From the Principal

Good morning to all of our students and their families,

Congratulations to Team Boultify. The senior Aerobics team competed in the National competition on the weekend in South Australia with a score of 90. The competition was fierce, our team won the bronze medal. Well done, I commend each team member for their hard work and commitment to their sport. I would also like to publicly acknowledge staff members Amanda Keen and Indi Jowett for their coaching. 

Just a reminder to complete the Parent Opinion survey. Your opinions are important to us and will contribute to identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies. The department will use the results from the survey for research purposes and to improve outcomes for students. 

The survey is being conducted online and only takes 20 minutes to complete. It can be completed on any internet enabled device (desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone) and is compatible with most browsers. 

You have until 30th August to have your say. This year the focus has been on: Parent/carer participation and involvement, High expectations for success, General school improvement, School pride and confidence and Student motivation & support. 

A reminder also about the Parent/Teacher interviews scheduled for 22nd August.  

Student attendance continues to be a focus for all government schools, I have included some information families may find useful.   

‘No matter how hard parents try, some students may be reluctant to go to school. 

Addressing attendance issues promptly and setting up good attendance patterns can lead to future success and can help students feel more engaged and connected at school. 

* Patterns of late arrival at school or missing classes are early warning signs of disengagement from school. 

* Missing one day of school each week adds up to 2 months missed over a year.

* Each day of absence has an impact on skill development and social connections. 

* Poor attendance may be associated with future unemployment, criminal activity, substance abuse, and poorer health and life expectancy. 

If you require assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact the relevant year level coordinator.  

Useful tips: 

Generally: 

* Act early if you are concerned.

* Talk about the importance of showing up to school every day, make that the expectation.

* Regular attendance at school sets up good behaviours for regular attendance at future workplaces and other life commitments.

* Don’t let your child stay home unless genuinely sick. Complaints of headaches or stomach aches may be signs of anxiety.

* Reward appropriate behaviour and don’t unintentionally reward unwanted behaviour by letting children who stay home have access to their devices and the internet.

* Be sure to set a good example – how you meet your commitments impacts on how they will meet theirs.

Daily Routines & sleep 

* Help your child maintain daily routines such as finishing homework and getting a good night’s sleep.

* Primary school aged children need about 10 to 11 hours sleep. Teenagers need an average of 8-9 hours of sleep to be healthy and alert.

* You may also need to monitor your child’s use of the Internet, mobile phone and TV at night to ensure they are not staying up too late or being disturbed while sleeping.

* Consider how your child is sleeping – is their room cool and dark and have all devices, including TVs and mobile phones, been removed?

Talk about school 

* Talk to your child. What are their feelings about school? What interests them at school? Are there any difficult situations?

* For teens, it helps if you open these discussions in a relaxed way so that your teenager knows you are demonstrating concern, not authority. It’s often a good idea to have these conversations while doing something else together such as driving, preparing dinner or going for a walk. If your teen doesn’t want to talk right then, let them know you’re ready to listen whenever they’re ready to talk

* For younger children, talking about the school day shows your interest. Ask simple, positive and specific questions about parts of the day e.g. What was fun? Who did you play with today? Did you help anyone today? 

Extracurricular activities, social connections & part-time work 

* Encourage meaningful extracurricular activities that your child enjoys, such as sports and clubs, to develop positive relationships and experience success outside of a classroom setting. These activities can help your child feel part of the group, important to the school, and more motivated.

* For teens, try to be aware of your child’s social contacts. Peer influence can lead to skipping school, while students without many friends can feel isolated.

* Set clear parameters around part-time work. Make sure that the hours your teenager is working do not impact on their ability to go to school the next day or interfere with school assessment expectations or exam preparation. Most schools recommend no more than 10 hours per week. 

Family holidays & appointments 

* Try not to schedule hair, dental or medical appointments during school hours. Arrange family holidays during scheduled school holidays so that students don’t miss out on classes and feel left behind. 

* If it is necessary to be absent from school for an extended period, arrange with your school for a Student Absence Learning Plan. 

School policies & monitoring attendance 

* Familiarise yourself with the school’s attendance policy. This can help when trying to reason with a child or teenager who is resisting going to school.

* Monitor your child’s attendance and school performance. Periodically check with their teachers to find out how things are going. If you find it difficult to contact several different teachers by phone, try email. Alternatively, the year level coordinator may be a helpful point of contact in relation to specific issues.

Homework & assignments 

* If your child wants to stay home to finish an assignment, rather than letting them stay home, expect them to go to school – make attendance the number one priority. Later, you can discuss with them how they can improve their study habits or adjust their schedule.

* If your school has an assessment calendar on its website, use this to help your child plan their study so that they avoid working late the night before an assignment is due. 

Have a wonderful week. 

Linda Stanton

Principal

Important Dates

Term 3

August

Thursday 22nd August - Parent Teacher Interviews - At school and online

Wednesday 28th to Friday 30th August - Music Camp

September

Thursday 12th September - Year 7 2025 Parent Information Evening - 5.00pm to 6.00pm

Monday 16th to Friday 20th September - Year 12 completing Units 3 and 4 - Trial Exams

Monday 16th to Thursday 19th September - Year 12 Revision Lectures

Friday 20th September - Last Day of Term 3 - 2.30pm Dismissal

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/

Smooth Transition from Primary to Secondary School

Dear Parents and Carers,

Transitioning from primary to secondary school can seem daunting for many students. At Mornington Secondary College, we strive to make this journey as smooth and enjoyable as possible by working closely with our feeder schools. Over the last few weeks, we’ve had the pleasure of hosting various activities and performances that allow primary students to get a feel for life at our college.

Recently, our Drum Corps has been invited to perform at whole school assemblies, much to the delight of the children. Their excitement is palpable as the Drum Corps marches in, performing a medley of tunes. The highlight for many is the opportunity for the younger students to have a go at banging the drums themselves.

This week, we welcomed Grade 5 students from Benton’s and Osborne primary schools for a day of science exploration. The visit culminated in a thrilling flight competition to see whose plane could soar the furthest. Our students were on hand to assist and guide the younger ones, taking their roles as mentors very seriously.

It’s heartwarming when the primary students remember who I am and proudly tell me about their siblings who attend our college. Familiar faces and environments go a long way in easing the transition, and we’re committed to maintaining and strengthening these connections.

Wishing our wonderful families a great week.

Best wishes

Denise Leggett

Middle School Assistant Principal

Senior School

To students and families of the Mornington Senior School,

It’s crazy to think we are halfway through the term already. The weather has been warmer, the days continuing to get longer and the year 12s are starting to realise that their time learning new content in school is coming to an end and the big wide world awaits. In just 4 more weeks, all year 12 VCE ATAR classes will be done, and they’ll move into trial exams and exam preparation. Our year 12 VCE VM students will be starting preparations for their final presentations and interviews and our year 11’s will start their final areas of study in Unit 2.

With parent teacher interviews on Thursday 22nd August, it’s really the last great opportunity to have access to all of your child’s teachers and to clarify what is needed to be done to maximise their outcomes for the rest of 2024. So book in an appointment and ask all the questions you can. Great student outcomes are usually the result of strong 3-way partnerships between teachers, parents and students.

Senior Aerobics – Team Boultify

I’m sure other people will write about amazing senior aerobics team – Team Boultify but it would be remiss of me not to share my admiration and pride in the girls and what they achieved. I’ve been involved with many things in education over my career, however 2024 was the first time I’ve been privileged enough to go to state and national championships for aerobics. Last Friday, I travelled to Adelaide with the team’s wonderful coach, Indie Jowett (former MSC student, former AFL trainee at MSC and current teacher-in-training) and got to share the excitement, nerves and determination with the girls and their families in the build up to the National championships.

It was a rare opportunity to interact with these wonderful student athletes and their parents in a different setting to school. For 3 members of the team, it would be their final time competing for MSC as they’ll graduate in a couple of months from now. So well done to Tully, Liv and Caitlyn – thank you and well done in leading this squad. You are always welcome back to help our future teams! To Eleanor, Seren, Sophie, Mya and Makena, you are stars and I look forward to your future successes, in and out of school. To all the parents who travelled to support their children, we thank you for being there and it was wonderful to get to know you better. 

 As for the result, well you probably already know by now. Team Boultify won the bronze medal – 3rd best performance in the country. MSC was one of two government schools from Victoria in the National finals we saw on the day and competed (and outperformed) independent and faith-based schools from across the country. The girls managed a score of 90 which was one of only 3 90+ scores recorded on the day across all competitions/divisions. Incredible effort from a dedicated and hard-working team.

My thanks go out to Amanda Keen, who is on leave - which meant I had the opportunity to go, for all her work in managing the team all year and to Indie for being a wonderful example of what students who attend Mornington, can go on to be. Indie is kind, optimistic, dedicated (Indie broke her collarbone not too long before the trip so had to do everything one handed!) and has real passion for both aerobics but particularly our girls at Mornington.

Term 3 key dates for Senior School

Thur 22nd August – Parent Teacher Interviews

Fri 13th September – Final Day for Unit 4 coursework (Yr 12 VCE ATAR)

16-20th September – Trial exam period for Year 12 classes

September 30 – Timely VTAC applications close (Year 12 students only)

Nick Evans

Senior School Assistant Principal

Who Cares What Parents Think..........We Do!

Everyone has a view about how school is going. Each year we survey the students (93%), we survey the staff (92% not yet complete) and we survey the parents (3% so far).

Hopefully you can see from those numbers parents have a bit of ground to make up.  We really value your feedback and would strongly encourage you to complete the survey found on the star menu in Compass. As a school community we have a constant focus on improving but we need your input to help us.

Time for a technology refresh?

As students go through the years of school they carry their laptop with them, some students are very careful with their technology, some not so. No matter how your child looks after their tech there comes a point in time where it is no longer fit for purpose.

Common things include reduced battery performance, missing keys, cracks in cases and generally slow performance.  Is it time for your child to get a new computer?  As a general rule we suggest that a computer (especially one which travels to and from school everyday) has a life span of 3-4 years, which means for most students they should be considering getting a new device as they enter senior school.  If your child is a Year 9 or Year 10 student, this should be something which you consider.  Of course its at this age that students often have part time jobs, so co-funding a purchase is always a great idea. See how much better they look after it when they had to pay!  

Details of the college’s preferred IT suppliers (the companies that do a lot of work in the education space) can be found on the college website: Mornington Secondary College Website

Kind regards,

Mike Parker

Assistant Principal

Year 9/10 Boys Futsal Southern Peninsula Division Champions

On Tuesday 13th August our school hosted the Year 9/10 boys and girls Southern Peninsula Division (SPD) championships.

There were 9 boys and 4 girl’s teams in the competition, so the stadium was a very busy place indeed with over 20 matches being played throughout the day. The boy’s competition was played in two pools with the winner of each pool playing in the final to decide which school wins the pennant. We had two Mornington boy’s teams representing the school, one in each pool.

One of our boy’s teams won their pool and played Dromana the winner of the second pool in the final. Dromana got off to a great start finding the net twice in the first half. Our boys rallied early in the second half and scored a goal brining the game back within reach with the score now 2-1. The score remained at 2-1 until the last two minutes when Ethan Sheen showed amazing ball control with a magic run to score to bring the game back to level pegging at 2-2.

In the last 30 seconds Ethan again had more magic to display and drilled the ball into the top left corner to place Mornington in front 3-2 which remained the final score at the end of the game. Congratulations to the boys who played with great sportsmanship, skill and determination. The boys team members comprised of the following students:

John Walker

College Sport

College Production

Congratulations to all Cast and Crew of MSC’s 2024 production of The Lightning Thief! This show was two years in the making and all that time and effort has paid off. 

Back in January, 2023, we had the rights to the Percy Jackson Musical taken back last minute and had to make a quick adjustment to put on Be More Chill. Between all of our ideas and the popularity of the source material, we knew we had a golden opportunity on our hands if we could get The Lightning Thief back and we managed to just in time for 2024. 

The risk was well worth it. The Lightning Thief proved to be the most financially successful show we have put on since the pandemic! This success is thanks to all those who helped behind the scenes, to the efforts in reaching out to family and friends, and the love we all feel for our students at MSC. Their triumphs, passion and happiness is the real win.

With a host of new student/staff members on and off stage, and in the creative team, we have seen more support for the school production since the end of the lock downs. We are so proud of our Mornington Community! The talent came out of nowhere. We found brand new senior students who took on the challenge of leads, middle school students who saved us in the backstage crew, and juniors who stepped up to the mark in EVERY area of production. That’s not even mentioning finding beautiful teachers and staff members who have hidden talents they were willing to share with us.

We would also like to acknowledge the true heart and soul of our production family, and how they make the whole experience so memorable and special. These are the students and staff who have been with us from the beginning to revive this passion project, and who keep coming back to give us the energy and will to continue each year. There is a corner of our hearts for the year 8s, 9s and 12s who have shown such growth in creative talent, kindness and confidence these last three years. To watch them set goals, dedicate time and progress in so many areas, while also looking after the newcomers… there are no words. They are the heart and soul of our production.

As we recover from the emotional and physical commitment needed to put on a show, we would like to take a moment to say a quiet but sincere thank you to the year 12s who will be saying good-bye come Nov-Dec. Some of them were brand new and some have been in shows since they started at MSC, but they have all given so much back this year to the younger members and the staff. From singing/acting/dance coaching, to one-on-one line revision, show etiquette, emotional support, friendship building, and showing how to share and build ideas as a team. They are irreplaceable.

We have killed this current quest of The Lightning Thief, it really was a long and arduous quest. 

But there is no point in wasting time, and we say ‘bring on the monsters’ of 2025.

Sarah Jeffs                                                       Alex Healey

College Production Team Leader             College Production Assistant Coordinator

Aerobics National Championships

Last weekend, team ‘Boultify’ competed in the School Aerobics National Championships in Adelaide. Their section was repeatedly referred to as the toughest section of the weekend, with the judges scores coming down to less than a point between teams! After an incredible performance on the national stage, Boultify took out the bronze medal with a score of 90.00!!

Mornington Secondary College is one of only two government schools to make it through to the national level for this aerobics competition.

This is an unbelievable achievement, and we are beyond proud of our girls. Not only do we admire their hard work and commitment to the squad, but their showmanship and teamwork on and off the stage.

A big thank you to the parents and families who travelled with the girls, to Nick Evans who stepped into the aerobics role and travelled interstate with us, and to Amanda Keen who worked her magic behind the scenes all year to get the girls here. This journey would not have been the same without all of your support.  

Well done Boultify for representing MSC all the way through to nationals and never failing to impress everyone you cross along the way. I couldn’t be prouder to coach such an amazing group of students!

Indie Jowett

Aerobics Coach

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