Principal's News 2026 Term 3 Week 9

The Pursuit of Excellence

Pirates of the Curry Bean

A creative swashbuckling success by Year 6 for their 2026 play, and a special thank you to the staff team, including Rachel Caesar, Becky Bursle, Sally Crane, Claire Beheiry, Rachale Cornale, Holly Heather, Chris Haynes, Jason Goode, Glenn McNeil and the many supporters.

An outstanding showcase of fun, creative talent and community. Hayden Oakley and Daniel Sullivan were great on the lights — thank you. Six shows and rehearsals is an exhausting feat to be proud of, and thank you to the families who could make it to a show and support our amazing pirate crew!

Rotary Public Speaking Competition

Year 9 students Charlie McLauchlan, Phoebe Tobin and Mia Desic recently competed with outstanding performances and results. Charlie won the competition and is now heading to the next round in Dorrigo.

Sydney Academy of Chess State Final

Another outstanding year for our senior chess team, coming 10th for their efforts at state level. Congratulations to Lior Daley, Divith Bhandari, James Quodling, Yash Tyagi, Joshua Wing and Eyoul Araya. Yash Tyagi performed well individually, coming equal 8th.

Congratulations, Team BDC.

Barracuda Sports Club

Congratulations to our many volunteers, managers and coaches who have been involved with basketball, football and rugby players across the winter season. Many hours have been given in all kinds of weather — thank you.

It was wonderful to see the many managers and coaches recognised by their teams over the last few weeks with end-of-season presentations. The fun of the jumping castle, BBQ (thank you to the volunteer chefs), medals and lots of happy children was a wonderful way to end the season.

One of the best moments during these presentations was seeing the joy from the teams as some of the special awards, such as MVP and Most Improved, were handed out. Teams supporting their mates and friends as they get recognised was wonderful to see.

The welcome that children from other schools received into different sports was also exciting to see. Thank you for including individuals and also some large groups. It was also a highlight, and many people were very thankful for being included.

The focus on fun and mateship through sport is something we, as parents, hope continues well into adulthood. The Barracuda Sports Club, thanks to your volunteering, certainly points them in the right direction.

Thank you and well done to Mr Chris Cherry and Ms Natalie Titcume for their support and organisation over 2026.

We Are Certified

The New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) has formally confirmed our 2026 Registration and Accreditation success, which we completed early this term.

We have our formal accreditation for the next five years for K–12, Distance Education (BDC Horizons) and CRICOS (international students), and our OSHC passed a spot inspection last week.

It has been a big year for compliance and completing our schedule of governance requirements for these government authorities.

Term 3 Reflections

Term 3 is a term that sets an early focus at BDC for the following year or for setting up for 2027. It includes NAIDOC celebrations, recruitment, Leadership Induction and, this year, also our Registration and Accreditation cycle, OSHC Spot Inspection, annual Year 6 Play, BDC and NCIS sport, international student and Round Square visits, secondary World Options and Excelsior Journey subject focus, Barracuda end-of-season celebrations, and our significant Valedictory Celebrations.

These signature events and iconic calendar moments for the College are important for the diverse community we serve and the BDC culture that we are known for and strive to improve each year.

We will also complete our budget for 2027 in the near future, and families will be notified of any changes, such as tuition fees.

As we complete Term 3, thank you to our teams across the campus and to our families for your support. We wish the Class of 2026 all the best for their Valedictory and HSC examinations.

Farewell and Staff Update

Justine Leslie, who joined us in 2021 and is currently our Assistant Business Manager, and Imogen Dayment, who originally joined us as a student and commenced in Year 2 before returning in 2024 as a staff member, will be moving on.

Imogen continues her study and is aiming to reach her goal in rural and regional education.

Thank you to Justine and Imogen for your dedication to BDC, and we wish you well for your future career success.

Term 4 Commencement Date — Tuesday 13th October

We welcome students back on Tuesday 13th October, as Monday is a staff professional learning day.

Year 11 (the Class of 2027) will commence with their rite of passage into Year 12 at St John’s Anglican Church. Please see further information from Mr Terry Close, Year Coordinator, and Ms Andrea Wiffen, Head of Secondary, for a special part of their welcome into the HSC.

Class of 2026 HSC Written Examinations and Accelerated Students

Tuesday 13th October is when this year's HSC commences.

We wish our students well as they continue the HSC examinations after the performances, major works and language examinations.

For further information, students should log into their Students Online Account for their personalised HSC information, or contact Mrs Bronwyn Kelly, bkelly@bdc.nsw.edu.au, Director of Learning and Teaching, or the Head of Secondary, awiffen@bdc.nsw.edu.au, for further support.

A reminder that HSC students are welcome to study in the iHUB on most days of the holidays and during their examination period. Students are encouraged to make time with their teachers, practise exam papers under exam conditions and arrive early for each examination (at least 45 minutes).

Our HSC Drama class and Ms Gudgeon — 100% of the Year 12 Drama class — were nominated for OnSTAGE. Congratulations to our Performing Arts team Dance, Drama and Music.!

Year 11 2027 and Well Done Year 10

Year 10 have completed a large focus on vocations, life beyond school, careers, subject-specific counselling and course briefings.

We have our 2027 Year 11 course lines set for 2027. The College works hard each year with courses and families to provide as many options as we can for our senior students.

If you are aware of students who have arrived in the area recently, or friends considering their child’s subject options for Year 11, please encourage them to give our Enrolments team a call for further information on Year 11 2027.

Perspectives Survey 2026

Thank you for completing the survey, the College Leadership Team look forward to reviewing the responses over next term after we receive them from ISNSW.

Screen Time Mandated Limits in Public Schools

The State Government has recently announced screen time limits in public schools. At our College Leadership Team meeting this week, we reviewed our current practice and agreed that reviewing our screen use and physical writing in Term 4 is the step we will take.

The deep discussion also recognised various areas of research, including our World Prepared belief and the question: what world are we preparing our students for?

The new or revised syllabus requirements, especially in primary, have already boosted the focus on handwriting, and our staff are implementing this approach. This approach is in addition to the focus on learning by doing investigations in Stage 1 and the focus on hand skills and physical manipulation skills to assist in fine motor skill development, such as writing.

However, it was also noted that this year's NAPLAN writing examination was held online. It was the first time our Year 5 students completed an online exam, and there was a severe technical interruption affecting most students across Year 5. It was not a valid result for a deep comparison, for example.

High school is building upon these skills, where the technology focus should be on leveraging digital skills and using screens for skills development and accessing our resources.

The team also noted that HSC Extension Science and Extension 2 English are online HSC examinations. We will review our practice across K–6 and 7–12 to ensure our focus is strong, although we are unlikely to follow a similar mandated model to the announcement last weekend.

Student Images and Online Sharing of Photographs by Schools

Sharing our stories and community news has always been a part of our BDC practice. Many of our families cannot be onsite and use our stories or social media posts to keep informed and also celebrate our success stories and signature events.

Unfortunately, times have changed, as you may have heard in recent media reports.

Our CLT has been participating in professional learning and discussions about changes in technology, media misuse and updates by the eSafety Commissioner. We believe that this will change how we share stories and photographs as well.

We will provide further updates in Term 4.

2026 NAPLAN Performance

Celebrating NAPLAN Success at BDC.

We know NAPLAN is just one data set, and one test on one given day. But we are incredibly proud to share the wonderful results from this year’s assessments.

At BDC, we intentionally choose high-impact teaching strategies that support all learners. The results from Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 highlight not only the hard work of our students, but also the dedication of our staff who strive each day to see students thrive.

These results reflect what we see in our classrooms daily, students who are growing, achieving, and reaching their potential.

Year 3 Results: Well done to our Year 3 students who performed above the NSW State average across all NAPLAN domains for Exceeding and Strong proficiency. These wonderful results show the solid academic foundation our students are building in their early years.

Year 5 Results: Year 5 students are shining! Our BDC cohort outperformed the state averages in Reading, Grammar & Punctuation, and Numeracy for Exceeding and Strong proficiency levels. Well done to our amazing learners!

Year 7 Results: Year 7 are on a roll! BDC students consistently outperformed the state across all domains for Exceeding and Strong proficiency, with strong growth across core skills. Proud of our learners and teachers!

Year 9 Results: Outstanding results from our Year 9 students! BDC has surpassed state averages in Reading, Writing, Grammar & Punctuation, and Numeracy for Exceeding and Strong proficiency. We are so proud of their effort, resilience, and commitment to excellence.

Launch Your Teaching Career with Paid Classroom Experience!

Are you aspiring to become a teacher? Applications are officially open for the 2027 Teaching School Hubs Program through Independent Schools NSW!

This paid internship opportunity allows future educators to gain real-world, hands-on classroom experience while completing their university studies.

Why Join the Program?

- Earn while you learn with a paid school internship.

- Gain invaluable mentoring from experienced educators.

- Build direct pathways into employment at top independent schools.

Key Deadline: Applications close Friday, 2 October.

Learn more & apply now

Congratulations, Class of 2026

Our final congratulations for Term 3 are to the Class of 2026. This week, they will complete the most significant rite of passage at the College, where they enjoy the Valedictory Service and Awards Assembly.

Of course, the Valedictory Dinner is a standout. We look forward to the families and friends enjoying this phase of life and creating many memories for their exciting future.

Congratulations to the Class of 2026, and thank you for Term 3.

God bless.