Middle School Learning Specialist Update

Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

Winter is coming, and what an amazing few weeks we’ve had in Mordialloc! Whilst the frost sets in, and our lawns continue their journey to winter dormancy, our amazing students across all year levels are anything but. Students are at work demonstrating learning growth in their classes and preparing for or completing final benchmark activities, whilst teachers are striving to support students to achieve their personal best across all subject areas. The opportunity to demonstrate new knowledge and skill is exciting, and we love seeing students grasp that opportunity with both hands and suffice to say there is significant student achievement occurring across the school.

MEX City Experience

On the 22nd and 23rd of May, Year 9 students studying MEX in semester one will have their MEX journey culminate in the illustrious MEX City Experience excursion. Students will head to into the city where they’ll work in small groups to navigate their way around the great city of Melbourne. Students will have the opportunity to tour the MCG and the Australian Sports Museum, ye Olde Melbourne Gaol, and experience the vibrant Queen Victoria Market. Students also have the opportunity to participate in a structured exploration of some of Melbourne’s most notable landmarks. Thank you to our Semester 1 MEX teachers - Karmen Cataldo, Amanda Keen, Vicky Vrettos and Daniel Tseng, who have worked assiduously to ensure students have a positive experience. Thank you so much!

Interschool Sport in the Middle School

The past two weeks have seen a large contingent of middle school students represent the college in a variety of sports as part of SSV gala day round robin events. All students had a great time, demonstrated college values and there were some exceptional team performances. The Intermediate Girls soccer team finished second going down 2 -1 against McKinnon, and the Intermediate Girls AFLW and both Intermediate Girls Netball teams won the District thus earning the right to represent Kingston Division and Mordialloc College at Southern Zone later this year. Congratulations to this amazing cohort of young athletes, who balance their sporting excellence and academic endeavour with aplomb.

Work Experience and Course Selection

Our Year 10 students have recently returned from work experience during week three. Students engaged in a wide variety of vocational opportunities and were visited by significant Year 10 teachers during the week. The feedback from teachers around student engagement and behaviour whilst on work experience was glowing. Many teachers have noted that seeing students in the workplace has been and will remain one of the highlights of their year. 

Work experience serves multiple purposes for students in Year 10. One of the significant purposes of work experience is to guide students with their pathway selection for Years 11 and 12. Course selection is upon us, and students in Years 9 and 10 have been working diligently in their Mentor and MFMP classes to gain a strong understanding of their pathway options, prerequisites and the course selection process. Of course, families are also a significant part of students' pathway journey. If parents and families would like more information, head to the school website, then hit the “Learning Tab”. There, you’ll find a drop down list with a link titled “Handbooks and Booklets”. This will take you to the Senior School and Year 10 Handbooks which detail all the course selection information you need. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the college.

Mathew Smith

Middle School Learning Specialist