From the Principal

Good morning everyone, I hope you have had a wonderful week. 

Students and staff have settled into the routine of school life and as I walk around the College I can see a calm orderly learning environment enabling great teaching and learning to occur.

Squads and clubs are in full swing. Students are arriving at school at 7.30am to participate. I hope they are also enjoying the breakfast club operating Monday, Wednesday and Fridays.

School Council meets 8 times per year and each year vacancies occur due to the end of tenures. This time each year, vacancies are announced, and nominations are called for. I have included information for you to consider joining a professional and committed school council.

School Council Elections

School Council elections take place in Term 1 of each year, and they are 2 year appointments. Each school council operates according to Ministerial Order 1280, which details the objectives, functions and powers of a council and its size and composition.

There are three separate electorates within a school community:

· parent electorate

· school employee electorate

· student electorate.

In addition, there is an optional community member category, and for a small number of school councils, a nominee member category.

· A candidate for school council must be a person who is eligible for election to the membership category to which they are seeking election.

· The nominator of a candidate standing for election to the parent member category must be a member of the parent electorate of the school.

· The nominator of a candidate standing for election to the school employee member category must be a member of the school employee electorate of the school.

· The nominator of a candidate standing for election to the student member category must be in Year 7 or above and be a member of the school student body.

At Mornington Secondary College we have several vacancies. These are:

· 2 x parent representatives

· 2 x staff representative

· 1 x student representative

· 3 x community representatives

I would like to publicly acknowledge the work of the outgoing school council members for their commitment and dedication over the last 2 years. Thank you for your work and support throughout.

If you are interested in joining School Council and would like details, please ring Alli Betts 59700200.

The timeline is as follows:

Monday 17th February Call for nominations

Monday 24th February Nominations close

Monday 3rd March Ballot opens (if required)

Monday 10th March Ballot closed

Have a great weekend.

Linda Stanton

Principal

College Council

Hello to all MSC parents

My name is Col Mason and I am currently President of your College Council. 

Our Principal, Linda Stanton, has called for nominations for election to our council, explaining the various categories of membership. I would like you to consider the contributions that you might make as a member. 

Our School Council, working within government guidelines and in conjunction with the Principal, has many functions, ranging from establishing the broad direction and vision of the college, overseeing college expenditures and budgets, through to ensuring the maintenance of College buildings and grounds. You can find a wide coverage of a council’s functions and responsibilities in the below link.

It all sounds a bit daunting, and maybe a bit formal. There are serious responsibilities attached, and some might be put off nominating by such thoughts. I have been on our council a long time, initially as a parent rep, and subsequently as a community member. I have worked alongside many parent reps who have had diverse skills and come from differing backgrounds. Most probably had the same initial fears about putting their hand up. Let me assure you, there is only one real pre-requisite for you to nominate, a genuine commitment to making our college the best it can be. 

Over all my years on Council I have met some wonderful people who became my good friends. I’ve enjoyed opportunities to meet staff, students, and parents. Representing Council I’ve mingled with shire councillors, parliamentarians, and even the Governor-General. I’ve also liaised with a variety of Education Department officials. Being a councillor doesn’t mean you must become this engaged. As a councillor you might be happy to attend meetings, keep yourself informed on issues, and keep the wellbeing of the college foremost. With this in mind any further level of commitment is up to you. 

Our council is a friendly group who work cooperatively, allowing us a degree of informality. We have eight scheduled meetings each year. Extraordinary meetings are very rare. These meetings are usually held on the second Tuesday of that month, starting at 5 pm in the Conference Room at the college. Some of us volunteer to assist on sub committees which meet as required. 

If you require any further information or advice on being a parent rep please make contact through the College receptionist. Please note that nominations close on Monday 24th February. 

I’ll look forward to welcoming you at our March council meeting. 

Important Dates

Term 1 2025

February

Feb  - Monday 17th to Wednesday Year 11 Outdoor Education Camp - Wilsons Prom

Feb - Thursday 20th Catch Up Photo Day

Feb - Thursday 20th Year 7 Parent Meet and Greet

Feb - Wednesday 26th to Friday 28th Year 12 Retreat - Golden Valley Flinders

March

Mar -Monday 3rd to Wednesday 5th Year 8 Camp 1 - Phillip Island

Mar -Wednesday 5th to Friday 7th Year 8 Camp 2 - Phillip Island

Mar - Thursday 6th Year 7 Disco

Mar - Monday 10th Labour Day Public Holiday

Mar - Tuesday 11th Whole School House Athletics Carnival

Mar - Wednesday 12th to Monday 24th Naplan

Mar - Wednesday 19th to Friday 21st Year 12 Murray River Paddle Camp

Mar - Tuesday 25th College Open Night

Mar - Thursday 27th Morrisby Profiling - Year 9

Mar - Monday 31st to Wednesday 2nd April Year 10 Outdoor Education Camp Otways

Mar - Monday 31st Year 7 Grandparents Morning Tea

April

Apr - Thursday 3rd Parent and Teacher Interviews

Apr - Friday 4th End of Term 1 - 2:30pm finish

Term 2 2025

April

Apr - Tuesday 22nd Term 2 commences 

Apr - Thursday 24th College Anzac Day Service 10:15am 

Apr - Friday 25th Anzac Day Public Holiday

Apr - Monday 28th to Wednesday 30th  Year 10 Outdoor Education Camp Otways

Middle School

It has been a busy and productive start to the year for our Middle School students.

Our Year 7 students have now completed their transition program, settling into secondary school life with confidence. They have been engaging in their classes, building new friendships, and becoming familiar with the routines and expectations of the college.

Our Year 8 students have shown a strong understanding of the school environment and have been actively participating in events and activities organised by their coordinators. Their engagement in learning and school life has been commendable.

Our Year 9 students are demonstrating great focus and effort across all subjects. In the coming weeks, they will take part in Morrisby Career Information Sessions, which will provide valuable insights into future study and career pathways. More details on this will be shared soon.

We look forward to another great term ahead as our students continue to grow and achieve.

Valentine’s Day – Recognising Friendship and Appreciation

St Valentine’s Day, observed on 14 February, is traditionally a time to acknowledge friendship, admiration, and appreciation. While often associated with romantic love, it is also an opportunity to recognise the importance of kindness and connection in our daily lives.

At school, some students may exchange small tokens, such as cards or chocolates, while others simply take a moment to appreciate their friendships. While not everyone celebrates Valentine’s Day, it serves as a reminder of the value of respect, positive relationships, and community.

Throughout history, writers and poets have explored themes of friendship and admiration, reinforcing the idea that meaningful connections enrich our lives. Whether through words or simple gestures, recognising and valuing those around us helps to build a supportive and inclusive environment.

Wishing you a great week.

Denise Leggett

Assistant Principal

Senior School

To students and families of the Mornington Senior School,

Happy Valentine’s Day for those who celebrate. 

We have finished our first full week of classes, and our students should be starting to settle into their routines. Hopefully waking up is getting easier as their body clocks adjust to the school times. With a couple of hot nights during the week, it’s understandable for a lot of us to be feeling a little bit fatigued. Hopefully you can all recharge the batteries over the weekend.

Failing to plan, is planning to fail…

Yes, it’s a common adage but one that is particularly relevant for senior school students. Success in senior school rarely happens by accident rather it’s the culmination of setting clear goals, developing a plan, utilising strategies, reviewing and reflecting on the results, adjusting strategies and the cycle continuing.

Goal setting is often a word that makes students roll their eyes and it’s often got something to do with the way goal setting has been implemented. Despite research showing that by simply writing down a goal, someone is up to 33% more likely to achieve it, often the goals that we ask people to set are not structured as SMART or ISMART goals, may be too broad and the steps to achieve those goals haven’t been clearly set out. For example, a goal of ‘I’d like to be better at maths’ or ‘I’d like to lose some weight’ are too broad. By making those goals specific and measurable can make them more effective. ‘I’d like to achieve over 70% in my next maths SAC’ or ‘I’d like to lose 3 kilos by April’ are specific and measurable. Then selecting strategies such as ‘I’m going to read ahead by a chapter in my maths text, I’ll complete Edrolo questions before class and I’ll complete 2 practice SACs’ or ‘I’m going to eat 2 pieces of fruit and 5 serves of vegies every day and go for 3 x 15-minute runs per week’ are examples of planning strategies to achieve those goals.

Our year 12 ATAR students this week have focused on setting broad goals for the year across different areas (such as academic goals, personal/family/wellbeing goals) and then breaking those goals into short term goals and selecting strategies they are going to use to achieve them. For the first time, we’ll be making those goals visible to parents, teachers and students (in Compass). Our Year 12s will be reviewing their shorter-term goals towards the end of this term and then setting their sights on further improvement for the next short-term cycle.

As our Year 12s work through their goal setting and review we’ll refine the approach and give younger year levels the opportunity to trial this valuable tool in achieving their desired educational outcomes.

What is coming up this term in the Senior School? 

Wed 26th - Fri 28th Feb – Year 12 Study Camp

Mon 10th Mar – Labour Day Public Holiday – no classes.

Tues 11th Mar – MSC Athletics Day

Thurs 3rd Apr – Parent Teacher interviews – no classes

Kind regards,

Nick Evans

Senior School Assistant Principal

Top tips for parents!

For this news letter I’d like to draw your attention to an upcoming 5 part series on ABC TV.  Below you will find a link to the trailer plus a blurb about the program.  Parenting teens can be such complex task and as the trailer says there is no book for how to do it right.  So lets all have a look at 8:30pm on Tuesday night and have a laugh and a deep think about the work of raising teens.

A COMEDIC GUIDE TO SURVIVING MODERN PARENTHOOD

As if being a parent or caregiver wasn’t difficult already, it’s become more complex today. The digital age has made it nearly impossible to shield children from the world’s constant influence, and the goal posts for raising happy and resilient kids are forever changing.

In this genre-bending series an ensemble of comedians boldly take on the mission of rewriting the rule book in the face of this uncharted territory.

A unique factual entertainment format, The Role of A Lifetime expertly blends factual and scripted comedy to breathe life into common parenting dilemmas. Through a series of comedy sketches, the cast is catapulted out into the real world as they embark on a quest for answers, insights, and hope.

Engaging with a diverse range of experts including psychologists, neuroscientists, and perhaps the most insightful of all, children themselves, these immersive and unexpected explorations offer novel strategies for parenting in this unpredictable modern world.

With more parents than ever facing burnout and children with anxiety increasing exponentially, the series is an accessible and empowering call to arms, equipping millions of parents and caregivers with practical tips, tools and confidence for navigating ‘the role of a lifetime’.

Mike Parker

Assistant Principal

House Swimming Sports 

On Thursday 6th February we held our House Swimming Carnival at the Pines Forest Aquatic Centre. It was a beautiful blue-sky day with staff and students dressing up in their house colours creating a wonderful atmosphere. 

It was great to see that everyone was getting into the spirit of the day and enjoying themselves in friendly competition. The giant waterslide was immensely popular as was the wading pool activities which attracted hordes of students with the allure of winning chocolate prizes. The basketball court had a constant rotation of challengers. The best dressed competition was bigger than ever making it exceptionally difficult to judge winners. All of this was happening while the marshals were doing an excellent job of organising our students into competitive swimming races throughout the day. The teacher versus student relay was a highlight of the day with two teacher teams taking on all multiple student teams. The teachers, to the dismay of the students, were able to hang on to claim bragging rights for 2025! 

Congratulations go out to all race winners and to all competitors who challenged themselves to have a go in an event! Well done indeed! At the conclusion of our swimming carnival tradition dictates that we must tally up the points and declare the House swimming champions for the year. This year’s results are as follows:

• fourth place on 555 points Beleura
• third place on 625 points Coolart
• our runners up on 679 points Tuerong
• leaving our 2025 House swimming champions on 704 points Balcombe house! 

Congratulations to Balcombe house who have finally displaced the Coolart Crocs from their domination of the House swimming championships over the last few years! 

Now that the House swimming competition is over, our top swimmers will now look to representing the college at the Southern Peninsula Division swimming championships on Thursday 27th February at the Pines Forest Aquatic Centre.

The next major House sports event will be our athletics carnival on Tuesday 11th March (day after Labour Day) at Ballam Park.

John Walker

College Sports Coordinator 

Year 7 Music Taster Day

As part of our Year 7 transition program, students recently participated in a Music Taster Day, immersing themselves in the diverse musical opportunities available at Mornington Secondary College.

The day began with an instrumental session led by Joe Tobias, where students identified musical notes and had the chance to try a variety of instruments, including the trumpet, drums, flute, and more—many of which are offered as part of our instrumental music lessons.

In the afternoon, students tested their marching skills with Mr. Papettas in the drum corps. They practised a flag marching routine, learning how to coordinate movement with rhythm. Students also explored the different drums that make up a marching unit, including snare drums, bass drums, and tenor drums, and discovered how each instrument contributes to the powerful, synchronized sound of a drumline.

This hands-on experience was a fantastic introduction to the musical programs at Mornington Secondary College, giving our Year 7 students an exciting and enriching start to their high school journey.

Evangeline Romage

Year 7 Team Leader

Year 9 Writing Samples

Please read below excerpts from English essays from some of our Year 9 students

The Storm

The rain starts off light, trickling mellifluously as the night sky cries mourning the loss of the sun. The trees sway in the heavy current of the wind as the leaves rustle against one another. A lone moon craves the attention the day holds and shines brightly, projecting its comfort. I stare unyieldingly at the few neighbours who dance absent-mindedly in the summer rain. Thunder soon erupts. Casting a frightening allure to the picturesque scene unfolding before me, lightning then crashes along with the singing thunder and rhythm of the rain.

The few people left outside scatter and creep inside their homes before the waking storm ambushes them. I continue to gaze at the luminous stars slightly hidden by darkness. A hum sounds from my mouth, harmonizing with the chorus of the abstract orchestra of the storm. A bird is caught in a tree attempting to protect its nest of infants, all of them striving for survival in this dastardly storm. Sympathy strikes me as the bird may not have a home to go to in the morning.

Soon enough the rain begins to pelt down, turning the once languid eve into a frightening one. I arise from my seat next to the window and slide into my bed, yearning for sleep . I close my eyes and darkness falls, although the sounds still bash against my eardrums. Rain crashes on my roof warning me of the potential this storm is yet to achieve.

It achieves it. 

Lulu Ramalinga

Year 9

The harbour was in the distance, right on the horizon. I leant forward on the railing, as the salty water splashed in my face. The sky grew darker by the minute as we sailed into a storm. The salty air blew around, waves crashed onto the deck of the ship. I stayed on the deck as others fled to the inside of the boat, away from the storm. I wished the boat would hurry up; I would give the last breath to see my family.

My hair whipped into my face as lightning struck in the distance. The wind howled louder trying to be heard over the thunder. The whole floor was wet, as the crew from the boat yelled out to me; inaudible.

Grace Estcourt

Year 9

The sharp splashes impaled my cheeks. My legs ache from kicking the water from under. An endless void of navy blue swallowed the contrast of my neon life jacket. I swing my head around rapidly in response to an unfamiliar noise right by my left ear. My hands turning blue, wrinkling my fingertips. My breath escapes me, grunting to discover land, my legs below me spin around. A hum. Not mine. Who is it? Singing a gentle tune. A harmonizing lullaby pierced my ears. High pitch ringing pounds, like a stampede.

The horrendous noise silenced my screams. Zoning out; peace washed over me. No continuous squealing. Something grasped my leg, grabbing a hold. I was flustered, trying to escape. My head submerged into the navy void. 

Heidi Hoffman 

Year 9

Week 3 Excursions

Point Nepean Historical Excursion - Unit 3 Outdoor Ed

Our VCE Outdoor Ed students visited the Point Nepean area (Portsea & Sullivan's Bay) which links closely to the Unit 3.1 Historical relationships with the land. Students learnt about the history on the Mornington Peninsula before and after European settlement at Sullivan's Bay and visited Collins settlement, Gunners Cottage and the Quarantine station.

Locked In Escape Rooms - Year 11 Foundation Maths

Foundation Maths students travelled to Locked In Escape Rooms in Mornington to experience concepts and gather ideas for their first SAC

Beach Rubbish Collection - Hands on Learning

Our Hands on Learning students performed a community service by reducing beach rubbish at Mills Beach.  This was followed by a BBQ and swim.

2025 Production

This year Mornington Secondary College's School Production is Frozen Jr! 

We have already begun the process of students signing up to be involved, with both on stage and backstage roles. It's an amazing opportunity to get involved in a safe space to create, make friends and to have fun. We are greatly looking forward to creating this show with the help of our very talented students. 

Auditions will be taking place in Week 4 (next week!), make sure to watch this space for updates as the show progresses. We look forward to seeing you all come to support the students when they perform in Term 3.

Sarah Jeffs

College Production Team Leader

Students of the Week

Year 7 Gypsy Webster

Favourite food: Fish Tacos

Hobbies out of school: drawing, singing, aerobics 

What sports team do you follow? St Kilda footy club

Favourite TV show: Young Sheldon & Mean Girls

Do you have any pets? 2 dogs named Rocky and Obey and a cat named Ziggy

What do you enjoy most about being at Mornington Secondary College? Performing Arts, Sport and English

What career do you wish to follow when you finish school? Actress

Year 7 Ethan Neath-Saito

Favourite food: Takoyaki (Japanese Food)

Hobbies out of school: Swimming, lifesaving, fishing 

What sports team do you follow? Collingwood

Favourite TV show: Rookie

Do you have any pets? A dog named Max 

What do you enjoy most about being at Mornington Secondary College? All the different subjects (Japanese, woodwork, science, food-tech, PE)

What career do you wish to follow when you finish school? Not sure yet maybe something to do with my hobbies that has a big income.

Year 8 Seth Glasgow

Favourite food: Burgers

Hobbies out of school: Air cadets 

What sports team do you follow? Melbourne Football Club

Favourite TV show: Outer Banks

What do you enjoy most about being at Mornington Secondary College? Extra-curricular opportunities

What career do you wish to follow when you finish school? Pilot

Year 9 Abbi Ying-Goon

Favourite food: Sushi - all of them!

Hobbies out of school: I love playing soccer at Rosebud and Badminton too!

What sports team do you follow? The Australian Matildas and Essendon in the AFL

Favourite TV show: I'm not really into TV but my favourite movie is Home Alone 1 and 2

Do you have any pets? Golden Retriever, Piper

What do you enjoy most about being at Mornington Secondary College? I love coming to school to see my friends and learning new things

What career do you wish to follow when you finish school? Interior Design or anything in art 

Year 10 Dylan McCubbin 

House: Tuerong

Favourite subject: Systems and Engineering

Hobbies out of school: playing cricket and cooking for my family

What do you enjoy most about being at Mornington Secondary College? Hanging out with friends and talking to people around the school

Dream Job? I want to work locally helping people and making a difference 

Year 11 Kaden Walton 

House: Beleura

Favourite subject: Personal Development Studies

Hobbies out of school: Basketball and footy, and supporting North Melbourne

What do you enjoy most about being at Mornington Secondary College? Seeing my friends

Dream Job? Professional basketball player 

Career Pathways

Kickstart Your Career Journey

All students have access to our Mornington Secondary School careers platform.

Mornington Secondary College has worked with Career Tools to bring you a custom website filled with resources to begin your career journey.

All students would have received an invitation through their school emails, you'll be able to:

• Build a resume or cover letter
• Careers Newsletters
• Workplace Learning information 
• Vocational Education Training information 
• VTAC information 
• Post School Options 
• Use our AI-powered Career Co-pilot
• Career Action Plans link https://www.mornsccareers.com/for-students/career-action-plans-my-career-portfolio
• Explore different careers- “Career Targets” 
• Plan your post-school pathway
• Complete virtual work experiences
• And more!

An account has already been created for you. 

Edrolo and School Savings Bonus

The School Savings Bonus vouchers from the Victorian Government can be applied to your Edrolo purchases. For instructions on how to do this, please read the below PDF.

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