A warm welcome to the college for our new and returning students and families. 

2022 has been quite the year so far at BDC, with many exciting activities during the first weeks of school - including year 7 orientation, Allwell testing, and school photos, and parent information sessions. And all in only six days since the commencement of the school year.

We have been excited to welcome more than 200 new students to campus this year, including students at each year level, growing the BDC student base to our largest cohort of students in the school’s 28 year history. This is a testament to the work of our existing and former students and staff in growing the school’s reputation locally and further afield, and we’re excited about new opportunities in the future. 

At the commencement of the 2021 school year, the team at BDC recognised the great promise that lay ahead for the Class of 2021, who endured their senior years through unprecedented learning conditions resulting from the COVID pandemic. We were extremely impressed with the performance of our students in their HSC and ATAR results, and more than 90% of our students received early-entry into their career pathways for university, apprenticeships and internships. You can read more about the HSC 2021 results here. 

The rollout of the Rapid Antigen Home Tests across the school has been a streamlined process, and we thank our staff, students and families for making this as smooth as possible to comply with the Government requirements for ongoing surveillance testing. You can find out more about the current COVID restrictions in Mr Simon Doyle’s report.

Over the holidays, a number of renovation and construction projects took place, many of which our returning students would immediately notice, particularly in the science block, primary classrooms and the Branson Centre, with the introduction of new technologies and upgraded facilities. Renovations to the secondary library to create the iHUB are almost complete, and we look forward to welcoming students into this state-of-the-art education space shortly. Work on the new Senior Study Hub has commenced, promising to give our senior students a dedicated, engaging and contemplative space as they reach the most important and intensive part of their schooling years with us at BDC. 

Our students had some remarkable achievements during their school holidays across swimming, athletics, and surf life saving. We are pleased to have showcased many of these activities on the BDC social media pages, however I’d like to make special mention to year 9 student, Daniel Williams and year 10 student, Lilly Geddes for their outstanding achievements at a national level in distance running and open water swimming, respectively. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome our new and returning staff - including Rev Nicole Hagon who has been appointed after Rev David Morgan’s retirement at the end of last year. Fiona Harris, our new Head of Science,  takes over from Paul McCormack who has retired after 10 years of service to the school. Kevin Flanagan is a new addition in Maths,  Kate Freeman has been appointed as the new Performing Arts Manager and we welcome back Rebecca Day as the Head of Performing Arts from maternity leave. Other new staff were announced in my letter to all parents and carers before school started. 

We look forward to welcoming families to the campus in the coming weeks through a number of our school events, and hope that you have experienced a smooth and enjoyable start to the school year. 

Nick Johnstone
Principal