Principal Team Report

Principal Team Report

 Dear MSC Community,

Already this term, Mullauna students have experienced a raft of exciting opportunities.

Whilst it was disappointing that due to a power outage in Mitcham, we were unable to commemorate ANZAC day with our usual whole school assembly, our College Captains ably represented our school community at the ANZAC day dawn service in Halliday Park by reading the ANZAC Requiem and laying a wreath at the cenotaph. It is evident that our student leadership program continues to thrive and those students involved in the Student Representative Council and our College Council make a genuine contribution to student voice and agency within the college. We look forward to some key student lead initiatives such as the Push Up Challenge and the Student Attitude to School Survey occurring over coming months.

Week Two of the term saw the successful running of two other key events on the calendar. The first was our annual whole-school athletics carnival. This is yet another opportunity for the students and teachers to come together to participate in and celebrate achievement in a broad range of athletic events. We were lucky with the weather and the day ran smoothly with some outstanding efforts by many students who will move onto the next level of competition in coming weeks. The almost 40% increase in participation was a credit to our students!

Athletics was closely followed by our Open Night and an opportunity to showcase the elements that make Mullauna Secondary College the school of choice for the local and broader community. With a record number of attendees led on tours of the school by our student College Ambassadors, the college was alive with excitement for both visitors and staff alike. For those parents and students investigating their options for secondary education in the area, they did not leave disappointed with their experience in meeting our staff and students and looking at our facilities and programs. The consistent feedback we received throughout the night was that our staff are friendly, passionate and knowledgeable and that our students, whether leading a tour group or assisting in a learning space, are true ambassadors of the college with their willingness to engage with parents and future students in a warm and confident manner and always with a smile.

Sporting opportunities have continued throughout the term, with both intermediate and senior sport teams participating in Mullum division interschool competition and Years 7 and 8 still to come before the end of term as well as our Cross Country Carnival which was held last week in Halliday Park. Another warm and sunny afternoon ensured all participants, including Mr Ruff, Mr Verrell and Mr Perree, enjoyed perfect conditions for completing the 3km or 5km circuits. We look forward to students from this event also competing at division level next week.

Just a quick reminder that consent and payment for sporting and other excursions is required on Compass before the deadline to secure a spot. If you are experiencing any issues with using Compass consent, please contact the friendly staff in the General Office.

Moving away from sporting events, the Mamma Mia production rehearsals are making great progress each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon and you can feel the excitement building each week. The production will be a great showcase of performing arts and technical crew (lighting and sound) talent.

Finally, back in our classrooms, Year 7 students experienced life in ancient times with role plays and activities for an ancient day incursion as well as a day at the Zoo for their Science studies. Students in Years 9 – 12 studying German attended the German Film Festival followed by a traditional German lunch at the Hofbrau Haus. Our Year 11 students attended a careers expo at the Exhibition Centre to assist their planning for Year 12 and beyond.

What can we look forward to over the remainder of the term?

On Monday 26th May, a small group of staff and students from Mullauna will accompany staff and students from Mitcham Primary School to the City of Whitehorse complex on Whitehorse Road for the annual Sorry Day Flag Raising ceremony. This event always precedes National Reconciliation Week (NRW), which is on from Tuesday 27th May to Tuesday 3rd June. It is a time for all Australians to celebrate and learn about the shared histories, cultures, and achievements that we have with our First Nations peoples. The aim of the week is to also explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. This year's theme for Reconciliation Week is 'Bridging now to Next' and one of the methods we can bridge our relationship is to learn more about Indigenous Australian culture. Gloria Cheung, our Junior School Marrung Lead teacher, has compiled a list of facts about Indigenous Australian culture and history (attached) that staff will include in their lesson plans and share with your classes in the attached word document. You are also welcomed to share other facts that you know about Indigenous Australian culture. Posters of the Woi Wurrung translation of English words will also be hung in the classrooms so teachers can use them as teaching tools to share by directing the students to read the posters in their classes.

With the academic semester concluding in just a few weeks, the focus for students in Years 9 – 11 is on the mid-year exams. Exam practice is an important step in developing the necessary skills to achieve success in VCE studies where examinations continue to be a major form of assessment.

The examination timetable will soon be published to students and each exam appears as an event on Compass. Students are expected to attend all scheduled exams and should a student have an exam clash with another school event, such as Division Cross Country, their exam will be rescheduled to another time. We wish all of our students all the very best for their upcoming exams – but remember, there is no substitute for preparation by engaging in classes and completing carefully managed study.

In the meantime, our teaching staff will gather student voice and agency feedback from the students in their PLC target class for reflection, discussion (with both teaching peers and the students) and actioning in the next semester.

Our annual Mid-year & Debut Music Concert is scheduled for Thursday 12th June, followed by the Contemporary Music taster evening on Wednesday 18th June.

Assessment & Reporting Day is on Friday 20th June. This student-free day is to allow teachers to conclude their assessment marking (including exams) and provide any further feedback on published learning tasks.

Year 10 work experience will take place in the last week of term. This is generally a highlight for students as they investigate potential careers and pathways which assists their planning for VCE studies next year.

The Semester 2 academic timetable commences on Monday 16th June (the start of Week 9). To balance out the length of each semester for VCE students, schools generally start their Semester 2 timetable in the final weeks of the term. For students in Years 8 – 10, this will mean a change in electives and for Year 7 students, a change in their technology subject.

And before the end of this term, our Year 9 and 10 students and their families will begin the exciting process of course counselling and subject selection for the senior school and VCE pathways. Nik Smith, our Careers & Pathways leader, together with Heads of Faculty, teachers and sub-school teams, will present a range of information sessions for students and parents. The most complex and critical of these is the Subject Expo on Thursday 26th June from 6pm until 8pm. All Year 9 and 10 students and their parents/carers are urged to attend this information evening, which consists of three parts: a presentation about the subject selection process (including subject requirements, especially in English and Maths), meetings with faulty staff to gather information about pathways options, and a tertiary providers showcase, including Monash, Deakin and LaTrobe universities.

Funding and Facilities

It would be an understatement to say that the first five weeks of this term have been unusual. As we are part of the state education system, we were saddened to read of the state government’s decision to withhold $2.4 billion from state schools, a bitter blow after the euphoria of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS – aka Gonski) funding agreement signed with the Federal Government only weeks earlier.

Despite this setback, as a college, we celebrated our best attended Open Night in many years, and then came the recognition of our improvement journey over the past five years in The Age, showcasing our 11% improvement in VCE median study score since 2020 (from 28 to 31).

And then on Tuesday this week, with the unveiling of the state budget, came a visit from Shaun Leane MP, member for north-eastern region, with the confirmation of funding for our Stage 2 STEM building, guaranteeing the remainder of the promised $17.6 million. We hope the process for putting out the tender for construction will soon follow.

Recognising our ES team

Last Friday 16th May, we celebrated Education Support (ES) Personnel Day, a day to recognise the extraordinary contribution education support staff make to public education. Whilst the core business in a school takes place within the classroom, where teachers and students collaborate on a learning journey within the range of specialist subject areas, our educational support personnel provide a diverse range of critical services which enable us to provide a rich and engaging experience for students.

Educational support staff includes: administration and office staff; wellbeing counsellors; inclusion aides; IT specialist technicians; library technicians; German language assistants; food technology and science laboratory support staff; and grounds and maintenance staff. Last week, we celebrated and thanked each of our valued education support staff for their ongoing commitment and effort to our Mullauna Community.

Student Attitude to School Survey (the AtoSS)

Coming up in the week of the King’s Birthday public holiday will be the annual AtoSS process. As every year in all state schools, our students will have the opportunity to respond to a range of areas, providing the college with valuable data to reflect and act on. The SRC will assist in the delivery of the survey, and also in the consideration and response to the new data, including comparing it to data from past years. Included in this edition of Links is an information sheet from the Department of Education.

Facilities update

Improvement works continue this term with many important upgrades and additions to the college. These include:

- New carpet & air conditioners in the PAC

- The addition of bike racks near D wing for staff to ride to school

- New emergency exit doors added to the stadium

- New exit gate added for Tinkabell ELC

- Repairs to the A wing corridor ramp caused by major storm damage

- four new microwaves for student use at recess & lunchtime

Upcoming works include:

- New painting of the stadium foyer

- New hand dryers to staff & student bathrooms replacing hand towel

- five wheelchair ramps to be replaced to ensure compliance

- New locker bays added to plan for growth in overall student numbers

Advice and useful information:  

IT Support 

Students needing IT support with their laptop can access Joel, our technician, every morning between 8.15am and 8.45am, and again at recess, at the General Office. 

Stranger Danger 

We encourage all of our students to be mindful of their surroundings as they make their way to and from school every day. It is always best to travel with friends or other students from the school rather than alone. If they should experience and interaction with a member of the public that concerns or unsettles them, we encourage them to contact police as a matter of urgency. For younger students, it is better that they do this together with a parent.  

Please then also contact the school to inform us and we can assist in follow-up and with wellbeing support. If the student is still physically close to the school, they can make their way straight back to school for assistance. The General Office is staffed until 4.30pm every day.