Our annual Celebration Night will take place this week on Tuesday 11 October from 4-6pm on our Woodend Campus.

Celebration Night is a traditional element of the College Calendar, providing an opportunity every year for students, staff, and families to come together and recognise achievement, service, and leadership. The evening, which is a compulsory event for students and staff, will be held on our Woodend Campus for the first time this year with families bringing chairs and watching the formalities across two large stages. There will be food trucks present, and a live stream link will be shared for any families who aren’t able to attend (the link will be shared via SEQTA message from Mr Deer).

Unfortunately, especially given the recent wet weather, there isn’t enough parking for all families to park onsite (the last thing we want is for all our families’ cars to be bogged in the front paddock after the event!). Priority parking will be given to invited guests, with a bus service running between Woodend train station (south side) and the College to shuttle all others. Students will arrive onsite from the Mount Macedon Campus via bus and the normal bus services will run to take all students home after the event (buses will stop at all usual stops as per the standard routes, approximately two hours later than usual).

For safety reasons, cars will not be able to access the Woodend Campus after 3:00pm so all collections must be done prior to this time.

We are grateful to our College Community for their flexibility and understanding following the last minute date change, and to everyone who has worked to make our Celebration Night a reality after two years of disruption.

Reminder that during Term 1 and 4 students are to wear the full and correct summer uniform. As usual, there is a two week transition period at the start of Term 4 and Term 2, but from week three onwards, it’s expected that all students will be in full summer uniform.

Additionally, it is an expectation that all students on the Middle School Campus wear a College Cap or College Bucket Hat when outdoors for recess, lunchtime, HPE, sport, or other activities. It is a recommendation that students at Senior School also wear a hat when outdoors, but it is not a requirement.

Uniform guidelines are available on SEQTA and are the same across both campuses. Regular trading hours for the College Uniform Shop during Term Four are Monday 10am-2:15pm, Tuesday 8-11:30am, Friday 12-4pm. More information about uniform shop including the price list and online store can be found on the College website here.

Join us for a Ukrainian-themed dinner, designed, prepared, and served by our hospitality students and staff as we rally together to raise funds to support war-torn Ukraine.

Thursday 27 October | 6:30pm | Jackson Hall, Mount Macedon Campus.

Tickets are available for $80 per person and include a welcome drink and delicious nine-course Ukrainian-themed dinner.

All proceeds from the event will go to the Ukrainian Guardian Angels, an NGO founded by a Braemar Old Collegian, Nick Janiw (Class of ‘07).

Click here to book your tickets now. 

Don’t pack away the footy jumpers and scarves just yet! As part of their unit on Community Service, a group of Year 8 students have planned a Footy Colours Day this week on Friday 14 October, across both campuses.

All students are encouraged to make a donation to wear their footy colours with casual clothes. Instead of the traditional gold coin, the students ask that donations of long-life food and sanitary items are made that will go to support FoodBank.

We look forward to seeing our students get behind this great cause.

Our Parents and Friends (P&F) Association have been challenged over the past few years as some of their traditional activities – both friend-raising and fundraising – haven’t been able to take place. ‘Friend-raising’ is a priority for our P&F and they are looking forward to being able to re-launch some great initiatives and activities for parents and families to come together and get involved again next year.

In the meantime, while gatherings and events have been more challenging, the P&F have focussed on fundraising and making a difference where they can. The Term 3 Jam Doughnut fundraiser for the Live4Life program was a (very successful – see the Live4Life article in this edition of the Buzz) P&F initiative! They also sponsor an Art Prize each year that sees the College purchase a piece of art from a Year 12 student to add to the College’s permanent collection.

This term, the fundraising focus is on going green! The P&F Association are organising a solar initiative, encouraging donations from our College Community to support installing a solar power system on our new Multipurpose Hall. This will reduce our carbon footprint as solar energy is green, clean, and renewable!

You are invited to sponsor a panel (or part of one) through a tax-deductible donation.

Click here to visit the payment portal and contribute to this fantastic initiative.

Let’s all come together to build our future with sustainable energy.

One of our Braemar families, the Ramshaws (OC’20 – Lucy, Year 9 – Alice, and NextGen Braemarians – Leo and Sophie), are going through an exceptionally challenging time after their home was destroyed by fire late last term.

Gratefully, all members of the family are physically okay and are receiving support and counselling. The College has been supporting the family in several practical ways, while family and friends have set up a GoFundMe page to provide additional support.

Click here if you would like to donate to help the Ramshaws.