Secondary News
Dear Parents and Guardians,
On behalf of the Middle and Senior staff of Lakeside College, we warmly welcome you to Term 1 of the 2025 academic school year. Term 1 is well and truly underway and we have a busy term ahead of us with many exciting events planned over the coming weeks in our school community.
Kicking off the events calendar for 2025, was our Year 11 and 12 Retreats. The Year 11’s headed off for three fun-filled days on the Mornington Peninsula whilst our Year 12’s ventured off to Philip Island. You can read all about their experiences further in this newsletter article.
Our Year 7, 8 and 9 students had an incursion with Elevate. In these sessions, students were engaged in activities that helped with their study skills, including time management, memory and organisation.
All families would have received correspondence from Mr Tassoni this week regarding our efforts to improve our student efforts regarding uniform choices. Unfortunately, many secondary students are coming to school not appropriately wearing our College uniform. We ask that you all take the time to read the College uniform policy that was attached to that email and oversee your child’s uniform choices at home. From Monday next week, week 4, students will be expected to improve their wearing of the College uniform or we will ask them to return home to correct this.
We will finish our third week of term this Friday, joining our inner school community with the wider public community at our Wellbeing Fair. We warmly welcome all of you to attend and peruse the many vendors that will be in attendance and the facilities and programs they offer our Community to care for all aspects of our Health and Wellbeing.
A friendly reminder that next Wednesday is a student-free day as we host our Pastoral Care Interviews. This is a fantastic opportunity for dedicated Homeroom teachers to spend some time speaking with you all about your child as we work together to support all aspects of your child’s growth and development. Whilst we aim to achieve the very best academically from your child, the purpose of the pastoral care interviews is to spend quality time discussing the relevant supports and resources that need to be put in place to best support the wellbeing of your child so they can perform their best in the classroom.
Listed below are the remainder of the events planned for Term 1:
Friday 21st Feb- Year 7 Excursion to Botanical Gardens
Wednesday 26th Feb- Pastoral Care Interviews for HR teachers
Thursday 27th Feb- Intermediate Volleyball (9-10)
Saturday 1st March- Open Day 9am- 1pm
Tuesday 4th March- Secondary Division Swimming (student invite only)
Wednesday 5th March - Ash Wednesday service (whole College chapel service)
Thursday 6th March- Years 9-11 Wellbeing Day
Friday 7th March- Secondary House Athletics
Monday 10th March - Labour Day Holiday
Tuesday 11th March - Year 7 & 10 Immunistations
Wednesday 12th to Monday 24th March - NAPLAN
Thursday 13th March - Year 8 Volleyball
Wednesday 19th March - Year 7 Volleyball
Friday 21st March - Harmony Day
Friday 4th April - Secondary Cross Country
Friday 4th April - End of Term 1
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Joanne Rothwell Mrs Amanda Trewin
Head of Middle School Head of Senior School
Year 12 Retreat
What a fantastic start to the 2025 school year- our Year 12 retreat experience!
On Wednesday 4th Feb our Year 12 students ventured off to Philip Island for three days of fun activities, team work, staff-student bonding and tourist destinations with valuable time spent forging and strengthening bonds within our cohort before they begin their final school year!
Our aim for this retreat was to prepare our students not for a busy and extremely important year of learning in their academic studies, but also the invaluable skills of teamwork, communication and leadership. One of the most effective ways to foster these skills outside of the classroom is through experiential learning opportunities. And that is exactly what this retreat offered!
Over the course of the three days, Year 12 Homeroom teachers, Mrs Amanda Trewin and Ms Rochelle Rabba and VCE Coordinator Mr Duane Vaughan and our students swam and Cape Woolamai, had surfing lessons at Smiths Beach, beach swims, mini golf, koala sighting and attended the famous Penguin parade. Joined by Chaplain Fiona and Mr Tassoni, teachers encouraged the students to think about the year ahead over the course of the three days, set achievable goals for their final year of school and discuss how we would support and encourage each other to achieve these goals. Of course, we couldn’t visit the island and not visit the Chocolate factory and that was a perfect end to our adventures. It was a wonderful experience and both staff and students found it a wonderful program.
Year 11 Leadership Camp: Teamwork, Challenges & Fun!
Our Year 11 students recently embarked on an exciting leadership adventure with Unleashing Personal Potential at Peninsula Outdoors in Merricks on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula. The camp was filled with energy, teamwork and plenty of fun as students tackled a range of activities designed to build resilience, communication and leadership skills.
UPP energised the new VCE students for their learning journey ahead, encouraging the group to grow together and understand the importance of leadership in a practical way.
From crate stacking and raft building to climbing, archery and radio rogaine, there was no shortage of challenges.
One of the biggest highlights? Watching the groups rise—literally—as they supported one another through each task! And, of course, no camp experience is complete without delicious food, with the morning tea’s cookie slice being a definite favorite.
A huge thank you to Mrs Regi David and Mr Ben Hillard for their company and support, alongside Ms Michelle Roberts, in leading this fantastic experience. The camp was a memorable one, filled with laughter, learning, and a few wobbly moments stacking crates on a wire!
We can’t wait to see how our Year 11 leaders take these skills into the year ahead!
2025-SECONDARY SCHOOL VACCINE PROGRAM
Secondary school students are at an age when a vaccine will be most effective andprovides protection before possible exposure to a disease. The assistance and cooperation of secondary schools is vital to achieving the bestpossible outcomes of the program and to ensure that each session operates assmoothly as possible. This information letter has been created to help each secondaryschool provide the best assistance they can to ensure the best results possible areachieved and each session is as pleasant as possible.
Currently Lakeside College is scheduled for immunisations on the following dates:
Tuesday 11th March 2025
Year 7 - HPV & Boostrix
&
Year 10 - Men ACWY
*The dosing schedule for the HPV vaccine has changed from 2 doses to a single dose for most people from February 2023
The Immunisation team will be arriving at your school between 9:00am – 9:15am on the morning of your sessions.
