Update from Director of Wellbeing

Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

To say 2021 has been a year like no other would be a massive understatement!!

Who would have known that many words and statements never heard before at Mordialloc College were going to become so familiar to us, as we experienced the year of Covid-19? Social distancing, remote learning, mask wearing, lockdown … to name a few of these new terms.  The big one, “We are all in this together”, became the catch cry across the school and the state. The Wellbeing team facilitated the production of a wonderful mosaic art piece that was created by the school to celebrate the day we were all able to come back onsite as a school community post lockdown 1.0.

While it has been a year like no other and we, as a community, have faced an enormous range of challenges, it has been a year where we have also celebrated the resilience, hard work and determination of so many.

It has been a privilege for us, as a Wellbeing team, to have had the special opportunity to support students, families and staff during this challenging year. Many of our interactions supporting others have, of course, been via Google Meets, phone calls and emails rather than the usual opportunities for face to face contact and catch ups. The weekly Breakfast and Respect Groups went online and we launched the first edition of the Wellbeing Weekly newsletter articles.

We welcomed Linda Walsh, our new School Chaplain, to the team at the start of the year. Linda has been a wonderful addition, supporting staff, students and families. During remote learning, we welcomed to the Wellbeing team our new Mental Health Practitioner, Social Worker Jo Emery. Jo came on board to replace Annette Matov, who is on maternity leave. I am extremely thankful for the support Jo was able to provide, primarily to Year 7 and Year 8 families, during remote learning. Her expertise and experience was greatly valued by the team and those staff and families she worked with. We say farewell and thank you, Jo, for your short but significant time with us.

Exams are now in full swing, and we wish the Year 12s all the best at this time and in planning for the adventures ahead.

As we look forward to reduced restrictions and settling back into a ‘new normal’ at Mordialloc College, may you also remember to bring with you all the amazing skills and strengths that you discovered and put into practice this year.

Di Douglas

Director Student Wellbeing