Principal report

A reminder: Friday July 4th is the last day of Term 2. All students will be dismissed at 2:30pm. School buses will run 50 minutes earlier on this day.

As Term 2 draws to a close, I would like to thank every staff member, every student, every parent and school community member for ensuring that Mortlake College continues to be a wonderful learning and wellbeing environment. I would like to congratulate all the students who have represented the college in our school production, excursions, work experience, and varying amazing sporting opportunities throughout this term. It is wonderful to celebrate so much talent across the college.

Mid-Year Student Reports

Throughout the course of this semester, teachers have been assessing student learning and preparing the Semester 1 Reports. Student Reports will be available via the Sentral App on Wednesday July 2nd.

Student Learning Journey Interviews will take place between 1-7pm on Wednesday July 30th. You will be able to book an appointment for these interviews at the beginning of the school holidays. Please Note: There are no formal classes for students on Wednesday July 30th. If this day is not suitable, please make contact with your child’s teacher/s to make an alternative time.

Attending student learning interviews is crucial for fostering a strong partnership between home and school, leading to improved student outcomes. These interviews provide a valuable opportunity for students, parents and teachers to collaborate, discuss progress, and set goals for future learning. Interviews are in 15-minute timeslots, and we ask that parents are respectful of these times. Should you need a longer meeting with your child’s teacher; a mutually convenient time can be arranged.

NAIDOC Week – July 6th to July 13th

To all Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander families of our school community, we wish you all a Happy NAIDOC Week during the school holidays: a time to connect with each other and celebrate. Our students, staff and community will continue to learn the rich history and culture of this Country, the oldest living culture in the World.

The 2025 NAIDOC week theme of ‘The next generation: strength, vision and legacy’ shares a very powerful message. NAIDOC Week celebrations are held to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life.

All the best to our Year 9 Students attending the School of Student Leadership.

The School for Student Leadership provides experiential education that supports personal growth, aspiration and transformation of all students as global citizens. This immersive state-wide residential program for Year 9 Government school students enables them to grow into better citizens and leaders through increased self-awareness, social engagement, community connection and environmental stewardship.

On Sunday July 27th, Sommer, Kara, Nathan, Beau and Eli will begin their leadership adventure at the Snowy River Campus.

Our Mortlake College Students will live and work in a very close environment with approximately 45 of their peers; they sleep, eat, shower and work under one roof. There is a great deal of independence offered to the students. The students are responsible for helping maintain the school, organising rosters, for doing various jobs around the school and generally controlling the nature of their home and place of learning. There are lessons on human relationships that will arise from this lifestyle. Great friendships are made, tolerance is learned, and teamwork is created.

We wish these students all the best and can’t wait to hear about all their adventures, and their community project, when they return.

Expression of Interest to attend the 2026 School of Student Leadership will be forwarded to our Year 8 students soon.

Finalising Prep and Year 7 2026 Student Enrolments.

Wednesday July 23rd

Yes, it is that time of year when we need to finalise our 2026 Prep/Foundation and Year 7 enrolments.

We warmly invite all new and existing families to the College so we can support you with finalising your child’s enrolment for the 2026 School Year.

On Wednesday July 23rd we are offering:

School Tours with myself. We encourage conversations on how we can meet the unique needs of every child.
Opportunities to speak with our highly experienced and qualified staff.
Opportunities to view our excellent teaching and learning facilities and the programs our school has to offer.
Prep families: Come and view our outstanding literacy sessions where our students thrive in reading and writing because of the fun and hands on way we introduce them to the world of letters and sounds
Year 7 families: Come and see for yourself the continuum of learning excellence that takes place in Years 7-12. This excellence results in our VCE study scores consistently being the highest in the state.

Private personalised school tours can be made by calling the College on 5599 2204.

If you have a child starting school next year, in Prep OR Year 7, please come along, we love having current and new families join us. You are welcome to collect an enrolment pack from the office.

Please promote this to friends and family members you know who have a student’s starting in these year levels in 2026.

Information for our Prep to Year 2 Families

We ask that families collecting students from our Prep-2 classrooms do not wait outside their child’s classroom before 3:20pm each day. It is distracting for students completing their end of the day jobs when they see siblings or parents. Families are more then welcome to wait in the foyer of the college. We appreciate your understanding with this request.

Mortlake P-12 College Presents SPAMALOT

As I watched the last show of the Mortlake College Musical, Spamalot, on Friday night, I am continually reminded as to what a fantastic learning opportunity this represents for our students. The college production is an important part of the school curriculum and an essential part of the overall learning journey of each individual student involved. Being a successful learner is very much about confidence. Learners who have the confidence to step out of their comfort zones to try something new and challenging develop an ever-increasing understanding and appreciation of their own abilities and talents.

On the stage, it is not solely about the ability to sing, dance or act. It is about the willingness to try something new, to explore an area of learning and achievement previously not considered and to understand that we are all capable of things we never dreamed of.

So, well done to the cast and crew of Spamalot, who have been extremely successful in rolling out another amazing Mortlake College Musical! We are clearly – Not Dead Yet!

School Council

Since our last newsletter, our School Council has met. School Council is a committee made up of school staff and parents who come together twice a term to oversee the governance of the college. “Governance” means the direction the school is going, or the “big picture stuff”. The other term you might hear when we talk about running a school is “operations”, which means the day-to-day work that a principal does.

Our School Council consists of:

Executive Officer: Linda Mooseek

President: Bruce Goddard

Parent Members: Chloe Jewell, Jenna Clark, Tess Lamont, Brooke Baker, Rachel Robertson, and Pru Sagnol

Staff Members: Amy Lodge, Brooke Baker and Anne DeManser

Student Members: Molly Goddard and Jack Fowler

Minute Taker: Carmel Bourke

At our last School Council meeting we discussed/endorsed the following:

Reports from the Finance and Buildings and Grounds Committee.
Report from the Principal and Student members
Discussion on the importance to purchase items locally to support our local community
Discussion on changes to school uniform and outsourcing this to Lowes in 2026
Endorsed the continuation for the School for Student Leadership in 2026
The following policies were noted/endorsed: Preventing and addressing racism in schools, Complaints, Dogs at School, Bus Safety, Plagiarism and Class Placement.
Dates approved:
Wednesday July 30th: Student Learning Journey Interviews, between 1-7pm (Student Free Day)
Term 3, Weeks 7-9: Dental Van (Dental care provided onsite for students)
Friday November 28th: Mortlake College Presentation Ball

If you have any questions about school council, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with myself, Bruce, or any of our friendly school council members.

Our next meeting is Tuesday August 5th.

Drought Package Support

On 30 May 2025, the Victorian Government announced additional drought support of $37.7 million. This is in addition to the $15.9 million package announced in mid-May that extended the $13.5 million drought support package announced in September 2024.

Farmers across the state will be able to access grants of up to $5,000 to support on-farm drought management improvements. The program supports on-farm upgrades that provide immediate support in managing drought and builds future resilience.

If you are facing financial hardship. Please make a time to come and see me so that I can share possible ways that we may be able to support you.

The following link contains Drought Support Package information from the Department of Agriculture:

Drought support package | Grants and financial support | Drought support | Farm management | Agriculture Victoria

Mobile Phones at School

Smart phones, without a doubt, are the greatest single distraction plaguing our young people today. Even when student’s do not utilise their mobile phone, they are subject to constant interruptions from other students and family members. Teachers repeatedly have to stop instruction to reprimand students not to use their phone in classrooms, and students constantly feel the pressure to check social media accounts.

We appreciate and understand that many students have become so accustomed to staring at screens. But please understand that it is almost impossible to engage students in meaningful instruction in the classroom when students are accessing their mobile phone. In addition, parents feel the need to be in constant contact with their child/ren. This has hindered the development of independent socialisation, conflict resolution and student voice. Most concerning is that overwhelming the majority of bullying issues that we deal with are through social media.

When students do not use their phones responsibly it can interfere with their learning or the learning and safety of others.

Inappropriate phone use is corrected by teachers and students benefit from learning from their mistakes. The following guidelines support students to use their mobile phones appropriately and avoid any disruptions to learning:

Mobile phones are brought to the College at the owners own risk.
Mobile phones must only be used by students before or after school.
Mobile phones must be kept on silent mode and kept out of sight during classroom lessons.
Staff should be alerted and exceptions requested if a student has special circumstances requiring the use of their mobile phone during school hours.
Mobile phones must not be brought into exams or class assessments.
Phone cameras are not to be used within the college grounds.
Students should never photograph or record any person without their express permission.
Parents are to be informed that in cases of emergency; the college remains an appropriate point of contact to reach their child quickly.

Students who fail to use their phones responsibly and do not follow teacher direction will incur consequences, including the loss of their right to bring their mobile phone to school.

Racism at school

At Mortlake College we value the diversity of culture, ethnicity, and faith of all our students. We are proud of our diversity, and everyone is welcome at our school.

Throughout this term I have been told about some racist incidents that have not supported these values. This has included using racist language and slurs and drawing/displaying racist symbols. This behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated at our school. We are taking immediate action as part of our commitment to make our school a safe and inclusive place for everyone.

Celebrating the diversity of our community makes us stronger, kinder and more innovative. We are committed to making sure that students from all backgrounds feel accepted, supported and able to learn. We teach all students according to our school values and teach the respectful relationships framework. This includes education around diversity and inclusion.

To achieve our values and aims, everyone at Mortlake College plays an important role. It is critical that we continually reflect and use our school values of ‘Kindness, Respect and a Growth Mindset’, and they should encompass everything we do.

To help us make Mortlake College a place where everyone feels welcome, respected and supported, we encourage you to also speak to your child about these values, as well as the importance of:

understanding that we celebrate diversity and multicultural inclusion
understanding the importance of everyone at school being treated with respect.

We expect families to also display our school values when dealing with other members of our school community. Celebrating the diversity of our community makes us stronger, kinder and innovative. We are committed to ensuring that students from all backgrounds feel accepted, supported and are empowered to learn.

Your partnership in reinforcing these values at home will significantly help create a more respectful and inclusive environment at school.

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)

A reminder to families, that to receive funding, you must complete an application form by the end of Term 2, 2025 (Friday 4 July 2025).

This funding helps eligible families cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

Eligibility

Families are eligible to apply for the CSEF if they have a valid means-tested concession card.

Foster parents and students aged 16 years and over who are considered mature minors and hold a valid concession card are also eligible to apply.

Payment amounts this year are $154 for eligible primary school students and $256 for eligible secondary school students.

All Year 3 to 6 students took an opt-out form home and will need to return the signed and completed form back to their classroom teacher, if families wish to opt-out of the study.

Parent Payments

Thank you to all parents who are up to date with Parent Payments or on a plan. Your contributions make a remarkable difference to our school and the programs/resources we offer. Please be familiar with the Parent Payment Policy as all extra curricula activities are offered on a user pay basis. We will ensure families are aware of all extra curricula activities well in advance to give you an opportunity to budget for these events and activities.

We would appreciate as many payments as possible finalising 2025 Parent Payments ASAP.

Important Upcoming Dates

Please continually check Sentral and the newsletter for important dates, student information, and highlights of events.

Last Day of Term 2: Friday July 4th. 2:30pm Dismissal for all students
First Day Term 3: Monday July 21st
Completion of 2026 Enrolments: Wednesday July 23rd
Student Learning Journey Interviews: Wednesday July 30th Between 1-7pm (No formal classes for students on this day)
Year 10 Camp: Monday August 4th to Wednesday August 6th
Mortlake Kinder Visit: Monday August 11th
Senior Pathways Information Night: Monday August 11th Between 6:30-7:30pm
Dental Van: Weeks 7-9 Term 3

I hope you are able to spend some quality time with your young person over the term break, and we look forward to seeing everyone next term.

Linda Mooseek

Mortlake P-12 College Principal

Welfare