Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

I hope that this newsletter finds you well!

I picked my own son up for the last time from school after his final VCE examination last week; it was hard not to get emotional as we both reflected on this moment.

School is not always easy and I know that my son has been helped by those significant adults who engaged with him when it all got a bit ‘too much’.

At Mordialloc College, we already have many teachers and Educational Support staff who recognise that a successful professional relationship with your child is the bedrock for great learning. As we move into 2025 and the first year of our School Strategic Plan (to be released soon!) I am really excited about some of the discussions that are happening so that we can work towards building on what is already some great practice, and continue to deliver on our promise of being a better choice in education.

Mordialloc College Student Council

I am pleased to start off this newsletter by sharing the Mordialloc College Student Council (MCSC) Leadership Team for 2025.

Congratulations to all students in Years 7-11 who went through the selection process to become a leader within our MCSC 2025 Leadership Team. The new MCSC Leadership team will be launched in Headstart in our whole school assembly on Monday 25th November.

School captains: Eden Handfield and Catherine Cole

Vice school captains: Madison Sinn and Auburn Hewet

Middle school captain: Benny Roberts

Middle school vice school captain: George Horejsi and Charlotte Ellem

MCSC Leadership 2025

Thanks to Julia Hockey who as a part of her leadership role oversees the MCSC, and will be further supporting students to engage with the MCSC, and continue to join in with some of those committee spaces as we move into 2025, for example, our new Year 7 students for 2025 will have the opportunity to select sub-committees of interest and fully throw themselves into their new school!

Our captain’s first event was representing Mordialloc College at Longbeach RSL’s Remembrance Day service.

2025 Changes: Responding to Student Voice

We hope to receive our new School Strategic Plan before we break up for summer.

What I will share is some pertinent feedback from our Year 9 and Year 10 students who via the School Review process told us that the logistics of the current Middle School (Years 7-9) and Senior School (10-12) model meant that they sometimes felt less connected than they would like.

We reflected on the fact that the two sub-school model was introduced when the school had less than 700 students, as we are now sitting at over 1200 students, it is no wonder our Year 9 and Year 10 cohort sometimes wish we were a bit easier to spend time with, and that it was easier to feel more connected to their peers.

In response to our students’ feedback, we have decided to create a new sub-school, with the benefits being:

Only two year groups in each sub-school: Junior (7 and 8), Middle (9 and 10) and Senior (11 and 12).
Each sub-school has a larger team of leaders: Each sub-school has a designated sub-school director, a learning specialist and an Assistant Principal to support the Year Level Coordinators.
Each sub-school director works with a smaller cohort: Smaller cohorts mean that directors are now able to offer more support to students, families and staff
Each sub-school has a designated sub-school space: students will feel more connected to their staff, more connected to their peers, and have a designated space for study within their sub-school.
Each sub school has a clear focus: Junior (Transition into Mordialloc College), Middle School (Transition through Mordialloc College) and Senior School (Transition out of Mordialloc College)

Of course, building a new sub-school requires a dedicated team to create a culture of belonging, and I am proud to announce that the Sub-School teams for 2025 are:

In this week’s assembly, the new ‘Middle School’ cohort were given some things to look forward to for 2025; I hope that they will engage you in a conversation about this positive move forward for them as we move into 2025.

The School Strategic Plan is the beginning of a four-year journey and we can’t wait to engage our students in conversations about how we better evolve that new Middle School sib-school, and the Middle School curriculum over the four years of the School Strategic Plan. This feels like such a positive way to start off 2025: actively listening to our students and acting on their feedback is at the core of what we do.

Insight Creative Writing Comp: Shortlisted Finalist

The Insight Creative Writing Competition is open to high school students around Australia and aims to ignite a passion for creative writing and inspire the voices of the future; all entrants have the chance to share in over $3000 worth of cash prizes!

In the past, shortlisted entries have been judged by acclaimed Australian authors including Alice Pung, Arnold Zable, Cath Moore, Michael Pryor, Will Kostakis and Jack Henseleit.

This year Chloe Pearse in Year 9 has been shortlisted as one of the top five entries in Australia!. In December, Chloe will be attending an event that celebrates her achievement, and also announces the winner. Well done Chloe, we are super proud of you, and wish you all the best at the awards ceremony!

I hope that you all have a wonderful fortnight.

Rachael Stone

Acting Principal

Careers Update