From the Principal

Good morning everyone, 

I hope the new publication time of the newsletter suits you. 

This week has been a week of sport. The senior boys basketball competition took place on Tuesday, whilst the Year 9 and10 hockey players competed in the School Sports Victoria division event. Intermediate sport in Futsal, Basketball, Table Tennis and Hockey is taking place at the time of writing this article.  

This Saturday, Andrew Turver and Ethan Sheen are representing Victoria in the Australian All Schools Cross Country Championship in Canberra. We wish them well. I will let you know of their success in the next newsletter. 

Year 7 students have participated in a ‘Wildlife Encounters’ incursion, introducing them to some of Australia’s most threatened and endangered animals. Year 8 students listened to presenters from Gibber Education about alcohol as part of the Smashed Project. 

Students in Year 10 are actively volunteering at Tony’s Farm for Landcare Australia. 

This week we have celebrated Science week and Grade 5 students from our local primary schools. They have joined us for Science Week and listened to our very own Drum Corps.  

Finally this week, I would like to congratulate students at every year level for their hard work and commitment to their studies. There have been 3162 positive posts on Compass this term recognising the great work students are doing. Well done.  

I hope you are having a wonderful week. 

Linda Stanton

Principal

Important Dates

AUGUST

28/08/23 | Parent Teacher Interviews 12pm - 7.00pm  - REVISED DATE

SEPTEMBER

01/09/23 | Year 11 Formal

05/09/23 | Year 12 VM Market Day

06/09/23 | Speak & Share Incursion

07/09/23 | Year 7 2024 Parent Information Evening

11/09/23 | Year 12 Trial Exams from Monday 11th to Friday 15th

15/09/23 | Last day of Term 3 (2.30pm Finish)

OCTOBER

02/10/23 | First Day of Term 4

Don't forget to look on Compass for sport sign ups, excursions and any other information sent to students and parents. 

Below is a link to help guide you in your use of Compass.

https://mornsc.vic.edu.au/for-parents/compass-parent-guide/

Middle School

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

We had the Year 7 assembly yesterday and our Year 7 captains ran the assembly. There were awards and notices plus we had Honey sing Snowman. Honey has a beautiful voice and the students cheered in appreciation. 

The Year 7 students have settled with ease into secondary school life. We spoke about Performance Tasks and Parent Teacher interviews to be held next Monday. We also spoke about the Primary School visits and the upcoming year 7 2024 evening for parents and guardians. 

We had two primary schools visit today and they engaged in all things Science. Of course, we had our wonderful Drum Corps play and offer students an opportunity to play. The primary school teachers also had some fun learning how to drum to the beat. The primary students loved learning about Science!

• At a recent staff meeting, the Naplan results of the Year 7 cohort were presented and overall, the students performed very well in Numeracy and Literacy. The Numeracy results were an absolute standout and of course we must acknowledge the primary schools for their great work. We also acknowledge the work of our teachers who continually work hard to provide a comprehensive and engaging curriculum for all our students. 

I know that the Premier’s Reading Challenge is on again and the Year 7 team will be letting your children know how to become involved. 

It is not long before the end of term, however, all students need to maintain their effort to do their best work. We really appreciate your support in reminding your child to charge their laptop each evening and to attend every class with pen, workbook, paper and textbook as required. 

I look forward to seeing you at our Parent Teacher interviews on Monday.

Wishing you a great week.

Denise Leggett

Middle School Assistant Principal

Senior School

To students and families of the Mornington Senior School,

Well, this is our last full week of Winter… will the weather Gods take notice? There have been a few days where we’ve been able to feel the warmth in the sun, albeit for not so long. As the weather slowly warms up, it is a reminder to all that new growth and development is just around the corner. There is often a feeling of renewed optimism. Course selection has been completed, Year 12 coursework is approaching its conclusion for ATAR and VM pathways, while Year 10 and 11 classes are about halfway through their work for the semester.

While warmer weather may bring us all some relief with fewer cold starts to days, I will remind everyone of the school council-approved uniform policy. The uniform policy can be read here and if families need any assistance with obtaining uniform, please contact the school on 5970 0200. A reminder for any situations where a student may be out of uniform that the following applies:

Students must bring an explanatory note to their Year Level Coordinator signed by a parent/guardian, if due to unforeseen circumstances they are out of uniform. Coordinators will issue the student with an “Out of Uniform Pass.” On these rare occasions, only clothing as close as possible to the College uniform is to be worn. Offending students can expect to be withdrawn from class or sent home to change. Students and their families should ensure uniform is organised daily.

Our Senior School students need to set a high standard of uniform for the rest of the school to follow and we can all work together to achieve this.

We had our school Footy Colours Day on Thursday which raised money for our 2023 nominated charity, Speak and Share, so I trust everyone enjoyed the day. Hopefully your team does well in the final round of the AFL and into the finals. Unfortunately, my team will not because we won’t be in the finals ☹. However, sometimes it isn’t always about ultimate success but individual growth (just like in education) that matters and giving your best effort is all that we can ask. Once effort is there, the results will eventually come.

Kind regards,

Nick Evans

Senior School Assistant Principal

We’re all in this together

As a parent, you play a pivotal role in your child's education. Parent Teacher Conferences provide an opportunity for you to connect with your child's teachers, understand their progress, and collaborate on strategies to enhance their educational experience. 

As a school we have been working on student goal setting with students. During these meetings you can talk with both your child and their teacher about the goals they have set and work on shared strategies to help students reach and exceed those goals.

The home-school relationship has never been more important than it is today, we look forward to seeing you at the Parent Teacher Conferences on Monday.

Parent Teacher Conferences can be booked for your compass login on the Community (Face) menu. If you cannot make the day then please reach out to your child’s teacher via email.

Schools plan detention classes for parents who have not completed their home work!

Hope that got your attention, seriously though, only 49 people have completed the parent opinion survey, that’s less than 7%! We can do better than that.

Parent option survey is available on the star menu on compass.

Kind regards,

Mike Parker

Assistant Principal

School State Relief Fund

About School State Relief Fund

State Schools’ Relief is a not-for-profit organisation that improves the lives of tens of thousands of disadvantaged Victorian students, and their families, each year.

Our simple and practical service ensures that all students can attend school in warmth and comfort with a greater sense of belonging and improved self-esteem, which in turn enhances their educational engagement.

• Unity
• Equality
• Dignity
• Belonging

https://stateschoolsrelief.org.au/

Mornington Secondary College has raised $1,302.77 through parent donations in the school fees, which will go a long way to helping disadvantaged Victorian students.

Pathways / Careers

Attention Year 10 2024 students

Applications are now open for Zoos Victoria’s 2024 Work Experience program! 

 The program is for Victorian secondary students aged over 15 years. 

 The aim of work experience at Zoos Victoria is to give students a deeper appreciation of wildlife, the environment we share with them, and how each role within the organisation works towards conservation.  Work experience students will assist in the daily responsibilities of various departments to see how this is achieved. 

 Some key details for applicants: 

• The program is five full days and in all weather
• Attendance dates for the successful students will be available over each term
• There are a range of tasks possible during this program including some physical tasks which require initial observation and assessment to ensure students are able to participate in a way which will maintain workplace safety for all students
• Applications from secondary students are accepted one year in advance
• School Careers Coordinators can only endorse one student per school. Please note - Kyabram Fauna Park is the only property that accepts multiple students per school (per term).

 We celebrate diversity and strive to be inclusive in everything we do. Students with diverse abilities are encouraged to apply.

 Applications close on Monday 11 September 2023.

 For more information visit https://www.zoo.org.au/about-us/careers/school-work-experience/

Expressions of interest to complete a work experience placement at the Parliament of Victoria in Terms 1 and 2, 2024 are now open.  Please encourage interested students to visit our website and lodge an expression of interest via the online link:  https://new.parliament.vic.gov.au/teach-and-learn/work-experience/

Students can choose between two programs, Sitting and Services, and placements are open to students in Victorian schools who are residents of Victoria, and are 15 years or over at the time of the placement.  We endeavour to choose students from a mixture of government, independent, and Catholic schools, from metropolitan and regional areas, and of all gender identities.   

Parliamentary Sitting placements provide the opportunity to see the law-making process up close. Students will go behind the scenes with the staff who directly support Parliament sittings, to get a deeper understanding of our democratic processes.

Parliamentary Services placements offer a variety of opportunities that can be matched with a broad range of student interests and career goals, including business management, facilities management and maintenance, community engagement and broadcasting, and hospitality. 

We have some exciting opportunities in the armed forces for your secondary students, please find details below for our programs that are currently advertised in Victoria.

Please advertise to students who may be interested. 

AirForce Officer Aviation Roles

Last date to apply 31/08/2023

AirForce Officer Aviation Roles

Last date to apply 03/09/2023

Introduction to Navy: HMAS Cerberus

Last date to apply 03/09/2023

Introduction to DAP 

Last date to apply 07/09/2023

Introduction to Navy: HMAS Cerberus 

Last date to apply 24/09/2023

BandFest

Last Wednesday, our senior instrumental students attended the Region BandFest at Carrum Downs Secondary College where music students from surrounding schools came together and formed a band totalling 170 students. 

Over the day a professional conductor guided the students through three complex pieces which were then performed and recorded. It was great to see our students playing and forming friendships with fellow instrumentalists.  

Year 7

Ms Jo Reeman

This week our Year 7 students were very excited to participate in the Reptile Encounters incursion. The students loved hearing about animals they may never have heard of, like Pano the 1.5m Yellow-spotted Minotor. For more information about Reptile Encounters click here

Year 8

Mr Adam Pirrie

Smashed Incursion 

This incursion was an interactive performance about the dangers of alcohol. It was about how young people can get addicted so easily to alcohol and drugs. They involved the different scenarios of being addicted to alcohol and how it affects the life of an adolescent.   

The Year 8’s at MSC had a bit of a laugh but also absorbed a lot of information about the crisis of alcohol. We were asked questions, asked to give advice to the characters, and asked to give our opinion with no judgment. We learned how it is important to know that there is no need to drink alcohol to a high level, and how to say no to being peer pressured by others.  

There was even an interactive workshop at the end in which the Year 8 students were super eager to answer questions and give their opinions. 

Overall, this workshop was a big success and was very educational.  

Baylin, Sienna and Kayla 

Year 8 Captains

Year 10 

Mr Jake Uhlenberg 

We are well into the second half of the term, and we can see that students are definitely feeling the strain. We are hoping to offer whatever supports we can to ensure that each student is happy, healthy and engaged at school.

In Connect sessions last week and this week, we explored a simple question, "what do I want to learn about?" We understand that we cannot teach children everything there is to know, and so these sessions allowed students to engage with a topic of their own choosing and could research and demonstrate their learning in any way they wish. We hope students took the opportunity to engage with an interest of theirs and learned something along the way.

Formal will quickly be upon us in the early days of Term 4, so we encourage anybody interested to jump onto Compass and book their space, it should be a fantastic night and we hope students are excited.

Year 11 

Dr Jasmine Keough

The Year 11 students are in the thrust of SACs and Term 3. The Wednesday Connect class with its subject study groups is working well with students taking ownership of their learning.  Our lovely students will be in a state of nikhedonia where pleasure is felt in anticipating success - the success of their hard work!

Preparations for our Formal on the first of September are going well with decorations being prepared. Students are excited about their outfits, lots of chat about colour and style. The theme of Hollywood/Red Carpet has been the inspiration. We expect glamour on the highest scale!

Our Fundraisers of the basketball tournament and craft sessions will take place next Wednesday in our Connect class. Those not involved in the basketball tournament will be making origami cranes. These will be strung up in our 11 Common Room. 

Our students continue to impress with their appreciation for each other. It is wonderful to read such heartfelt comments about each other. 

Year 12 

Mr Scott Kirkby

Vocational Major completion

Vocational Major students that have completed all their work for all their subjects may commence collecting 'sign off' sheets from my office from Week 9 of this term. They will then have all their teachers sign off once they have completed the required work for the subject. 

Once filled in by all teachers, this is to be returned to me in Week 10 and I will record a Compass post visible to both students and parents that will outline the student has completed their VCE Vocational Major subjects and may conclude school on the last day of Term 3, Thursday 14th September. 

If students have not completed all the required work for all their subjects, they will be expected to return in Term 4 until this is done and the post will be placed on Compass at the time of completion. 

This process is in place to be as transparent as possible with students and families and increase accountability for students. The reward for organisation and quality work is an early finish. Those that need additional support into Term 4 will attend scheduled classes. This is not a punishment and is a support to ensure students achieve their goals of completing Year 12. Students are welcomed back at school for the final day, Tuesday October 17 for celebrations in the morning followed by Valedictory in the evening. 

Trial Exams

Note: Connect seminars and trial exams will not clash

Trial exams are set to take place in Week 10 for ATAR students from Monday 11/9 to Thursday 14/9. No classes will run for the full week.  These will be done in timetable blocks. Students have been presented the timetable and had the process explained to them in Connect on Wednesday. The timetable has also been shared with student on Teams.

Students are reminded to cross check the subject code with their timetable to ensure they are aware of what time they are in their exam. 

This process is the most straight forward way to ensure all students are able to complete their exams with no clashes and within a normal school day. 

Students will also receive an additional four practice exams from their teachers to assist with their preparations over the break and start of Term 4. 

Connect Seminars

Note: Connect seminars and trial exams will not clash

Connect revision seminars are now finalised. Subjects confirmed are;

• English Language
• General Maths
• Psychology
• Business Management
• Biology
• Health
• Legal Studies
• Chemistry

NB: English will run a session in early Term 4 at no cost.

The following subjects did not meet the required threshold and will be cancelled. Refunds will be processed over the coming week;

• History Revolutions- awaiting final confirmation
• Physical Education 

Positive Quotes for the week

There is so much behind the scenes that no one really knows about and you do it all with grace and ease. I know that you don't always have time, but you do such an awesome job with everything you do. 

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