FROM THE COLLEGE PRINCIPAL
Mrs Kylie Cochran
School Opinion Survey
Don’t miss your chance to provide feedback in the School Opinion Survey before it closes on 22 August. Parents, carers and students in selected year levels have been emailed a link to participate. Your responses are highly valued and will help to shape better learning environments. Find out more on the School Opinion Survey webpage or contact school administration.
Social media and the school community
At Bentley Park College we take our responsibility to maintain the health and safety of our students and staff very seriously. This responsibility includes issues related to online choices and behaviours.
Participating in the online environment can be a positive experience, but there are also a broad range of concerns that may need to be considered, including online privacy and information protection, online etiquette, digital citizenship and knowing how to get help to deal with online issues.
As you may be aware, comments posted online about people and organisations may impact permanently on their digital reputation. This includes teachers, other staff, students and the school. There can be very real negative consequences from online posts – relationships between school staff, students and parents can be permanently damaged.
Facebook and other social networking sites are generally not private communities and, depending on an individual’s privacy and security settings, comments may be read by many people and remain online indefinitely.
If you or your child are posting information online about the school, staff or students, I ask that you consider the ramifications of these comments on the school and any individuals in the school community. As a rule of thumb:
- Public discussion is most effective when it is conducted in a polite and respectful manner.
- Before posting, it is important to consider whether those people you are posting about want information, including photos and comments regarding them and their children, posted on Facebook or on other sites. Perhaps ask the people involved in the post for permission before you publish something or tag someone online.
- Rather than airing complaints or grievances in a public forum like Facebook, come and talk to the school first about how to resolve your concerns.
- Remember that as a parent/carer you have a responsibility to supervise and regulate your own children’s online activities at home and their impact on the reputation and privacy of others.
For more information, please see the following links from the Queensland Department of Education:
If you have any concerns and would like to discuss further I invite you to make an appointment with me.
Student Free Day: Friday 5 September
A student free day is scheduled in Week 8 of this term on Friday 5 September. On this day across the College, staff will participate in professional development, QCE meetings and the Executive will have a 2025 planning day.
Presentation Night: Wednesday 19 November
The College's Presentation Night is our premier event of the year and will be held on Wednesday 19 November (Term 4, Week 7) at PCYC Edmonton. On this evening, we showcase the best of Bentley and celebrate the year. Awards on the night will include subject awards, special awards and Captains announcements.
