From the Principal

I would like to begin my first community newsletter for the year by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land we are on, the Bunurong people of the Kulin nation. I recognise their connection to land and understand the importance and responsibility we all have by continuing to look after the land. I would also like to pay my respects to their Elders past and present.

Welcome back and a special welcome to the new students beginning Yr 7 and new students in higher year levels.

I would also like to welcome staff members joining us. They are:

• Kellie Fallon - PE and Health teacher

• Amie Steny – Japanese teacher

• Kaiyuan Zhang – Maths teacher

• Shay Zhang - Maths/Physics teacher

• Jetta Varone - Canteen Assistant

• Emma Coatsworth - Reception and Marketing

• Kylie Lebrasse - Careers practitioner

• Kobi Lawson AFL trainee

• Rory Wagner-Watts AFL trainee

Welcome back to staff returning:

• Lewis Lynch – Humanities teacher

• Matt Butcher - Hands on Learning Teacher

• Josephine Salter – Science Teacher

• Michelle Allsop ES - Mental health practitioner

The first day began with many students attending Year Level assemblies where they listened to Coordinators outlining expectations, calendar events etc. I welcomed our Yr 7 students, and they looked amazing in their uniforms. They had a lovely day. Students across all year levels were very happy to return to their school.

It has been a great start to the new year and I look forward to working with you again.

Linda Stanton

Principal

Important Dates

Term 1 2025

February

Feb - Thursday 6th Whole School Swimming Carnival

Feb - Monday 10th School Photos

Feb -Monday 17th Morrisby Profiling - Year 9

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

Mar - Monday 31st Year 7 Grandparents Morning Tea

April

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

Welcome to Mornington Secondary College - 2025!

A Special Welcome to Our Year 7 Students and Families!

A massive welcome to our new Year 7 students and their families! This is such an exciting time as you begin the next phase of your education. Secondary school is a wonderful opportunity to make new friends, explore a diverse curriculum, and enjoy a variety of new activities. We are so excited to have you as part of our school community and can’t wait to see you again as you settle into life at Mornington Secondary College.

And of course, we welcome our wonderful existing families to the new school year too.

As we settle into the new school year, we understand that adjusting from the holidays to the routine of school life can take a little time. Our Classroom Mastery routines continue in every class, ensuring a focused and consistent learning environment for all students. Year level assemblies are being held, giving students the chance to meet their teachers and classmates. It’s always a joy to see students reconnect after the Christmas break, sharing stories and experiences.

I hope you all had the opportunity to get away or engage in some fun activities over the holidays. I enjoyed a short break on the Gold Coast, where I managed to read a couple of books and catch up with friends and family. But as always, it doesn’t take long to get back into the swing of school life, and we are excited for a fantastic year ahead!

Attendance Matters

As we commence the academic year for 2025, we’d like to remind families about the importance of regular attendance at school. Consistent attendance plays a crucial role in student success. If your child is unable to attend due to illness or any other reason, please notify the school via Compass, a written note, or a phone call. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

Uniform Expectations

Students are expected to wear the college uniform every day. If your child is unable to wear the full uniform and requires a uniform pass, they must provide a parent/carer’s note and obtain a pass before school from their coordinator. More information regarding uniform expectations will be provided via the Compass newsfeed.

We look forward to a fantastic year ahead and to supporting all students on their learning journey!

Have a great week

Denise Leggett

Assistant Principal

Senior School

Welcome to 2025. Linda will be writing the schoolwide welcome so I will simply say I look forward to working with you in 2025 to achieve the best possible outcomes for our senior school students.

I want to quickly update the MSC community about some tweaks to attendance and lateness processes for 2025. While we trialled these in the back end of 2024, we’ll now be moving forward with a full implementation.

Attendance

The best learning and achievement outcomes generally come from students with excellent attendance. What is excellent attendance I hear you ask… Well unlike a SAC or test score where we might be happy to see a result like 80% or higher, when it comes to attendance, anything under 95% will likely have negative impacts on student outcomes.

90% attendance (or 1 day absent per fortnight) is regarded as chronic absence by the Department and over 13 years of schooling, equates to almost 1.5 years of lost learning.

"Ok, I hear you and understand you, Nick, but sometimes absence is unavoidable, so what do we do then?" Great question! There are two things that need to happen when a student is absent. Firstly, record the reason for absence on Compass or respond to the link in the text message parents are sent each day when a child is marked absent.

Unexplained absence is regarded by the department as the most dangerous and educationally harmful form of absence. Our goal is to have 0 full days of unexplained absent at the end of 2025. To assist you, we’ll be sending home a summary of all full-day unexplained absence for your child each Monday (if they have been at school, no letter will be provided). If that letter is not returned or the absent not explained on Compass, then your child will receive some a consequence at a lunchtime to help them encourage you to record the reasons for the absence on Compass (or fill it in on the letter and the student returns it to student services).

In summary:

The second thing that supports children who have missed school is for them to access and complete the work the class has been set. This information can be found in the lesson plan section of each class on Compass. It’s important that missed work is completed as soon as is practical. I know it would be great to simply not have to do the work we missed but in the real world that is rarely the case.

There will be competitions and recognition for great attendance across and within year levels, houses and the school. We look forward to seeing students as much as possible!

Lateness

Students who are late to school will still need to sign into the student services office. Getting to school late can have an impact on their readiness to learn, whether the lateness was planned or not. Students who are late to any other class during the day will be marked late by their teacher. Students with multiple lates in a week will have an intervention intended to change their behaviour.

Nick Evans

Senior School Assistant Principal

A World of Opportunities

This year we will be looking to greatly increase the opportunities for student leadership. Year level captains for each year level have already been appointed and we will be looking to appoint student leaders in a wide range of areas throughout the college. This will include leadership teams for each year level and also extra curricular areas.

Students who are involved in the life of school outside the classroom have better attendance, enjoy school more and improve their academic results.

Mike Parker

Assistant Principal

First day in Year 7

Their first day consisted of a variety of activities to introduce them to their new school life at Mornington Secondary College; locker bay locks, timetables, classroom and school ground tours, IT assistance with lap tops set up, 'get to know you' activities and STEM fun.

To all new parents, please follow us on our socials to see photos and posts on future school activity involving your children. Links can be found at the end of the newsletter.

Evangeline Romage

Year 7 Team Leader

Aerobics Squad Training

Aerobics Squad trainings are starting this term, with small changes to our training times.

Our Junior Squad (Yr7's and 8's) will train every Monday and Wednesday from 3:30-4:30pm, starting on Monday the 3rd of February. And our Senior Squad (Yr9-12's) will train every Monday 3:30-4:30pm and every Friday 7:30-8:30am, starting on Friday the 31st of January.

All sessions will be held in the Robert Herbert Gym and open to all students interested in joining the squad. No prior dance or Aerobics experience needed! Come down to our first whole squad training on Monday the 3rd of February to see if you'd like to join the squad in 2025.

Please don't hesitate to contact me (Indie Jowett) for more information.

I'm looking forward to an amazing season!