Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

A big hello to the Mordialloc College school community! It’s been a whirlwind but positive start to the school year. Firstly, a huge thank you to our staff, students and families for supporting one another to get started on the right foot. As we start to settle into our classes and the routine of arriving on time each morning, keeping up with set class work and homework I’d like to remind students and families that we are here to help our students achieve the best that they can. All you have to do is ask and we can support.

Our Year 7s have made a great start to Mordialloc College life and will have a busy few weeks. They have had their first taste of team teaching, have been welcomed by the school at their first whole school assembly and have participated in an emotional regulation incursion to give students tools and strategies to support this. Next week they will work with Project Rockit to support a culture to challenge bullying and then they will ‘unleash greatness’ at The Summit Camp. Our Year 7 Coordinators, Ms Jo Hannan and Mr Daniel Mayadas, along with a skilled Year 7 teaching team and the very experienced Head of Middle School, Mr Brendan McFarland, will be there all the way to support this important period of your child’s educational life.

Welcome back to all of our Year 8 and 9 students for 2023 - it’s been great to see you all recharged and ready to learn. As part of our Communication program our Year 8 students will participate in the ‘Courage to Care’ incursion to inform and further educate about the dangers of prejudice, racism and discrimination. They learn that every individual can make a difference and transform ‘bystander’ behaviour to ‘upstander’ and support understanding, acceptance and inclusion.

Welcome back to all of our Year 10 – 12 students for 2023 - your return to Senior School overall has been excellent. The start to this year has been smooth, thanks to the hard work of our Year Level Coordinators, with students clearly embracing the College values, as well as the academic challenges of the new year.

It was incredible to see all of the staff and students only just fitting into the gym at our whole school assembly last Thursday. Thank you to our School Captains and school leaders for hosting the first assembly of the year. Congratulations to our Year 7 scholarship winners: George Adams - Performing Arts; Sebastian Arcaro - Performing Arts; Timur Gatiatuffin - Academic Excellence; Sarah O'Neill - Leadership, on your achievements.

It is always important to continue to grow as a learner in each new stage of your educational journey. There should be no year that this growth stagnates, even when Year 12 seems so far in the distance. These are the years of consolidating good work habits, both in the classroom and in the development of study outside the classroom. It is also the time when friendships continue to develop and positive relationships are formed with teachers, as a true learning partnership between student and teacher is vital for success later in your educational journey. These middle years of schooling are as important as any other stage of your education. Embrace the challenges, have some fun and continue to grow as a learner and as a positive and active member of the Mordialloc College community.

A growing school population has also seen a much busier carpark and surrounding area during drop off and pick up times. Parents please be mindful of the parking areas to ensure a smooth drop off and pick up of students. Also, please try and keep at or below the speed limit in the surrounding streets to ensure the safety of our students and the general public walking and driving in the local area. Students, a reminder of bike safety, and being mindful of cars and the public in our local streets and public transport.

A big thank you to our staff and students who will assist with the publicity photo shoot this Friday. For me, it’s a wonderful day to spend with our Year 7 – 12 students around the school showcasing so many areas within the College that make our school shine. There are usually a lot of laughs and we receive hundreds of photos that will be used in our 2023 promotional material, in our College newsletters and Yearbook, on our updated College Website and on our Mordialloc College Facebook and Instagram pages.

House Sports! Our House Assembly on Monday encouraged all students to sign up for events in swimming and athletics for our House Sports in the coming weeks.

Finally I’d like to thank all of the staff, students and the wider school community for their support of each other and making the start of 2023 such a positive one. Stay safe.

Tracey Bastin

Assistant Principal

House Swimming

Thursday 23 February 2023