Principal Team Report

Dear MSC Community,

Welcome to our penultimate Links for 2026, and welcome to the families of our 2027 Year 7s to your first edition of Links!

Term 4 is always a time of intense activity in the college, along with reflection, preparation, recognition, celebration and conclusion. We commenced the term by both recognising and celebrating the fabulous talents of our many and passionate Visual Arts students with our annual Art Show. The quality and range of works was outstanding (as usual), allowing us to reflect on the importance of such a diverse learning program for students to explore their many interests and talents. Congratulation to the Arts faculty on such a successful show. If you happened to have missed it this year, you will be able to enjoy some of the works on display in spaces around the college when you next visit. 

Immediately following the Art Show has been a period of celebration and conclusion for our ‘Year 12 Class of 2026’.  The school community took a moment to celebrate with our Year 12 students at a whole school assembly on their final day. We shared some great images and stories of their secondary school journey from the four school captains as well as recognising the handover of leadership to our incoming school captains. Congratulations to Aditi Kandel, Georgia Giannaris, Liam Roddis and Vanessa Nicoletti on their selection as school captains for 2027 and we thank our graduating school captains Caitlin Fankhauser, Lucy Gordon, Victoria Halpin and Teiva Levy for their diligence, dedication and leadership throughout the year. We wish the ‘Class of 2026’ all the best with their final exams and we look forward to again celebrating their success when they return for their alumni assembly and afternoon tea in the new year. In the meantime, we look forward to their Formal next Wednesday evening, when they can really celebrate the conclusion of their schooling journey.

Exam mode continues for the college once the Year 12 examination period concludes as students across all year levels undertake end-of-year assessments and exams. The college has designed a scaffolded approach to exams that prepares them for Year 12 by developing skills in revision, exam preparation, sitting an exam in a formal environment and then reviewing the outcome with their teachers following the exam period. For students in Years 7 and 8 the focus is on Maths and English and in Year 9, other core subjects such as Science and Humanities are included. From Year 10, students undertake end-of-year exams in all subjects, as this replicates the requirements of VCE studies. Exam revision has already commenced in many classes and all exams will appear as an event on Compass. 

A gentle (further) reminder to all Year 7 -11 students that their formal exam assessments are coming up fast, so it’s time to start revising, check feedback from teachers, clarify misunderstandings and get their notes in order.

Students will be made aware of their exam schedules, but broadly, these are:

• Friday 13 November – final day Year 11 classes
• Monday 16 November – Year 7 & 8 English exams / Year 11 Swot Vac
• Tuesday 17 November – Year 7 & 8 Maths exams / Year 11 Swot Vac
• Wednesday 18 November – Year 11 exams commence / Year 12 exams conclude / final day Year 10 Classes
• Thursday 19 November – Year 10 exams commence
• Monday 23 November – Year 10 and 11 exams continue
• Tuesday 24 November – final day Year 9 classes
• Wednesday 25 November – Year 9 exams commence
• Thursday 26 November – Year 9 exams conclude / VCE HeadStart Day (including Year 9 into 10 Advanced Placements)

Upcoming events:

• Friday 27 November is a student-free day for our staff – it’s HeadStart Planning Day, where we focus on preparing staff for their new classes for HeadStart and 2027 by engaging with student data. The aim is to get to know our students prior to meeting them in person on the following Monday.
• Our HeadStart program (Monday 30 November to Friday 04 December) is a week of compulsory school days that are critical for setting up all of our students for their next year of learning. Families are reminded to ensure their child is still at school for this week i.e. please don’t arrange early holidays to avoid educational disadvantage.
• Presentation Evening for Year 7-11 awards is during HeadStart week, on Tuesday 01 December. Students receiving prizes and awards will be notified by email from Michael Bray.

VCE HeadStart Parent Information evening - Thursday 26 November | 6:00–7:00 pm in the PAC

All parents and carers of students undertaking a VCE subject in 2027 are asked to attend this important information evening. This includes parents and carers of students who will be in Year 11 or Year 12 in 2027, as well as those whose Year 10 child will take a VCE subject through advanced placement.

Parents of students enrolled for the Year 11 Vocational Major in 2027 are also required to attend, including for a separate targeted session run by our VCE-VM Leader, Anthony Cotton – refer below.

The Senior School team will outline expectations and key processes across Units 1–4, including attendance, SAC calendars and requirements, redemption procedures, exams and Year 12 camp. We’ll also discuss the English and Literature texts, ways to help students prepare effectively for these challenging compulsory subjects, and how to apply for Special Provisions (a particularly important process for students undertaking Units 3 and 4). There will also be practical advice on supporting your child throughout VCE.

Nik Smith, our Careers and Pathways Leader, will also speak about planning for life beyond MSC and share important information to help students begin considering their future pathways. 

The evening is also an opportunity to meet the Senior School team and your child’s coordinator:

• James Miller - Year 10 Coordinator
• Amanda Leahy - Year 11 Coordinator
• Eric Yeap - Year 12 Coordinator
• Kim Watson - Head of Senior School

Please set aside this one hour to hear the information, ask questions and prepare to support your child’s VCE studies.

Remembrance Day

This week, two of our 2027 School Captains, Georgia Giannaris and Vanessa Nicoletti accompanied by Michael Bray joined members of the local community for a Remembrance Day service at Halliday Park, where Georgia and Vanessa recited a Pledge of Remembrance by Rupert McCall and also a piece titled The Significance of the Red Poppy before laying a wreath on behalf of the Mullauna Secondary College community.

 Whilst back at school, the other 2027 school captains, Aditi Kandel and Liam Roddis conducted a Remembrance Day service over the PA system for our students and staff to reflect upon the sacrifices of soldiers across all wars.

VCE-VM Parent & Student Information Night - Thursday 26 November | 6:00–7:00 pm in F9

Join us for the VCE-VM Parent and Student Information Night on Thursday 26 November, from 6.00 pm to 7.00 pm in F9. The VCE Vocational Major (VCE-VM) is a hands-on pathway that combines learning at school with vocational training and experience in the workplace. The night will give families a picture of what a typical week looks like and how to best prepare for the start of the year. It’s essential for all students starting VCE-VM in 2027 to attend with a parent or guardian. Returning Year 12 VCE-VM students and their families are also welcome to attend. Anthony Cotton and Nik Smith will be there to answer your questions about VCE-VM, VET courses, work placements and school-based apprenticeships and traineeships (SBATs). We look forward to seeing you there.

Family per-student financial contributions to support learning at our college

2026 per-student contributions will remain open until Friday 18 December. Our thanks to the many families that made contributions since our recent shout-outs. 

A reminder that you can choose to ‘chip away’ at the per-student contribution through Compass, or manage your contributions via B-Pay (including a ‘set and forget’ option). Please contact Laura Steel in the General Office for your individualised B-Pay details – email: laura.steel2@education.vic.gov.au or phone: 9874-3422.

We will open the 2027 Family per-student financial contributions in early January 2027.

Year 7 2027 Camp payments are open and due now. 

Year 12 Study Residential payments (for all Year 12 students including VM) are open and due now.

2027 Instrumental Music fees will open start of Term 1 2027.

HeadStart is coming - commences Monday 30 November

With the end of year looming, we wish to remind you of the critical dates to come, especially the expectations around full school attendance for our HeadStart program, which is the start of the 2027 school year i.e. it is NOT ‘just busy work’ etc. It is a chance for students to transition to the next year level, meet their new teachers and classmates, and prepare for the new schoolwork and expectations. The HeadStart program provides students and teachers the opportunity to undertake a week of classes with the 2027 timetable. This assists students to understand the expectations and requirements of each new subject and determine what preparation is required over the break to enable them to ‘hit the ground running’ in the new year. This is especially important for our senior students but relevant to all students.

Student courses for 2027 are due to be announced early next week.

Mullauna P&CA Democracy Sausage BBQ roster!

Volunteer opportunities for the P&CA's State Election 'Democracy Sausage' BBQ on Saturday 28 November are now open. Please click on the following web link (or copy it into your web browser if clicking doesn't work) to go to the signup sheet: volunteersignup.org/AHTXX To sign up, just follow the instructions on the page. It only takes a few seconds to do. Jobs on the day are split between barbequing, cash handling and assembling the sausages. The sausage sizzle runs smoothly when volunteers are able to take 2 x 1-hour shifts (especially in the peak of 11am - 2pm), but we understand this might not be possible on a weekend. Thank you for volunteering!

MSCPCA admin – email: 8744-pca@schools.vic.edu.au

2026 School Performance Report

We were excited to receive our annual School Performance Report, which again reflects the hard work of our students and staff in achieving great outcomes across a range of factors. We are very pleased to inform the school community that we have again been rated as performing at a ‘High’ standard for Learning and Wellbeing factors.

This report provides just one of the many opportunities for the school staff to reflect on strengths and to consider and plan for improvements to be included in our 2026 Annual Implementation Plan (AIP). We will provide more information on the report once we have discussed it with staff, students (initially the SRC) and School Council. You can find the report on the college website School Data | Mullauna Secondary College and/or view it in hardcopy form at Reception.

German Exchange 

This was (and will remain) another highlight of Term 4. Our German Exchange students flew out of Tullamarine very early on Wednesday 04 November – please refer to Laura Durham’s report later in this edition of Links. Planning for our reciprocal visit in March 2027 continues.

Students undertaking German in Year 9 in 2027 will shortly receive a survey to express interest and should begin to consider their possible participation in the 2027-28 program – more details will be released in early Term 1 next year.

Staffing and Leadership appointments 

We would like to announce some key staffing decisions for the 2027 school year. New staff joining us in 2027 include: 

• Michael Harvey – Education Support Disability Inclusion, Engagement and Pathways. Michael has been based at our college for three years as the network Head Start Coordinator overseeing School-Based Apprenticeships (SBATs) and is well-known to us.

New Leadership roles:

• Rebecca Kimm – Learning Specialist – Teacher Practice – Learning & teaching
• Laura Chiappa – Junior School Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Leader

Daniella Taglieri will continue in the Leading Teacher – Head of Wellbeing & Engagement role, overseeing our Student Services and all the critical wellbeing and engagement work that we undertake at the college. Together with Jeff McMillin and Harry Ruff, Daniella will oversee the Wellbeing & Engagement School Improvement Team.This includes:

• Jenny Tran – Leading Teacher – Head of Disability Inclusion & Engagement
• Nik Smith – Careers & Pathways Leader

together with our heads of Sub-school.

In the Junior School Office, we will welcome Alister Graham as Year 7 Level Coordinator. He joins the Junior School Year Level Coordination team of: 

• Flora Moraitis - Leading Teacher - Head of Junior School
• Jordan Perree – Year 8
• Anthony Lam – Year 9

In the Senior School Office, we will welcome James Miller as Year 10 Level Coordinator. He joins the Senior School Year Level Coordination team of: 

• Kim Watson - Leading Teacher – Head of Senior School
• Amanda Leahy – Year 11
• Eric Yeap – Year 12

A reminder that our sub-school teams use the ‘looping’ model, where the Year Level Coordinator will move with their cohort of students through the sub-school, building on their relationships with students and their families. 

Jacquie Brush will continue in the Leading Teacher – Head of Learning & Teaching role, overseeing our team of Heads of Faculty and all the core business of learning and teaching that we undertake at the college. Together with Michael Bray, Jacquie will oversee the Learning & Teaching School Improvement Team. 

Our full team of Heads of Faculty and Learning & Teaching Leaders is: 

• Tamsin Davidson – Leading Teacher Head of Literacy (Head of Faculty – English)
• Trevor Barkla – Leading Teacher Head of Numeracy (Head of Faculty – Mathematics)
• Gary Vear – Leading Teacher Head of Design & Digital Technology (Head of Faculty – IT and Food)
• Rebecca Holmes as Head of Faculty - The Visual Arts (Art, Media, VCD)
• Laura Durham as Head of Faculty - German
• Rebecca Kimm as Head of Faculty - Health & Physical Education
• Aaron Bear as Head of Faculty - Humanities
• Miriam Pepper as Head of Faculty - Science
• Peter Brodie as Head of Faculty – The Performing Arts (Music / Drama)
• Monique Chisholm – Learning Specialist – Data & Improvement
• Anthony Cotton – Learning Specialist – Applied Learning - VCE Vocational Major and VPC

We will publish further Positions of Responsibility in the final Links for the year. 

Movember: Our Term 4 Charity

We are fundraising for Movember, which has, over the past 22 years, started serious conversations about men’s health and raised funds for prevention focused work across mental health, prostate cancer and testicular cancer. While it started with a couple of guys trying to grow a moustache for mental health, it has grown into a global phenomenon. To sign up and join the school team click here (https://movember.com/t/mullauna-secondary-college?mc=1). We are hoping for as much participation as possible, and to help rack up those kilometres across November on Monday lunchtimes (9th, 16th and 23rd) students are encouraged to run or walk around the football oval. You can also join the running club with Mr Perree every Thursday morning at 8am. To celebrate our efforts, the end of the month (30 November 30), will be our casual clothes day and we will acknowledge students and staff who have covered the most kilometres and grown the best moustache. As a community, I hope we are all excited to conquer this challenge together and help raise money for the Movember foundation. For more information about Movember or to donate, click here (https://movember.com/)

Ben, Harrison, Liam and Siri (O’Neill House Captains)

End of year program 

Further detailed information regarding the end-of-year program will be published progressively through Compass and the weekly MSC Community Newsfeeds. 

The final day of the formal academic program and compulsory school attendance for Senior School students (current Year 9, 10 and 11) is Friday 04 December.

Final day of classes and compulsory school attendance for Junior School students (current Years 7 and 8) is Wednesday 09 December. Students must clear their locker by this day. Year 8 students will attend their Summit  adventure camp from Monday 07 to Wednesday 09 December in preparation for their Skillz @ Mullauna program in 2027. They will then be dismissed for the school year.

The Activity Day excursion for students in Year 7 is on Wednesday 09 December – for further details refer to Compass. 

Parents wishing to have their Year 7 child attend the Summer Program (running Thursday 10 December to Thursday 17 December) should register this with the General Office via email: Mullauna.sc@education.vic.gov.au or phone: 9874-3422. Refer below for details of the Summer Program.

Summer Program for students in current Year 7

The academic year for students in Years 7 and 8 ends on Wednesday 09 December. We then offer the Summer Program for those Year 7 students needing to continue attendance. This allows our teaching and Education Support staff to:

• Undertake professional learning like First Aid (including mandated anaphylaxis), Department of Education priorities like CUST – Cultural Understanding & Safety Training, and many units of mandatory OH&S training;

• acquit the many hours of Time in Lieu they have accrued over the school year during the broad variety of evening activities our college program includes e.g. the Production, Instrumental Music Concerts, Information Evenings, SkillZ Evenings, Camps & Tours, Debating etc. 

Please note: We schedule our Time in Lieu acquittal for this time rather than during the academic year to avoid the disruption this causes to our learning and teaching program during the school year. 

The Summer Program is not part of students’ formal curriculum or assessment and will not incur any additional cost. Students in Year 7 who attend for these days:

• may wear sport uniform;

• must bring their lunch and snacks, as the canteen has ceased trading for the year;

• must report to the library by 8.45am;

• will be based in a combined class in the college library for the day;

• should bring their laptop and stationery etc.;

• will also assist the administration team with tasks around the school (akin to Minion Duty).

The college keeps the program flexible, as traditionally, the overwhelming majority of families have indicated that their child will not attend (by contacting the General Office directly or through Compass as usual).

Harry Ruff, Jeff McMillin and Michael Bray

The MSC Principal Team

Term 4: Monday 5 October - Friday 18 December

• Wednesday 18 November – Year 12 Formal 
• Friday 20 November – SKILLZ Community Festival
• Thursday 26 November – VCE student HeadStart preparation day
• Thursday 26 November – VCE Parent Information Evening
• Friday 27 November - HeadStart Staff Planning Day (Week 8) – student free
• Saturday 28 November – P&CA state election bbq onsite – look out for roster details
• Monday 30 November onwards – HeadStart – refer notes below
• Tuesday 01 December – Presentation Evening 
• Monday 07 to Wednesday 09 December – current Year 8s camp
• Tuesday 08 December – Statewide Year6-7 Orientation Day
• Thursday 10 December - VCE Results and ATAR advice will be available from 7:00 am
• Friday 18 December – last day of the school year – school closes for the summer break

2027

2027 School Holidays & Term Dates

• Summer Holidays (2026–2027): Saturday 19 December 2026 – Wednesday 27 January 2027 
• Term 1: Wednesday 27 January (Staff) (Students tbc) – Thursday 25 March 2027
• Autumn / Easter Holidays: Friday 26 March 2027 – Sunday 11 April 2027
• Term 2: Monday 12 April 2027 – Friday 25 June 2027
• Winter Holidays: Saturday 26 June 2027 – Sunday 11 July 2027
• Term 3: Monday 12 July 2027 – Friday 17 September 2027
• Spring Holidays: Saturday 18 September 2027 – Sunday 3 October 2027
• Term 4: Monday 4 October 2027 – Friday 17 December 2027
• Summer Holidays (2027–2028): Saturday 18 December 2027 – Wednesday 26 January 2028