Principal Team Report
July 2025
Principal Team Report
July 2025
It’s the end of Week 11, another very busy week to end a longer term, and the holidays are here – for those lucky enough to have them! We wish our students, staff and families an enjoyable and relaxing two weeks, and encourage everyone to ensure they take time out for themselves.
Looking ahead, we already have a lot to look forward to in Term 3:
· Presentation of our 2024 Annual Report to the School Community – refer below
· Mid-Year Academic Awards – in Week 4
· Mamma Mia – have you got your tickets yet?!
· Our P&CA Comedy for a Cause fundraiser night on Saturday 13th September – save the date, more details soon.
A reminder that students’ Semester One Reports have been published to Compass, and that Term Three commences on Monday 21st July.
NAIDOC Week
The last week of Term 2 this year coincides with National NAIDOC Week (Sunday 6 to Sunday 13 July 2025), which provides the opportunity to learn more about and to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year, which is the 50th year of NAIDOC Week, the theme is very apt for us who work in education: ‘The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy’.
2024 Annual Report to the School Community
Available on the college website and in hardcopy at Reception is our 2024 Annual Report to the School Community. The report will be formally presented to School Council at its next meeting onsite at 6pm on Tuesday 29th July. This portion of the meeting will be open to any and all interested college community members.
Mullauna's annual report is our evaluation of the school, its teachers, students and the school community during the year. The report details statistical information about the school, such as how our students have performed in the VCE, against national standards for reading, writing and numeracy in the NAPLAN tests and details of the learning outcomes of students, drawing from the school's internal assessment programs. The report also summarises the school's initiatives, targets, achievements and aspirations.
It can be found on the college website: https://mullauna.vic.edu.au/our-college/policies-reports/
P&CA fundraising - new soccer tops
Jordan Perree, our Sport Education leader, noted that our student soccer tops for interschool sport were looking a little shoddy, so the P&CA has responded with a donation to purchase 25 new ones, totalling $950. Our thanks to Yeng Ling and her team!
Staffing for Term 3
We welcome back Rohan Spong, Ana Ruuska and Tanya Alderton from leave, and thank Neil Burke, Sandra Akers and Miriam Walcher respectively for teaching their allotted classes in their absence.
We farewell Holly Kruse from her three-days per week Receptionist and first aid duties in our General Office Admin team and wish her well in her new role as an Occupational Therapist in the Student Support Services team in the Southeast Victoria Region.
We thank Vera Rakic for her two-days per week Receptionist and first aid duties in Term 2 in the General Office Admin team. She continues in her critical role as part of our Learning Support team.
Replacing Holly and Vera, we welcome Ally Brown into the full-time role as Receptionist, First Aider and Accounts Assistant at Mullauna. Ally brings a wealth of experience in school administration to our team.
Heading off on leave are Erin Briedis, from our Wellbeing team, and also Monique Chisholm, who is away for all of Term 3. In Monique’s place, we welcome back Sally Ann Venables.
We also thank and farewell Marissa Lee, one of our Literacy Tutors, as she heads off on leave.
We regret to inform the school community that Mr George Ng has taken the decision to retire from teaching at Mullauna from the end of Term 2. We are in the process of engaging another teacher for Mr Ng’s Senior School Computing classes. We will keep you informed about this process, as it is likely to spill into Term 3.
This will also precipitate a number of allotment changes as we reallocate Mr Ng’s current Junior School teaching load of Mathematics and Digital Techology, requiring changes to the class allocations of Mr Barkla, Mr Bernadas and Mr MacLeod (junior Mathematics, Year 7 Digital Technology, Year 8/9 Robotics and Numeracy TLI tutoring), as well as allocation to an incoming new teacher. Should you have any queries, please contact Harry Ruff or Michael Bray at the college on 9874-3422.
Support Over the Holidays
📢 Wellbeing Reminder – Support Over the Holidays
As we head into the school holidays, remember that taking care of your mental health and wellbeing is just as important as resting and having fun. Sometimes things can feel overwhelming, and you might need someone to talk to — and that’s completely okay. If you’re struggling, feeling down, or just need someone to listen, you are not alone. There are organisations available 24/7 to support you:
💬 Who Can I Talk To?
Kids Helpline – 1800 55 1800
Free, private, and confidential counselling for people aged 5–25.
👉 www.kidshelpline.com.au
Lifeline – 13 11 14
24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention services.
👉 www.lifeline.org.au
eHeadspace
Online and phone support for young people and their families.
👉 www.headspace.org.au
Beyond Blue – 1300 22 4636
Support for anxiety, depression, and mental health issues.
👉 www.beyondblue.org.au
Emergency Services – 000
If you or someone else is in immediate danger.
Please also see the list attached to the Compass Newsfeed for further organisation
💚 Looking After Yourself
Take time to do things you enjoy
Talk to a trusted adult or friend
Get outside and stay active
Sleep, eat well, and give yourself time to rest
Your wellbeing matters. Be kind to yourself, check in on your friends, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you need support. Wishing you a safe and restful holiday 🌿
— The Wellbeing Team
Push Up Challenge Thank you
Well done and thank you to the 51 members of our college community who participated in the Push Up Challenge this month. Between them these heroes did 86,251 push ups in 22 days and our college raised $3075 for the Push Up
Foundation, Headspace and Lifeline. Special congratulations to the following people who managed to do all of their 3214 push ups: Floyd D, Daniel C, Seb Y, Mr Verrell, Annelise F, Noah H, Mr Rae, Bodhi V, Mr Perree, Scarlett S, Chelsea P, Mr Cotton, Nathan C, Mr Ruff and Axl C.
Stage 2 Capital Works update
We have had initial contact from the VSBA (Victorian School Building Authority) regarding preparatory steps for the new STEM Centre. We expect the design team to be back in touch with us early next term, with the project due to go out to tender in August.
Ramp building works - Term 3
A quick update to inform all that Education dept ramp improvement works will commence onsite in term 3. This work will involve the improvement of 4 ramps within the school. These ramps include the front office entry, entrance to staff centre (east), ramp entrance to classroom A3 and entrance to the VCE Centre. The works may involve complete demolition & reinstatement or the addition of improved handrails, balustrades & tactile sheets.
The trades will set up a work compound on the planned stage 2 open space near the stadium.
We look forward to these planned improvements to the college
Update on suspension and expulsion powers
Our school is committed to providing a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for all students and staff. You may be aware of recent changes announced to suspension and expulsion powers that will be available to Victorian principals from day one of Term 3, (Monday 21 July 2025).
We know that students’ behaviour outside of school, particularly online, can sometimes impact the safety of students and staff at school. In exceptional circumstances, principals of Victorian government schools will be able suspend or expel students for behaviour that occurs outside of school grounds and/or hours including online, if it poses a significant danger to the safety and wellbeing of students or staff. These powers apply only to serious incidents where there is a clear and close connection to the school and the behaviour of a student outside of school unreasonably impacts the safety and wellbeing of students or staff at school, and their ability to learn or work.
Please note:
· They do not apply to behaviours unrelated to the school or school community.
· They only apply to behaviour which occurs from Monday 21 July 2025 onwards.
Suspension and expulsion will remain measures of last resort – our primary approach continues to focus on proactive and positive behaviour support, including working with you to teach students the behaviours we expect of them, in school and in life. Thank you for your continued support as we work in partnership to educate and support our young people.
Semester One Reports and holiday learning requirements
While the holidays provide the opportunity to rest and refresh, for our senior students, they provide the time to undertake critical revision and preparation, like organising notes (especially Unit 3-4 VCE students) and work on portfolios. For all students, this is a chance to reflect on their achievements from Semester One, and to consider what needs to change for improvement.
We urge all families to read students' reports carefully (together with the students), acknowledge and celebrate highlights, and discuss how to focus on addressing gaps and identify areas for growth.
So, if parents have been monitoring their child’s progress on their Learning Tasks, there will be no surprises when viewing their end-of-semester report. The semester report collates the learning tasks outcomes for each subject so they can be viewed on the one page.
For Years 7 – 10, the Victorian Curriculum Standard for Mathematics has changed to a single overarching judgement based on an aggregated score for the various mathematical strands studied throughout each semester. These strands are Number, Algebra, Measurement, Space, Statistics, and Probability, however, not all strands are covered in every semester. To assist students and parents/caregivers to understand how this single judgement was determined, an additional scale has been included which indicates where the student sits within each strand that was covered in the semester. This scale identifies whether the student was at, above or below the standard for the strand. We hope this information is helpful.
Another change for this semester has been the introduction of EAL pathways descriptors used in English for students eligible for English as an Additional Language (EAL) assessment and support. These descriptors replace the Victorian Curriculum standards for those students. The descriptors better reflect the level of competency in speaking and listening, reading and writing. If you require any further information on interpreting the mathematics and EAL changes, please contact the classroom teacher for clarification.
To view feedback on Learning Tasks, please access the task through Compass. During your well-deserved break, make sure to rest up. In addition, Junior School students should get a head start on Semester Two work by reading your English novel. Senior students should make sure they are clear about any holiday homework requirements. Remember to revise, organise notes and take advantage of those Edrolo accounts if you have access to prepare for upcoming outcomes and units of work. All students should take the time to consolidate the skills and knowledge gained in Semester One, and hopefully return from the break feeling energised and ready to tackle Term Three.
Year 10 Work Experience completed
We hope all of our Year 10 participants appreciated this opportunity. We encourage all eligible Senior School students to undertake this type of experience in their breaks, over summer etc. and not just in Year 10! It need not be a one-off event. Thanks to Nik Smith for coordinating the program and to all the staff who conducted visits over the week.
Uniform donations
Our P&CA team is reminding us all that donations of good quality second hand uniforms are always welcomed for their support program to our Wellbeing team. If your children have outgrown their uniform, please have them drop them off at Reception.
We are also always happy to receive donations of other items like functioning calculators, textbooks etc., and even some stationery (and tissues!).
Semester One staff priorities
Throughout the semester, our staff have engaged in Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s) focusing on differentiation in our classrooms, ensuring we are providing our students with stimulating and appropriately targeted learning opportunities, by targeting instruction and assessment for the broad range of learners in our school. As we begin Semester 2, our PLC focus will shift to Explicit Instruction.
Course Counselling for 2026
A reminder to all families as we move into our 2026 Pathways and Course Counselling program of this next vital work undertaken by Nik Smith and the subschool teams. This program will commence early in Term 3 and will involve: numerous resources on Compass newsfeeds; year level assemblies; and some individual course counselling for certain year levels. Year 9s have already undertaken preparatory work through their SkillZ classes. Choosing a course and subjects for 2026 is an important part of high school and enables students to develop an academic program that best suits their needs, interests and abilities. Parents and students are strongly encouraged to engage fully in this process, to ensure the best outcomes for all students, and can start by accessing the 2026 Junior and Senior School Curriculum Handbooks via Compass.
New subjects to be offered in 2026 include:
· Year 8/9 elective: Get rich quick! (Humanities/Commerce)
· Year 8/9 elective: Mathematical minds (Mathematics enrichment)
· Year 12 (Units 3 & 4) Literature
· Year 12 (Units 3 & 4) Specialist Maths
Lateness to School – a reminder for Semester 2
As Period 1 classes start at 8:50 a.m. every day, we recommend that students arrive by 8:30am. This will allow them to be at their Period 1 class, with all required materials, by 8:45 a.m. so that they can start their lessons promptly.
It is essential that parents ensure that students arrive at school on time to prevent disruption to their child’s own learning and that of others. Children who arrive late are greatly disadvantaged because:
1. They miss starting the day with their peers.
2. They are unable to prepare effectively for classes.
3. They miss the beginning of lessons, meaning that they are often unsettled and confused about the learning intentions and class tasks. As the class is already working, their teacher will not always be able to re-explain work.
It is also very important that high school students establish good routines and habits in preparation for the rest of their lives. Punctuality is a life skill that they need to develop whilst they are young. We understand that there may be rare occasions when students are unavoidably late due to unforeseen circumstances. On these occasions, please make sure that you provide a written note for your child, or entry on the Compass portal, prior to arriving at school, to inform us of the reason for the lateness.
Uniform Reminder
We love to see our students wearing the correct uniform with pride, including when they are out in the community. As we continue through the winter months, students and families are reminded that our College uniform is compulsory and must be worn to school each day. Recently we have been having some cold winter days and we recommend students layer up their uniform to stay warm. Students are welcome to wear additional white undergarments beneath their polo shirt or school jumper as long as they are not visible.
Uniform passes are available for students who require a short-term exemption for their uniform. If a student is unable to wear an item of uniform at any time, please send your child with a note of explanation to the Year Level Coordinator before school, where they will receive a uniform pass for the day. Students will need to keep their uniform pass on them at all times and show it when requested. If there are financial barriers that are preventing families from purchasing uniform items, we would encourage you to reach out to our Wellbeing Team. We would like to thank families for their support in ensuring that students wear the correct uniform each day.
Mamma Mia - tickets on sale
Tickets are now on sale for this year’s School Production of Mamma Mia, coming to the Mullauna PAC in August. See the Try Booking link below to book your tickets. With only 3 shows, tickets will sell out fast! https://www.trybooking.com/CZKQE
All the best for the winter break – stay well and safe!
Warm regards,
Harry Ruff, Jeff McMillin and Michael Bray
The MSC Principal Team
Term 3 - 21 July to 19 September
· Monday 21st July – Term 3 commences
· Wednesday 23rd July – Regional German Poetry Competition at MSC / P&CA meeting
· Week 2 – Years 9, 10 and 11 Course Interviews and Year Level subject assemblies
· Tuesday 29th July – School Council (onsite)
· Week 3 – School Production Week
· Wednesday 13th August – interschool debating
· Thursday 14th August – mid-year awards assembly
· Tuesday 9th September - Year 7 and 10 vaccinations
· Tuesday 9th September – Year 9 SkillZ presentation evening
· Saturday 13th September – P&CA Comedy for a Cause night
· Friday 19th September – last day of Term 3 – usual 3pm finish
Term 4 - 06 October to 19 December
· Wednesday 8th October – German sister school exchange group arrives
· Sunday 2nd November - P&CA Bunnings Nunawading BBQ fundraiser