From the Principal

National Reconciliation Week 2025 began 27th May and will continue until Tuesday 3 June. The theme this year, ‘Bridging now to next’, reflects ongoing connection (between past, present and future) and encourages us to move forward together, guided by past lessons to build a more united and respectful nation.

The start and end of National Reconciliation Week recognises 2 significant milestones: the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision.

In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge the traditional custodians of this country, the Bunurong people of the Kulin nation and acknowledge and respect their continued connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past, present and emerging. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Today I would like to remind our readers of the newsletter article published 9th May, I wrote:

‘On April 3, 2024, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and Education Minister, Ben Carroll jointly announced – along with Parents Victoria CEO Gail McHardy – new policy changes that will make school uniforms more affordable. As from next year students at Victorian public schools will be allowed to wear non logoed below the waist uniform items e.g. shorts, pants, skirts, socks. This does not mean students can wear what they like from the waist down. It could mean tailored trousers can be purchased anywhere. This is the decision of School Council. The Department's Student Dress Code Policy explains that school councils have the authority to develop a student dress code for their students. School councils must work with their school communities in developing and reviewing dress codes’.

I am therefore calling for parents/carers, students and teachers to join school council members to form a working party to discuss the changes to the Dress Code policy and the implications for Mornington Secondary College. The working party will be responsible for developing a consultation process about student dress codes, including the cost of uniform. Other topics that may be relevant considerations during consultation include purpose of the student dress code policy, uniform design, practicality of uniform, inclusivity of uniform, materials used in uniform construction and uniform supply arrangements.

If you are interested in joining the working party, please email Assistant Principal Michael Parker 59700200 or Michael.Parker@education.vic.gov.au

Thankyou for your ongoing support.

Linda Stanton

Principal

Important Dates

Term 2 2025

June

Jun - Monday 9th  King's Birthday public holiday, student free day

Jun - Friday 6th and Tuesday 10th  Year 7 to Year 10 PAT testing

Jun - Wednesday 11th to Thursday 19th  Year 10 and Year 11 Exams

Jun - Tuesday 17th  GAT Day for students studying VCE Units 3 and 4

Jun - Friday 20th  Report writing day, student free day

Jun - Monday 23rd  Semester 2 commences

Jun - Thursday 26th to Friday 27th  Year 12 Snow Camp - Mt Buller

July

Jul - Tuesday 1st  Course Information Evening for 2026 Year 9 to 12 students

Jul - Friday 4th  End of Term 2, 2.30pm dismissal

Middle School

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we near the end of Term 2, it has been wonderful to see our students engaging so enthusiastically in a range of learning experiences and celebrations across all year levels. From hands-on history to zoo adventures and student-led barbeques, it’s been a busy and exciting few weeks at Mornington Secondary College! 

Looking ahead, on Tuesday 17th June, our Year 7, 8 and 9 students will be out on various excursions while our senior students remain on-site to sit the General Achievement Test (GAT). We thank families in advance for supporting these important and engaging opportunities for all students.

Year 9 Update

A big thank you to Mrs Jones and Mr Doherty for organising a sausage sizzle for our Year 9 students this week. It was fantastic to see our young people cooking together and showing such appreciation and respect as they lined up to enjoy their lunch.

Coming up (17th JUNE) the Year 9 cohort will enjoy a day of connection and fun at General Public in Frankston, where they’ll have the opportunity to go bowling and enjoy arcade games.

Year 8 – Medieval Day

Our Year 8 students recently took part in a highly engaging Medieval Day incursion. Students were fully immersed in medieval life, participating in archery, medieval weaponry demonstrations, and learning about crime and punishment in the Middle Ages.

A big thank you to John Molino, Head of Humanities, and Kim Rattue and Adam Pirrie for supporting the day and joining in the fun. The experience helped bring history to life and deepened students’ understanding of medieval society through interactive, hands-on learning.

Year 8 Zoo Excursion

On 17th June, our Year 8 students will be heading to the Melbourne Zoo. Students are very excited for the chance to explore the zoo and learn more about the animals and their habitats.

Year 7 – Werribee Zoo Safari

Also on 17th June, our Year 7 students will take part in a safari adventure at the Werribee Open Range Zoo. Highlights will include visits to the elephant and giraffe enclosures and an opportunity to deepen their knowledge of wildlife and conservation.

100 Days of Secondary School – Year 7

We’re looking forward to celebrating 100 Days of Secondary School with our Year 7 students on 27th June. This will be a fun and festive day at school to acknowledge the achievements and growth of our newest secondary students. A full schedule of the day will be shared with families shortly.

Thank you to our students and families for your continued support—especially in ensuring students attend school in full uniform and come prepared with the equipment they need to succeed in class each day. Your partnership makes a real difference to the learning environment we strive to create.

Warm regards,

Denise Leggett

Assistant Principal

Senior School

To students and families of the Mornington Senior School,

Exam season is on the way…

Our Semester 1 exam schedule is now live on Compass in your newsfeed. Year 10 and 11 students will have exams between Wednesday 11th June and Thursday 19th June. Students are only required to attend when they have a scheduled exams and will need to attend in full school uniform. The only exception to this is for Year 11s who have a Year 12 subject. They need to attend each of their Year 12 sessions and re-schedule their exam (except for students doing Year 11 Japanese and/or Music Performance). Please see the attachment on Compass for more details. 

VCAA General Achievement Test (GAT)

Our Year 12 students will be sitting the first VCAA exam for the year – The General Achievement Test (GAT). The GAT measures general knowledge and skills in maths, science, technology, humanities, the arts and social sciences while assessing numeracy and literacy skills. The GAT is used to check that VCE external assessments (exams and performances) have been assessed accurately and are also used in the calculation of derived exam scores (I’ll provide more information about that later this year). It is important that students do the best they can in the GAT. It is not a test that any student should study for however we are preparing students for it in ROADMAP and VM classes by practicing the types of questions they may get.

Any student doing a Year 12 subject (ATAR or VM) will be required to sit Section A of the GAT (from 9am until 11:15 – please arrive by 8:30 for registration). Only VCE ATAR students are required to sit section B of the GAT as well (1:15pm – 3:00pm). We will be running a BBQ for students so they can eat in between sections.

Year 12 students have received a copy of the GAT information brochure but here is an electronic link to the VCAA GAT information page - https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/assessment/general-achievement-test/general-achievement-test 

Good luck for some of our talented students…

Our Senior (and middle school) Aerobics teams are competing in the state finals this weekend at Rowville. So good luck to the teams. Thank you to the students who have been working so hard before and after-school and to Indie Jowett (former student and now a staff member) for her tireless work coaching the teams. I look forward to seeing them perform on Saturday. 

We would also like to wish another senior student, Evi Irving (Year 11) all the best for her first representative game for the Dandenong Stingrays this weekend against Tasmania. We hope you have a terrific game and it’s great to hear stories of our students being successful both in and outside of school.

Our congratulations also goes out to Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves who has been selected for the Vic Country U18 Squad after overcoming an injury set-back earlier in the year. I had the pleasure of enrolling Noah for the start of his VCE VM journey at Mornington SC. We wish Noah all the best in his draft year and hope he can follow in the footsteps of Harvey Langford, Hayden Young, Taylah Gatt, Ebony Lane, and so many other Mornington SC students who have gone on to be elite athletes.

Year 12 TRAG excursion

Our Year 12 students will be attending the TRAG excursion next week. It’s a highly effective, albeit it challenging excursion for students, who will gain a real-life insight into the reasons we have the road rules we do and why it’s so important to be sensible on the roads.

Students of the month of May

Next week I’ll be acknowledging some students from each of the senior year levels as our students of the month of May for a special Assistant Principal’s award. The year level teams have been working with me to recognise some students who have embodied what it means to be a great student and Mornington person. I look forward to sharing those names with you in next week’s newsletter.

Key Senior School events

3rd June –(Tues) – Year 12 TRAG excursion

11th – 19th June (Wed – Thurs) – Year 10-11 exams and VCE VM Semester 1 presentations (Year 11)

17th June (Tues) -VCAA GAT – all students studying a Year 12 VCE ATAR or VM subject required

20th June (Fri) – Report writing day (no classes)

23rd June (Mon) – Start of Semester 2 rotations (years 7-11)

1st July (Tues) – Senior Pathways Course Information Night

4th July (Fri) – End of Term 2

Kind regards,

Nick Evans

Senior School Assistant Principal

Reconciliation Week

It has become common practice at events to pause to acknowledge country and the indigenous peoples who are connected to and who have cared for this land.  I sometimes wonder if we take the time to think about the significance of this gesture.  

We live in an amazing place, sometimes we can take it for granted. But the acknowledgement recognises those who have gone before us and cared for this land and for me at least, reminds me that I now also have responsibility for caring for this land and the people who live here.

Mike Parker

Assistant Principal - Curriculum and Student Wellbeing

Students of the Week

Year 7 Claire Rattue 

Favourite food: Fruit

Hobbies out of school: Basketball and football

What sports team do you follow? Collingwood and Melbourne United

Favourite TV show: Friends

Do you have any pets? 2 dogs Jess & Buckley and 1 bunny named Princess

What do you enjoy most about being at Mornington Secondary College? Making new friends, Swim Squad and the sporting opportunities 

What career do you wish to follow when you finish school? Police officer (K9 dog trainer)

Year 7 Antonio Barbieri

Favourite food: Watermelon

Hobbies out of school: Basketball and footy

What sports team do you follow? The Saints & Golden State Warriors

Favourite TV show: none

Do you have any pets? 1 dog named Cookie

What do you enjoy most about being at Mornington Secondary College? Friends and sport

What career do you wish to follow when you finish school? Play AFL

Year 11 This week we have a large bouquet of high achievers! 

The following students received 100% in their Matrices Maths SAC:

• Macca Hudson
• Jack Pryor
• Ethan Linskill
• Badreldin Mohamed
• Giselle Woolley
• Lucy Ferlazzo
• Edie Baard
• Isaac Hofer 
• Georgia Wright

Their Maths teachers, Ms Lamb and Mr Brenton are impressed with this outstanding result. These students complete all tasks with high attendance and review and study for their SACs. Well done one hundred percenters!

Year 12 Olivia Willis-Whitelaw

Favourite food: Watermelon

Hobbies out of school: Basketball and footy

Favourite animal: Dingo

Favourite subject: Biology

Career Aspirations: Medical imager

Favourite thing you have done this year: Aerobics!

New Staff Member

Hi, I’m Ruby Woodward and I’m currently in my final year of studying a Bachelor of Education in Health and Physical Education at Monash University. I’ve been granted Permission to Teach following my previous placements and I’m looking forward to connecting with students, staff and families here at MSC. 

I love all things outdoors and spend a lot of time coaching cheerleading. I'm excited to bring my passion for physical activity to the classroom and I can’t wait to meet you all!

Ruby Woodward

Health & PE Teacher

Division Cross Country Results

On May 22nd, a dedicated group of 101 MSC Cross-Country runners participated in the Division Athletics Competition at Hastings Foreshore. With ideal weather conditions—sunny skies and dry terrain—the stage was set for an exceptional day of competition.

Our athletes demonstrated incredible spirit and camaraderie, with many students stepping up to compete in older age groups, further showcasing their commitment to the team. Throughout the day, they supported one another, embodying the true essence of sportsmanship.

Each runner should take immense pride in their performance, as every contribution helped bolster MSC’s overall team score. The collective effort displayed by the cross-country team was nothing short of remarkable. 

I would like to make a special mention to Heath Tiller who really battled through a painful stitch but kept on pushing as hard as he could showing true grit and determination to finish in 7th place.

A huge thank-you to Mr Walker, Kobi and Rory for all you help organising the event and finalising our teams in the lead up to the day. Also thankyou to Mr Olarenshaw for all your help supporting our students and marshalling for the day. 

We are thrilled to share some outstanding results from the event, and congratulations to the following students who have qualified for SMR Cross-Country on the 25th of June at Ballam Park.  

Mrs Mackenzie

Health and PE Teacher

Year 8 Medieval Incursion

On Tuesday May 27th, our Year 8 students had the exciting opportunity to step back in time during our Medieval Day incursion. Throughout the day, students were immersed in the sights, sounds and stories of the Middle Ages through a range of interactive sessions. They explored medieval education and games, examined weapons and armour, and even tried their hand at archery. 

The experience brought history to life in a fun and engaging way, enriching their understanding of the medieval world. A big thank you to all Year 8 teachers involved, as well as Adam Pirrie for volunteering his time to run Archery. 

Here are some things some of our students had to say: 

On Tuesday all the Year 8s had a medieval incursion, as that is what we have been focusing on in Humanities. We got into our classes and had four medieval activities for the day. The activities we did were crimes and punishment, weapons and armour, archery and education and games. To finish the day we had a tournament which was the whole year level watching how to use all the weapons and you got to use them against the presenter of the day. Overall it was a really fun experience for us and helps us learn lots more about the medieval times.  Taylah Rowe

This week our year level participated in a medieval incursion. We had four different activates and they were weapon and armoury, crime and punishments, archery and medieval games. At the end we had multiple people come and fight the presenter with fake swords and shields which was so fun to watch. We had loads of fun.  Anthony Tabet

John Molino

Head of Humanities

Year 12 Formal

Last Thursday night, May 22nd, our Class of 2025 had their 'Starry Night' Year 12 Formal.

The students had an amazing night.  They certainly shone in their glamorous outfits.  From the moment they arrived they were on the dance floor or in the photo booth.  They enjoyed a lovely 2 course meal at Functions by the Bay.  The staff also got involved with a sneaky Wild West theme and an impromptu line dance which the students loved. It was awesome!

Jo Reeman

Team Leader Year 12

Year 9 BBQ

On Thursday May 29th, Year 9 students and staff celebrated the completion of Morrisby Profiling and Attitudes To School Survey by enjoying a BBQ cooked by the wonderful Year Level Captains. It was a nice way to enjoy the morning and further build relationships with one another.

Shaun Doherty

Year Level Coordinator 9

Year 11 Melbourne Magistrates Visit

On Wednesday May 28th Mrs Rattue and I accompanied Year 11 Legal Studies students into the city to the Melbourne Magistrates Court.  After passing through metal detectors we split into two groups and visited many courtrooms.  We managed to see a variety of cases from drink driving, speeding, to drugs and even more serious matters.

The Magistrates Court has more than 20 courtrooms with many cases being heard everyday. The students got to experience what happens in a real court situation and familiarise themselves with court personnel, etiquette and procedures.  They behaved impeccably and all enjoyed the experience.

Sian Jones

Team Leader Year 9

Senior Sport

Year 11 and 12 Boys AFL

A hard slog by the Year 11 & 12 footy boys today! 

An easy win against Mt Eliza to warm the legs up led us into a tough match up against Dromana. Despite huge efforts from senior boys Ollie Lynas, Will Marsh and Lenny Childs, Mornington eventually conceded a tight defeat. 

An ego boosting game against Westernport with major impact players Levi Humbles down forward, James Segrave dominating the ruck and Fraser Dentry bouncing off the backline propelled the boys into the final match up against Rosebud. 

On tired legs, a man down and trailing by five goals at the half, the boys stood up with the likes of Heath Brisbane and Dean Ressugan forcing the ball forward clawing the score back to within a kick. Unfortunately, the final siren blew that little too early bringing our day to an even 2 and 2. 

A big congratulations to the Year 12s on their final year of Division sport and exciting times ahead for the Year 11s who will take over the reigns for next year!!

Lewis Lynch

Humanities Teacher

Year 11 and 12 Interschool Girls Netball

Our senior girls proudly represented the school at the recent Interschool Netball Competition, showcasing incredible teamwork, skill, and sportsmanship across the day.

The A Team dominated throughout the tournament, displaying outstanding cohesion and determination on the court. Their hard work paid off as they went undefeated and were crowned Premiers—a well-deserved result for a talented and committed group of players.

The B Team also delivered a strong performance, finishing in 3rd place after a series of competitive matches. Their perseverance and team spirit were evident in every game, making the school community proud.  

All girls had a fabulous day, with plenty of quality netball and lots of laughs, for some of them, the last time they will represent their school. A big congratulations to all the girls involved for their efforts, as well as to the coaches who contributed to a successful day of sport. Well done!

Michelle Barnes

Curriculum Implementation Leader

School Aerobics State Finals

Good luck to our Aerobics Squad who are competing at the School Aerobics State Finals on Saturday the 31st of May at Rowville Secondary College. 

Our teams 'Atkinspire', 'Adrenaline' and 'Steptacular' as well as our duo 'Party Starters', are all competing in a 9:10am section. Tickets to come along and cheer the girls on can be purchased on the below link.

Best of luck girls!

Indie Jowett 

Aerobics Squad Coach

Hands on Learning

On Wednesday 28th May our Hands on Learning students planted trees at a property in Main Ridge to help support Landcare.

2025 Production - FROZEN JR

Tickets are available to purchase now!  Remember we have a sing-a-long session on our open night so you can join in the fun!

When:        Tuesday 5 August 2025 SING-A-LONG SESSION     7-8:30pm

                     Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th August 2025     7-8:30pm

                     Saturday 9th August 2025     2-3:30pm

Location:   Performing Arts Theatre, 1051 Nepean Highway, Mornington Vic 3931

Tickets can be purchased via trybooking, on the below link.

School Saving Bonus reminder and allocation to school activities

The Victorian Government is delivering the School Saving Bonus (SSB) – a one-off support of $400 for eligible government school students from Prep to Year 12 in 2025. The SSB can be used for uniforms and textbooks until Monday 30 June 2025. Any funds already allocated to school activities do not expire.

To use any remaining SSB funds to cover the cost of school activities in July, please refer to the SSB online system and allocate the funds to school activities before 30 June 2025. 

Any unspent funds remaining on the portal after 30 June 2025, including online voucher amounts that have not been redeemed, will become a credit to use on school activities. However, the unallocated credit will not be available on your family account at our school until late July. 

To learn more about the SSB online system, download the step-by-step System guide for parents and carers or watch this School Saving Bonus video. System guide translations are also available in 14 languages.

The Department of Education’s SSB contact centre will remain available until 30 June 2025. After this date, please contact Erin.Dixon3@education.vic.gov.au for any SSB related questions. The contact centre can be reached by: 

• completing the School Saving Bonus enquiry form
• calling 1800 338 663, between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm on weekdays.

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) helps eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you have a valid means-tested concession card, or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. Means-tested concession cards must be valid on the first day of Term 1 2025 (Tuesday 28 January 2025) or the first day of Term 2 2025 (Tuesday 22 April 2025). A student aged 16 years and over who is considered a mature minor and holds a valid concession card is also eligible to apply.

Eligible families will receive a payment of $256 per year for secondary school students . The funds will be paid directly to the school to be used towards camps, sports and excursion costs for the benefit of your child.

If you would like to apply, please complete the CSEF application form on Compass News Feed and return completed application forms to the school office as soon as possible.

Compass Updates

There has recently been many updates to features on the Compass app for parents. Please find below a how-to-video to learn more on how to Book a Parent-Teacher Conference.

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