt, displayed excellent effort and sportsmanship throughout the day.

The girls faced some tough competition, playing against three other schools. They lost their matches against Maribyrnong and Suzanne Cory, both with a final score of 6-0. They then played a very close game against Braybrook, which resulted in a 3-3 draw. However, Braybrook won the tie on points.

Despite the final results, the team played their best and represented our school with pride. They were also commended for their great sportsmanship, even helping to referee some of the other matches. A big thank you to all the students who participated and for giving a full effort.

Basketball

Intermediate Boys & Girls finished division runners/up and were great ambassadors for the school during their competition.

Senior Boys played at the Western Metro Championships, finishing 4^th in their pool. The furthest we have progressed at Senior level for 10 years.

Special mention to the 8 Boys Team who were Runners up to EKC in the final,

Soccer

Congratulations to Year 12 student Nicholas Emtsis who recently represented Victoria in the School Sport Australia U/18 National Championships.

Nick’s team placed 3^rd for the competition, and he had a great week personally, finishing in the top 5 on the goal scoring charts. Great work Nick!

Athletics

We have our Division athletics coming up on Wednesday 3^rd September. With over 70 students qualified, we are expecting some great results.

Mount Buller (a resort village in eastern Victoria) turned on perfect snow conditions for the visit and everyone had a go at either snowboarding or sking. Weather you were a Grom* or a Shredder* or just a Gaper* on the Bunny run the camp was open to students of all levels of ability and experience, ranging from those having never seen snow before, to experienced skiers/boarders. After 3 days on the slopes all of our students and staff came back feeling Gnarly*, and no broken bones. Well done to everyone!

* Ski slang- Grom- Young novice, Shredder- Skilled, Gaper- Amateur skier

On Tuesday the 29th of July, 19 students from Buckley Park College went to Melbourne Airport to visit the Qantas facilities to gain further information about careers in the aviation industry. We were originally greeted in a meeting room by the staff that was assigned to show us around the hangar. We had a brief overview of the different roles and their unique importance in keeping the planes flying. We then went on a tour around the workshop to see the different parts of the planes that were being worked on by the staff, and listened to an exciting explanation of each major component stored in the hangar. We were fortunate enough to witness the emergency slides being tested to see how quickly and safely it is to exit an aircraft in an emergency. The tour continued with a lap around the exterior of a plane from the Qantas fleet, with many opportunities to ask questions. When inside the plane, we were able to enter the cockpit and see how pilots navigate their way around the overwhelming amount of buttons, and we could roam around the plane. All in all, the Qantas tour was a great experience with not a single dull moment.

Billy Adamson & Lachlan Hallinan Year 11

On this day, you will have the chance to enjoy big freshly baked authentic German pretzels, which will be available in two different flavours: traditional salted or sweet cinnamon.

Each Bretzel will cost you just $4 and comes in its own bag. They will be baked by Bretzelbiz on the day and you will only be able to get them from the German room WP1 at lunchtime on the 9th of October 2025!

Most importantly it is only open to staff and students of Buckley Park College and to ensure you get a Bretzel, you need to pre-order online using the CompassTix Bretzeltag link on Compass by Wednesday the 17th of September in week 9 this term.

You will need to make sure to fill in your full name and form group for students, or full name and staff room for staff, so we know who has ordered each pretzel and who it belongs to.

Your freshly baked pretzel order will then arrive on Bretzel day - the 9th of October and you will be able to pick it up at lunchtime from the German room - WP1 on that day.

Any Bretzels that have not been presold on CompassTix will be on sale for $4 each at lunchtime the 9th of October at German Club WP1 for cash only on the day.

Allergy warning: all Bretzels contain gluten and may contain dairy, nuts, soy or seeds.

On behalf of the Deutschklub, we invite you to celebrate the taste of German culture with a Bretzel!

Guten Appetit und vielen Dank!

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!!

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