Mr Stuart Edwards

Acknowledgment of Country

Bentley Park College acknowledges the Gimuy Walubarra Yidinji Bama, meaning people, the Traditional Owners of the Bulmba, meaning place, where the College is built. The College is located between two significant waterways – Bana Gindaja, meaning water and cassowary, and Bana Jubugaraa, meaning water and big boomerang.

We extend our respects to their Elders, their Ancestors and Future Generations as they hold the memories and the traditions and maintain the culture of the Gimuy Walubarra Yidinji Bama. We continue to offer sincere respect to all First Nations People.

Welcome

It's been a great start to the 2025 school year. On behalf of our College Principal Mr Bruce Houghton, who is currently on leave, I welcome all our new and returning students and their families to the Bentley Park College community. I also welcome all the new staff members across our Primary and Secondary sectors. 

We would like to thank the P&C for their work in making sure students are catered for with uniforms and resources. Parents and carers are encouraged to play an active role in their student's learning and attend regular parent teacher interviews, information nights and College events. Joining our Parents and Citizens’ Association or the Local Community Education Body is also a great way to stay connected and give back to the College community.

Vale the Honourable Warren Pitt AM

We would like to acknowledge the passing of Hon. Warren Pitt AM, and offer our deepest condolences to his family, including Hon. Curtis Pitt.

Both Mr Warren Pitt and Mr Curtis Pitt are former State Members for Mulgrave, and provided great support to the College over many years. This included donating the Member for Mulgrave Youth Volunteer Award every year since our first Presentation Night in 2004.

Mr Warren Pitt was also a former teacher in the district, including Bentley Park College. We honour his outstanding contribution to the community over many years, and may he rest in peace. 

'Day 8' Student Numbers 

The Queensland Department of Education provides teaching and ancillary staff for our schools based on the number of students enrolled and attending school regularly by 'Day 8' of the school year. This year, that was Thursday 7 February, and our numbers on this date are outlined in the table following. 

College Leaders' and Year 12 Induction

The first big event of the year is the College Leaders' and Year 12 Induction, which will be held at 12.15 pm on Wednesday 26 February (Week 5).  Year 12s will be formally inducted as Seniors, along with elected Year 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 Leaders.

The official Year 12 and Year 6 group photos will also be taken on the day of the Induction. Year 12s are to be dressed in full formal school uniform.

Invitation letters will be going home to parents/carers of Year 12s and Leaders in Weeks 3 and 4. We hope you can join us for the ceremony.

2024 College Dux

Congratulations go to Hayley Storey who topped the Class of 2024! She was one of the 2024 College Captains, and won the Year 12 JCU Shield at Presentation Night last year. 

Hayley will be presented with her College Dux prize, donated by the Edmonton Lions Club, at the upcoming College Leaders' and Year 12 Induction. 

College communications

• eNewsletter: In addition to this welcome newsletter, Our Prep to Year 12 eNewsletter is published in Weeks 5 and 10 of each term, with the link distributed by email to parents/carers, staff, students and community members. It highlights key messages, as well as achievements across our Pillars of Excellence - Academia, Citizenship, The Arts, Technology and Sport. 
  
  
• Website: Our official website is updated on a regular basis and there is a lot of information about the College’s policy and procedures as well as upcoming events and a calendar of College events.
  
  
• Telephone/SMS: When we need to speak with parents/carers urgently this is the quickest way. This will either be by a personal phone call or text message. Please provide a mobile number if possible to receive important reminders, messages and absence SMS.
  
  
• Email - is a convenient way to contact our staff, with teacher email addresses available on our website. Please provide your email address to receive regular Principal Updates, newsletter links and other messages and reminders.
  
  
• Social media: The College operates active Facebook and Instagram accounts with reminders about events, photo galleries, good news stories and career opportunities in the community. The College also has a YouTube channel for video-sharing.
  
  
• Information sharing and transition events: Through the course of the school year there are scheduled events that give parents/carers and in some cases the wider community an opportunity to be involved in the College. These are well publicised through our electronic sign, notices, newsletter articles and the website calendar.
  
  Parent Teacher Interviews are held twice a year in both Primary and Secondary. These are very important sessions which provide parents/carers with valuable information about their student’s scholastic and social development, and is a great opportunity for parents/carers to provide the College information on specific issues students may have.
  
  There are also several information and transition events held throughout the year for students going into Prep, Year 7 and Year 11 the following year. 
  
  
• Letters and Notices/Flyers: Printed Excursion Consent Forms are sent home with students, which goes through a process as part of the Variation to School Routine (VSR). Other letters of communication from the College may be emailed home to parents/carers and placed on our Facebook page and website.
  
  
• QParents: A secure, online portal that has been created by the Department of Education and Training to provide parents of Queensland State school students with 24 hour access to their child's information.
  
  QParents allows parents/carers to securely access information about their child and communicate directly with the school regarding student information such as Attendance details, Report Cards, timetables, invoices, payment history and student photo. Excursion Consent Forms, Student Resource Scheme consent and media consent can also now be granted via QParents. 
  
  If you have not connected to QParents yet, the College will be sending invitation codes via email over the next couple of weeks for you to sign up. 

Our school community has worked together to establish simple, clear and explicit expectations for behaviour. Student behaviour improves when students know what is expected of them and when good behaviour is recognised. Our students are explicitly taught the behaviours they need for success at school and beyond.

The College takes a proactive, preventative approach, ensuring that all students receive the appropriate level of support to help them to succeed. Our Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) team constantly works to ensure that all students benefit and identified students receive additional support when needed. Find out more about PBL by watching this video or visit the website.

The Resilience Project (TRP) delivers emotionally engaging programs to schools, sports clubs and businesses, providing practical, evidence-based mental health strategies to build resilience and happiness.  The program is used in over 1000 schools and over 500 workplaces and is embedded into the curriculum at Bentley Park College.

Students engage in weekly activities and discussions around TRP’s GEM priorities - Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness, as well as Emotional Literacy, as they are foundational contributors to positive mental health. More information is available on the TRP website.

Away for the day

We would like to thank students, parents, carers and staff for their support of the Queensland Department of Education's 'Away for the day' approach to mobile device usage, which began at the start of 2024. The initiative has been implemented smoothly, and has complemented and reinforced the mobile device policy that was already in place at the College.

Bentley Park College Strategic Plan 2024-2027

The Bentley Park College 2024-2027 Strategic Plan was implemented at the start of 2024, with its priorities based on the five recommendations of the 2023 School Improvement Review. Across the nation, the educational landscape is changing rapidly and we know that the work that we do over this time is vital for the long-term future of our College community.  

College jackets

The College Executive have worked alongside the P&C to source a suitable, affordable College jacket for Primary and Secondary students that will complement day and formal school uniforms across P-12. It was agreed the navy jacket pictured below will be the official BPC jacket, and is now on sale at the P&C Uniform Shop. 

The P&C have worked hard to ensure these jackets are good quality and are a good price, with the bonus of being water-resistant. So as to ensure consistency across the College, navy is the only acceptable colour and we strongly encourage parents/carers to purchase these jackets before we move into the cooler months. 

Over the past few years, Bentley Park College students have demonstrated they can wear their uniform with pride, but often try to wear an incorrect jumper making them appear to be out of uniform. Uniforms teamed with College-branded jackets are not only about identifying students with the College, but they also contribute to a safe and supportive environment.