Acting Principal's Update

Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

A warm welcome to the 2024 school year and a special welcome to our Year 7 students and any other new students who are joining us this year for the first time; we are so happy to have you here with us at Mordialloc College. I hope that your holidays were fantastic, that you got to spend time with some of your favourite people, and that you are now looking forward to a positive 2024.

As previously shared in our end of 2023 newsletter, Ms Michelle Roberts is on Long Service Leave for Term 1 and whilst she is away, I will be your Acting Principal. We have had a really settled start to the year and as I have walked around classrooms, I have seen your children engage with their learning, be respectful to their peers and teachers, and make the most of the opportunities that we have on offer; it is an absolute privilege to lead Mordialloc College. 

As shared with students in our first whole-school assembly, it is always inspiring to look out and see so much potential. Our Teaching and Learning focus this year is to continue to meet students at their point of need so that they can achieve their potential at our school. In return, we ask students to put our Mordialloc College values into action and to:

• Be responsible: you will make mistakes but let us help you to learn from them and to be successful.
• Be respectful: it takes courage to accept others and to treat everyone as you would prefer to be treated
• Have integrity: do the right thing, even when it is a challenge and others may try to influence you otherwise
• Discover what you need to do to achieve your personal best and be brave enough to let us help you to do it. 

I hope you have had the opportunity to read the letter I emailed via Compass to all parents on Monday 29th January regarding our expectations for the year for creating a positive environment focused on learning and a supportive school community underpinned by respectful relationships, where all students can experience success. 

Excellent Year 12 Results and DUX 2023

I am pleased to share that Mordialloc College students in 2023 achieved an excellent success rate in completing their VCE studies. 

We can all be very proud of our school. Some of the highlights of our Year 12 achievements include:

• 7.5% of our Year 12 students achieved ATARs over 90, 23.6% over 80, and 42.5% over 70.
• A median study score of 30 for the second year in a row
• All students applying for a university course were successful.
• The majority of our Vocational Major students were successfully offered apprenticeships, traineeships and full-time work.

This is a fantastic outcome and a reflection of so much hard work that was put in by staff and students, not only during Year 12 but over the course of the six-year journey for these students.

A special congratulations to our top VCE students:

• Our College DUX, Lucus Van Leeuwen achieved an ATAR of 97.4
• Anna Kuppe, Zali Logan, Gabrielle Colquhoun and Reema Ababneh all achieved ATARs above 93.

And also a huge congratulations to Jessica House (pictured left) who was the first VM student to ever become a finalist at the VCE Leadership Awards.

We now have some of our 2023 Mordialloc College students at university studying design, nursing, music, commerce, some have even gone on to study education to become teachers, a real testament to the amazing learning relationships that mean so much here at Mordialloc College.

All 2023 Year 12 students should feel proud of their efforts and be happy they have given their personal best; we wish you all the very best.

Welcome to Year 7

The first day for our Year 7 students involved rotations between ICT set up, developing their class codes of cooperation aligned to our four core values, relational activities to get to know their new classmates and home group teacher, locker allocation and getting organised e.g. how to set up all their exercise books for their various subjects, starting to look at their first project for the year, Me in the LC, and of course the BBQ.

I managed to get into every Year 7 class to say hello and ‘Welcome to Mordialloc College’ and all Year 7 students were having a great time; I even got a few cheers too which really did make my day!

A big thanks to Jo Hannan and the Year 7 team for such a fun start to the year for our new Year 7 students.

A Big Year for Year 12

Our Year 12 students spent their first day rotating through fun team building activities run by Lord Summers Camp. It was an incredibly positive start and a great reminder for students to approach this year as a team. Students then later spent time reflecting and setting goals, developing habits required to achieve the aspirations that they have set for themselves this year.

Students also had their locker allocated and an introduction by Ms Holloway (Year 12 Coordinator) around our expectations of our senior students and the use of the Senior School Centre. 

Year 12 is an important year for students and their families, and some deep discussions have led to some helpful tips for success that I would like to share with you so that you feel better placed to support your child this year: 

• regular completion of practice exam questions and getting feedback from teachers, 
• taking on feedback and re-writing answers or paragraphs for improvement, 
• prioritise work that is challenging, not work that is easy, 
• take regular breaks, 
• utilise your study periods and before and after school time in the senior study centre, 
• do not let one disappointing SAC mark get you down, 
• set goals for your pathway beyond school, 
• take the time to build a strong relationship with your teachers and make the most of the support offered by teachers in and out of class time, 
• little and often (do not need to write an essay every time for feedback) instead regular submission of paragraphs for English to get feedback, 
• take time out to enjoy the activities you like to do, 
• you can lead a balanced life of schoolwork/study, work and sport or social activities. 

The number one piece of advice? Nothing beats effort in Year 12. 

Students need to be prepared to work to their Personal Best consistently over these final three terms in order to achieve their goals. Utilise the support of our fantastic Year 12 teachers and Senior Team, support each other through the highs and lows, stay optimistic, make the most of all opportunities presented and, of course, enjoy their final year at Mordialloc College. 

A big thanks to Susan Cochrane and the Senior Team for an inspirational start to Year 12.

Building Program Update 

We are working closely with Minx Architecture to continue to develop the plans for our new ArtsTech Resource Centre build; more information to follow throughout 2024.

Student Pick Up and Drop Off

There are not enough carparks for parents to enter the school grounds by car. This includes the car park out the front of the main building and the very small carpark near the current Year 7 centre (near the railway line). Please arrange to collect your child offsite. The safest way to pick up your child is using the carpark off Governor Road, with students exiting the school near the Discovery Centre and crossing the creek via the bridge just outside our school that runs into this carpark. 

Staffing

We have several new staff starting with us for 2024: 

• Julia Hockey - Director of Student Engagement
• Sebastian Trividic - Graduate Teacher of Maths and Physics
• Garima Dipti - Graduate Teacher of Mathematics
• Andrew Read - Accounting & Business Management 
• Sarah Letho - Director Student Services
• Kodilee Strahan - VM Coordinator & Numeracy Teacher
• Bournik Kabengele - Teacher of French 
• Aimie Cribbin - Teacher of Science
• Charmaine Ji - Multicultural Aide
• Doanvy Roberts – Careers Practitioner
• Sue Gales – Integration Aide
• Emma Ando – Integration Aide
• Danira Dudovic - Careers, 
• Paul Wang - Graduate Accounting & Business Management,  
• Konrad Kondratowicz - Product Design & Technology, 
• Chris Beasley - Graduate Teacher of Year 7/8 Comms, 
• Tae Kim - Graduate Teacher of Maths

Introducing the College Leadership Team for 2024

Please don’t hesitate to contact us here at the College if you need to speak to someone.

Principal – Michelle Roberts (on leave for Term 1)

Acting Principal – Rachael Stone 

Assistant Principal - Tracey Bastin (oversees Senior School)

Assistant Principal – Simon Cummins (oversees Middle School)

Acting Assistant Principal – Aaron Davis (oversees Teaching and Learning)

Director of Senior School Years 10-12 – Susan Cochrane 

Director of Middle School (includes 6-7 transition) Years 7 - 9 – Brendan McFarland

Director of STEM / eLearning and Data Analytics – Simon Belluzzo

Director of Numeracy Improvement Years 7-12 (includes Maths LA leader) – Maria Antoniou 

Director of Literacy Improvement Years 7-12 (includes English LA leader) – Jamie Towsey

Learning Specialist – Instructional Coach – Teaching and Learning Year 7 & 8, Co-teaching and coach to new staff and PLCs – Bryony Lowe

Director of Student Engagement – Julia Hockey

Director of Student Services – Sarah Letho

Introducing the Year Level Coordinators

Senior School – Angela Holloway - Year 12; Bella Barker and Kellie Goebel - Year 11; Georgia Davey and Nicki Boyd - Year 10 

Middle School – Mick Haber and Claire Bruce - Year 9; Daniel Mayadas and Blake Murray - Year 8, Jo Hannan and Andrew Potter - Year 7

Vocational Major (VM) Coordinator – Kodilee Strahan

International Students – Brigitte Podessor

Introducing the Learning Area Leaders

Mathematics – Maria Antoniou 

English – Jamie Towsey

Humanities – Kate Duggan

Science – Emma Walker and Liz Commons

Health/Physical Education – Mat Smith

The Arts/Technology – Kathryn Bevan

LOTE – Megan Champ

EAL – Brigitte Podessor

Vocational Major – Kodilee Strahan

Uniform and Jewellery

Our Uniform Policy was created over a period of six months with members of the School Council, school community, Mordialloc College Student Council and staff all contributing ideas and time to create a policy that reflects the needs of our school community.

Wearing the correct school uniform embraces our values, promotes equity amongst our students, and reflects a real pride in the processes that we follow to uphold what is important to our Mordialloc College community. We therefore have high expectations about wearing the correct school uniform. I would like to congratulate the majority of students who have started off the year in a positive way by wearing the correct College uniform and I thank all families for your support with this. A reminder that all students should be wearing polishable black leather lace up school shoes with a heel, not suede or sneakers. Socks should be plain white or grey with NO logos.

For PE and Sport, a reminder that students are required to be SunSmart and wear a broad brimmed or bucket hat when participating in outdoor activities.

All students should also be using the official Mordialloc College green school bag available from Dobsons. 

A reminder of the rules outlined in the College uniform policy regarding jewellery. There are OHS issues associated with wearing jewellery in many of our learning spaces. As such, jewellery is not to be worn apart from a wristwatch, a plain stud or sleeper for students with pierced ears, and one plain stud for a nose piercing. 

College Council Elections

College Council elections are approaching.  Further information will be in the newsletter next week and nominations forms available from Reception.  Please give some thought to contributing to the College by participating in College Council – there are generally two evening meetings per term, and it can be very rewarding.  College Council decides, to a large extent, the policies and direction the College takes and is therefore a most important part of the College community.

Communication

Compass is our preferred method of communication. More information will follow about how to make the most of your Compass App to communicate with us, and to receive information from us as regards your child’s learning here at Mordialloc College. Please make sure that your contact details are correct on Compass.

All the very best for an amazing term of supporting every child’s success at Mordialloc College.

Rachael Stone

Acting Principal