From the Principal
Hello everyone, welcome to the start of the 2024 school year. It began with a whole school assembly. Here is an excerpt of my speech to all students and staff.
‘Good morning everyone. I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of whose land we meet, the Boonwurrung people and pay our respects to their elders both past and present.
I begin today by reminding everyone of who we are and what we stand for. Mornington Secondary College is a great school and it is great because of everyone here. We are a community who has worked together to achieve many things.
At our school we have identified 3 values. 1. Achievement, 2. Respect and 3. Community.
As Principal of Mornington Secondary College, I have very high expectations of myself and everyone else. I want everyone to live by these values, whilst we are here. I believe each one of us can do this. This can be achieved simply by respecting ourselves, other people and the environment. We all need to use class time effectively and work hard. We want teachers to teach and students to learn. By wearing complete school uniform and behaving in a safe and responsible manner also shows that we value respect and community. We should all be proud to be a member of this community.
We are a great school and a great community, but we can be even better by everyone doing their bit. If we all worked together we can be an extremely successful school.
Today is the start of the new school year.
Many of you have worked hard and have been very successful in your subjects. For some of you, this is an opportunity to start fresh. Begin by working hard today.
So welcome to Fast Forward. Enjoy the next couple of weeks, don’t waste a moment. Fully immerse yourself in your subjects. Each day I want you to go home feeling as if you have worked harder than you have ever worked before. I want you to be successful and be the best person you can be. Don’t leave things until the last minute. Be on time for class, be prepared to learn by bringing everything you need and do your very best.
I also want you to confirm you have made the right decisions about the subjects you elected to take. If you want or need to change a subject do so within the next two weeks. Do not leave this until next year. Speak to your Year Level Coordinator if you are not sure’.
Our Student Management teams for 2024 are:
Year 7 Ms Reeman, Ms Romage
Year 8 Mr Pirrie, Ms Rattue and Mr Doherty
Year 9 Ms Jones, Ms Neal and Ms Bibby
Year 10 Mr Uhlenberg, Mr Malligan, Ms Rolls
Year 11 Dr Keough, Ms. Bremner and Mr Williams
Year 12 Mr Kirkby, Ms Dixon and Ms. Milner
Please don’t hesitate to contact them via email or telephone.
This week has been a very positive start to the new school year. I have been to many classes this week. Students and teachers are getting to know each other, forming connections with engaging lessons
Thankyou for your support.
Linda Stanton
Linda Stanton
Principal
Important Dates
DECEMBER
08/12/23 | Last day for Year 10 and Year 11 students
11/12/23 | Presentation Evening
12/12/23 | Orientation Day 2024 Year 7 students
20/12/23 | Last Day of school for 2023
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Middle School
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We have commenced Fast Forward (2024), and it has certainly given everyone a boost of energy. All students have now moved into their new year level and the students are enjoying meeting their new teachers and engaging in new subjects.
As we set a positive tone for the entire school year, our class routines really assist in maximising valuable instruction time. These posters are in every classroom and all around the college.
Like any routine, it creates a predictable environment helping students know what to expect in each class.
It also helps students manage their time effectively. We know that consistency in expectations fosters a positive classroom culture and helps students understand boundaries.
By now, many of you would have received an introductory email from your child’s teacher. As teachers, we love the opportunity to meet and communicate with our parents and guardians, please feel free to make contact with your child’s teacher.
Wishing you a wonderful week.
Denise Leggett
Middle School Assistant Principal
Senior School
To students and families of the Mornington Senior School,
Just like that our new Year 10s, 11s and 12s are one week into their 2024 classes as part of the Fast Forward program. I must remark on the attitude and energy I have witnessed as I move around the school. We are 9 weeks into term 4 of a long year, so to see out students commence their new classes with such vigour and enthusiasm has been fantastic.
I am lucky enough to be able to spend some time in the classroom now each week as I work with around 55 Year 12 students as part of ROADMAP, which is a study skills and support program. I’ve already been impressed with how the class of 2024 have approached their Year 12 classes. The other teachers in this program are part of the Year 12 student management and curriculum team, which will be a great asset for our Year 12 students.
As we have started 2024 anew (well almost), it is a great opportunity for us all to set high standards in academic achievement, respect for self and others and exploring our new community connections in the new classes. We will continue to have a focus on the behaviours and standards that will contribute to great student outcomes, including attendance monitoring, readiness for learning (being on time to class with all learning materials), being in uniform and producing evidence of learning in every classroom.
I thank you in advance for your support with year level teams, classroom teachers and staff in upholding the high expectations we have for every Mornington student.
Kind regards,
Nick Evans
Senior School Assistant Principal
Senior school Edrolo information
2024 Edrolo subscription access is being paid directly to Edrolo this year by families of VCE students. In prior years, this cost was included with the College contributions. Please follow the link for more information Edrollo
Indigenous student group
Over the past few months we have been having regular meetings with our indigenous students to look at how we might have a better acknowledgement of indigenous culture within the school. This group has been steadily growing over the year starting out with 8 students and now 25.
Our “indigenous student group”, that’s what the kids wanted to call it, consists of both indigenous students and their friends has been focusing on what are the things which are most important to us here in Mornington, and it will be no surprise that our environment, animals and family and friends came out as very important.
The College has recently received a grant of $11,500 from the department of education to help support this project. This project is being strongly lead by the students and we are imagining that it will result in some changes to the foyer area at school and the creation of an indigenous garden.
Next Friday the group will visit Willum Warrain in Hastings, an indigenous meeting place and nursery to hear local stories and learn about indigenous plants as well as visiting a few peninsular schools to look at ideas that we might be able to incorporate.
Look forward to seeing some new things around the school in term 1 of 2024.
Kind regards,
Mike Parker
Assistant Principal
Art Show
Over two nights this week we celebrated our annual Art Exhibition.
So many talented students displayed their art work with many receiving awards.
Mornington Secondary College is spoilt with talent and the show displayed many examples of fantastic artwork.
Thank you to everyone involved particularly the Art department for all of their hard work.
2024 Contributions
Contributions for 2024 can now be found on Compass in the Payment Centre. These contributions are used towards subsidising the cost of classroom consumables and resources. An example of these are:
- Art supplies eg paint, paint brushes, papers, crayons, clay and general art and craft activities
- Food Technology ingredients – flour, sugar, fruit, vegetables, etc
- Science experiment supplies and equipment used in practical classes
- Woodwork and Technology materials – wood, robotics, nails, glue and associated consumables
- Photocopying for all subjects
- Handouts, samples of texts, tests, exams
- Class sets of books and resources used in subjects such as English and Maths
For a complete breakdown of all parent contributions please see our 2024 Parent Payment Information, available from our school website. Booklists for 2024 can also be found on the website.
We continue to welcome your other voluntary contributions which support non-curriculum items and activities that relate to the school’s functions and objectives. You can make a general voluntary contribution that goes towards all of our school’s important priorities for 2024 as well as providing additional activities and services for all students.
E.g., College Building Fund, Wellbeing Fund, First Aid Equipment Fund, Sports Equipment & Squads Fund, Student Services.
Mornington Secondary College offers a range of items and activities that enhance or broaden the schooling experience of students and are above and beyond what the school provides in order to deliver the Curriculum. These are provided on a user-pays basis and are also available for payment on Compass.Examples of this would be:
- Extracurricular camps or excursions – charged for closer to the activity
- Music Lessons
- VCE Software (Edrolo which is paid for via the Edrolo website. Instructions emailed to families)
- Other software that enhances the experience – see each year level for details
Payments can be made on Compass either in full or by payment plan. You can find the plan details in the Parent Payment Information booklet on the website.
Please do not hesitate to contact the office in writing, by telephone or in person if you have any questions about the above.
Year 10
Mr Jake Uhlenberg
To the students and parents of Year 9 students entering the Senior School, I would like to express my warmest welcomes to you all. Myself and my team of Coordinators and the teachers of Year 10 classes are all looking forward to welcoming each of the 180+ students to the Mornington Secondary College Senior School.
Our goal in Year 10 is to ensure each child develops a pathway within the Senior School across Year 10 so they can feel confident entering the VCE space. To do this, they will engage with multiple classes, electives, VETs and Work Experience opportunities. More information on each will come soon.
The Senior School at MSC hold extremely high expectations in regard to behaviour, attendance, uniform, and most importantly, producing evidence of learning. If your child struggles to meet these expectations, please remember that we are here to support and that we are always happy to communicate and meet with you to ensure your child's chances of success.
We would in turn appreciate your support as we uphold these expectations so that we may ensure that learning environments in the College offer the greatest potential to help your child succeed in their academics.
It has been a pleasure to meet the new students to the Senior School across this week, and there is no better way to showcase this than our Connect Class Dodgeball Tournaments. Congratulations to Connect Class E who stood victorious after three rounds of hard fought games. We hope to see students engage in more opportunities such as this in the Connect classes of 2024.
Once again, welcome to each student and parent. Please always feel free to reach out if you feel we can better support your child's learning.
Year 11
Dr Jasmine Keough
Salutations, greetings and g'day to the Year 11 community of 2024!
The Year 11 Coordination Team (Dr Keough - Team Leader, Mr Williams and Ms Bremner - Coordinators) are very pleased to welcome our Year 11 cohort of 2024. The students have been respectful and polite.
Today is the end of the first week of Fast Forward and our lovely students have settled in well. Teachers and their students are building relationships that will lead to success in teaching and learning for 2024. In both ATAR and VM programs, students have begun their VCE work.
Attendance is key to VCE success, so it is vital that students attend every day. The coordination team will be following absences with emails and 'phone calls. All subjects will be setting learning tasks which students must complete; it is to show competency in their subjects and get them their Satisfactory outcomes.
Uniform is another area that the coordination team is checking. Students must be attired in the correct school uniform. Recent checks revealed that some students are not wearing the correct shoes - black, and trousers must be the MSC trousers with the school logo. If students do wear the incorrect uniform, they need a note from home. Recess detentions will be issued after a warning. Please support our students to come to school prepared to learn.
We are looking forward to another week of Fast Forward finishing on Friday the 8th of December. Remember to contact us if you need any support.
Year 12
Mr Scott Kirkby
In the words of the Black Eyed Peas- "Let's get it started".
Class of 2024, welcome to the big show- Year 12!
The year level has hit the ground running. No mean feat for week 9 of term 4. Wonderful to see.
Every students will have met their teachers, had all their subjects and been introduced to the requirements of their course over the first week.
Students will be completing class tasks (ATAR and VM) and homework/independent task (ATAR) and over the two weeks of Fast Forward. These are essential tasks for meeting the outcomes of their subjects and completion is required for their VCE in both ATAR and Vocational Major. Attendance is required for both weeks of the Fast Forward program.
The homework schedule can be overwhelming for students at first and the new program called ROADMAP is designed to help students with this transition and build their academic skills in order to thrive in VCE ATAR.
VCE VM students have commenced showcasing their outcomes for Unit 3, attendance has been brilliant and engagement very high. Teachers have commented on the wonderful start and positive approach to the new program of Year 12 Vocational Major.
Year 12 students now have access to the R block area. This area has some microwaves, some toasties machines and a kettle. A study centre is the centre piece to the space.
Half of the space is for social and eating and half is for quiet study. It has been great to see students using the space effectively and meeting the expectations of cleanliness in the area.
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