From the Principal Team 

Parent Teacher Interviews – Thursday 20th August

Parent Teacher Interviews will be held next Thursday 20th August, from 11:00am to 6:00pm. This is an important opportunity for parents and carers to discuss their child’s progress, celebrate successes and identify areas for improvement.

Bookings are available through Compass. We strongly encourage families to bring their child to the interview. Having students involved in the conversation allows them to hear feedback first-hand, reflect on their own progress and take greater ownership of the goals and actions agreed upon with their teachers. The most valuable conversations are often those where the student, family and teacher can work together on the next steps for learning.

Progress Checks Available Wednesday

Our latest Progress Checks will be available to families on Wednesday through Compass. These provide a timely snapshot of student progress and are a useful starting point for conversations at Parent Teacher Interviews the following day.

We encourage families to review the Progress Checks with their child and discuss what is going well and where greater effort or support may be needed.

Parent/Carer Opinion Survey – We Want to Hear From You

The Parent/Carer Opinion Survey opens on Monday. The survey link will be available through the STAR menu in Compass, and we will also email the link directly to families.

Your opinion matters. The feedback provided through this survey helps us understand what we are doing well and where we can continue to improve as a College. Please don't put it off. Our goal this year is to hear from more than 300 families, and every response helps us build a clearer picture of our community's experience.

Strong NAPLAN Growth

NAPLAN growth from Year 7 to Year 9 continues to be strong. Building on our strong growth in 2025, we have again outperformed or equalled the state in four out of five areas.

Growth is measured by looking at the proportion of students who achieved high or medium growth between Year 7 and Year 9. In Writing, for example, 75% of our Year 9 students achieved high or medium growth, compared with 73% across the state.

These results reflect the continued work of our students and teachers and our focus on improving literacy and numeracy outcomes across the College.

A Wonderful College Production

With this year's College Production now complete, we would like to congratulate our amazing student performers who brought so much energy, commitment and talent to the stage.

A production of this scale also requires an enormous amount of work behind the scenes, and we thank the many staff who gave their time and expertise to support our students. In particular, we acknowledge Sarah Jeffs (Director), Emily Parker (Vocal Coach), and Alex Healey (Backstage and Sets), whose contribution helped make the production such a success.

Congratulations to everyone involved on a fantastic celebration of our students and our College community.

Kind regards,

The MSC Principal Team

Adam Slater

Principal

Nick Evans

Senior School Assistant Principal

Mike Parker

Assistant Principal - Curriculum and Student Wellbeing

Important Dates

Dates correct at time of posting and subject to change.

Students of the Week

Tyler Wilks - Year 7

Favourite food: Homemade pizza

Hobbies out of school: Sport, mainly soccer

What sports team do you follow? England in the soccer and the Essendon Bombers

Favourite movie/TV show: Inside Out 2. I can’t wait to see the second half!

Do you have any pets?  2 dogs, 4 cats and 2 guinea pigs

What are you excited for at Mornington Secondary College? Animal Encounters incursion

What do you enjoy most about being at Mornington Secondary College? Badminton at lunch time and in PE

What career do you wish to follow when you finish school? A Police Officer or a Marine Biologist

Your greatest strength: My imagination

What three words best describe you? Fun, exciting, happy

Kayla Barnes - Year 7

Favourite food: Sweet Chilli Red Rock Chips & Tim Tams 

Hobbies out of school: Footy and netball

What sports team do you follow? Western Bulldogs 

Favourite movie/TV show: My Life with the Walter Boys 

Do you have any pets?  2 dogs named Luna and Brax

What are you excited for at Mornington Secondary College? Friends

What do you enjoy most about being at Mornington Secondary College? The big events; Year 7 Disco and 117 Days of High School

What career do you wish to follow when you finish school? Something like my own business or an Occupational Therapist, but I'm not 100% sure yet.

Your greatest strength: Sport, English and Science

What three words best describe you? Friendly, happy, funny

Students with 100% School Attendance Term 3

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Year 12

NAPLAN 2026 – Celebrating Student Growth

The 2026 NAPLAN results are in, and we are incredibly proud of what our Year 7 and Year 9 students have achieved!

Mornington Secondary College has outperformed the State in Year 9 Numeracy and Writing relative growth, which is a fantastic achievement for both our students and teachers. Our growth data from Year 7 to Year 9 reflects the impact of the consistent effort, high expectations and quality teaching taking place across our College.

Our 2026 NAPLAN results show particular strengths across:

• Numeracy, 
• Writing, 
• Reading, and 
• Spelling. 

Over the coming weeks, our teachers will work collaboratively to analyse the data, celebrate areas of strength and identify key skills for further development across the curriculum in 2027.

Year 7–9 MSC NAPLAN Snapshot

Year 9: Numeracy

Year 9 students have demonstrated excellent high-to-medium growth, with 76% achieving this level of relative growth. This is higher than Similar Schools (71%), the Network (71%) and the State (75%)!

Year 9: Writing

Year 9 students have demonstrated excellent high-to-medium growth, with 77% achieving this level of relative growth. This is higher than Similar Schools (70%), the Network (72%) and the State (73%).

Year 9: Reading

Year 9 students have demonstrated excellent high-to-medium growth, with 74% achieving this level of growth. This is higher than Similar Schools (72%) and the Network (70%), and in line with the State (74%).

Year 9: Spelling

Year 9 students have demonstrated excellent high-to-medium growth, with 77% achieving this level of growth. This is higher than Similar Schools (71%), the Network (68%) and the State (74%).

Year 7: Writing

Year 7 students have demonstrated high-to-medium growth, with 72% achieving this level of growth. This is higher than Similar Schools (68%) and the Network (67%), and in line with the State (72%).

Year 7: Numeracy

Year 7 students have demonstrated high-to-medium growth, with 66% achieving this level of growth. This is higher than the Network (64%).

Year 7: Grammar & Punctuation

Year 7 students have demonstrated high-to-medium growth, with 65% achieving this level of growth. This is in line with the Network (65%).

We congratulate our students on these excellent results and thank our teachers for their ongoing commitment to student learning and growth. We look forward to building on these successes and continuing to support every student to achieve their best.

Tracey Watchorn

Numeracy Leading Teacher

Maths Curriculum Leader 

VHAP – High Ability Practice Leader (HAPL)

Aerobics Showcase: 14th August

We warmly invite our school community to our annual Aerobics Showcase on Friday the 14th of August. Join us from 5:30pm in the Robert Herbert Gym to celebrate the hard work and dedication of every member of the Mornington Secondary College Aerobics Squad, while giving our National qualifying team Nova and duo Dynamite a wonderful send-off before they travel to the Sunshine Coast to compete at the 2026 National Championships.

Joining us at the showcase will be Benton Junior College's first aerobics team, Benton Blaze, who will join our MSC teams on the stage to perform their routine before also heading off to the National Championships. We are excited to welcome them to the college and cheer them on before Nationals!

The Showcase is one of our major fundraising events for the year. We kindly ask that you bring along a gold coin donation for entry and support our fundraising activities on the night.

If you'd like to assist with our fundraising efforts, we are currently seeking donations for our raffle. If you or someone you know owns or works for a local business that would be interested in donating a prize, please contact Indie Jowett at Indie.Jowett@education.vic.gov.au.

Indie Jowett

Aerobics Coach

117 Days of Year 7: Year 7’s in Their Prime!

Wow, what a day we had celebrating 117 Days of Year 7: Year 7’s in Their Prime!

The event was dedicated to celebrating our Year 7 students’ first 117 days of high school, while also providing an opportunity to raise money for MSC’s 2026 charity, Speak & Share. Speak & Share is a preventative mental health charity dedicated to transforming Australian communities by breaking down stigma and inspiring real, meaningful conversations.

Students enjoyed a variety of activities throughout the day while reflecting on their achievements and experiences during their first 117 days of high school. During our awards assembly, we recognised and celebrated students who received our Gold Star and Strive Awards. 

Congratulations to the following students:

Gold Star Awards

Strive Awards

Students took part in a range of individual and team challenges throughout the day. These included our Biggest Bingo Challenge, where students reflected on their favourite aspects of high school life, as well as a team trivia competition and Minute to Win It-style Connect Class challenges.

The day finished with a celebration barbecue and a range of courtyard activities. Students competed in the:

• Longest Footy Kick, 
• MSC Gift – Fastest 50m Sprint, 
• Guess the Lollies in the Jar, 
• Guess the Teacher Photo Challenge, and 
• Best Penalty Shootout.

Challenge Results

Please see below for the results from the challenges held throughout the day:

A big thank you to all the staff involved in supporting this event and helping to make the day such a success. We would also like to thank our Year Level Captains and Year 10 helpers for helping to plan the day and run such fun and interactive activities throughout.

Congratulations to our Year 7 cohort on completing their first 117 days of high school! It was fantastic to see everyone getting involved, supporting one another and contributing to such a positive and memorable event.

We are also thrilled to have raised $382.50 for Speak & Share.

Alex Mackenzie

Health and PE Teacher

Year 7 Wildlife Encounters Incursion: Event Reminder

The Year 7 Science team are looking forward to providing our students with a wonderful Wildlife Encounters Incursion this term.  

Students who have consented and paid for the Compass Event will meet a variety of mammals and reptiles, while learning about how they thrive and survive together. 

The incursion is a highlight in the Year 7 calendar, with students having the opportunity to hold and touch the visiting animals.

Cost: $27 per student, which includes a 50-minute presentation and a hands-on experience to see animals up close.

Date: Wednesday 26th August, 2026. The incursion will take place during class time, in groups of 30 students per session.

Parents/guardians consent and payment via Compass is due by 11.59pm Sunday 23rd August.

Wildlife Encounters 2025:

Excursions

Year 9 Gravity Zone Excursion

Year 9 Sport and Recreation students recently had the opportunity to visit Gravity Zone, where they explored a range of exciting recreational activities in a fun and energetic environment.

The students embraced the experience with enthusiasm, challenging themselves, trying new activities and enjoying plenty of laughs along the way. It was fantastic to see students encouraging one another, demonstrating teamwork and making the most of the opportunity.

Most importantly, the students represented the College exceptionally well, displaying excellent behaviour, respect and enthusiasm throughout the excursion. Their positive attitude and willingness to get involved made for a fantastic day out.

It was a memorable experience for our Year 9 students and a great opportunity to learn, have fun and build positive connections outside the classroom.

Jenny Vanin

Health & Physical Education Teacher

Year 12 OES Land Management Excursion

This week our Outdoor and Environmental Studies students braved some wild morning weather for a fantastic hands-on excursion exploring local land management strategies across the Mornington Peninsula.

Our day began with the Kings Circuit walk before visiting Baldrys Creek in the Greens Bush area of Mornington Peninsula National Park. Here, students evaluated the management practices used by Parks Victoria to maintain and sustain healthy ecosystems. Next, the group headed over to Tootgarook Wetlands to examine local ecosystem health and conservation efforts. To wrap up the trip, students visited a private property associated with the Biolink Project, facilitated alongside the Landcare Network, where they got a first-hand look at revegetation and natural regeneration in action.

Despite the chilly and rainy start, the students showed incredible resilience and enthusiasm throughout the day. A huge well done to all of our students for pushing through the elements, and a massive thank you to Grant Olarenshaw who was also in attendance supporting the trip.

Madison Nicholls

Maths/OES Teacher

Interschool Sport: Southern Metropolitan Finals

Intermediate Girls Netball

Last week saw our Intermediate A team head to Jubilee to compete in the SMR Intermediate Netball competition.

The girls had a strong start, connecting well, beating Cheltenham Secondary College by 10 goals.

We came up against a strong Frankston High School in our second game. Our girls fought hard and our defenders switched on, intercepting and putting pressure on the Frankston attackers. Unfortunately, we couldn’t maintain the pressure across the court and Frankston pulled away to beat us.

Lastly we played a very competitive Parkdale Secondary College. After losing to Frankston High School we decided to have some fun and swapped around some girls into different positions. The girls took on their new roles with confidence and their team work was excellent. Unfortunately, our girls went down in the final seconds by one goal.

The bus ride home saw smiles on all faces, well deserved, after our girls demonstrated sportsmanship, tried their hardest and enjoyed their day.

Kim Rattue

Year Level Coordinator 9

Learning Snapshot

Egg Baby Parenting Challenge

Our Year 11 Health and Human Development students recently participated in an Egg Baby Parenting Challenge, giving them an insight into the responsibilities and challenges of caring for a baby.

Students cared for their Egg Baby throughout the school day and completed a weekly journal, reflecting on the positives and negatives of their experience, the challenges of having responsibility for a baby, and the emotional and social supports they drew upon.

The activity provided an engaging way for students to explore the responsibilities of parenting and the importance of support networks.

Jo Dixon

Year Level Coordinator 12

Congratulations to our new SBAT Student

Congratulations to Will Tracy (Year 11) who recently signed up and commenced his Head Start school-based apprenticeship (SBAT) with employer Tracy Projects and is now completing his Certificate III in Carpentry. 

MSC and the Head Start program will support Will as he embarks on his SBAT journey commencing his qualification certificate, attending work with his employer, and also working towards completing his VCE VM studies at school. 

MSC and the Head Start team wish Will all the best as he pursues his chosen career pathway.

For further information about the Head Start program, please see the website and short video:

http://www.vic.gov.au/headstart 

About Head Start – 3 minute video

Brett Murphy

Head Start Coordinator

Wellbeing

Junior Rangers

Last week, our Junior Rangers enjoyed a wonderful visit to McClelland Gallery, where we explored the beautiful gardens and learnt about the cultural significance and traditional uses of fire and native plants.

The group discovered how fire can be used as an important land-management tool to regenerate the land, encourage new growth, and support the germination of seeds. We also learnt how areas that are not burnt can provide natural fences and help protect the landscape.

We explored a range of native plants and trees, including Sheoak, Mistletoe, and Black Wattle, and discovered how they have traditionally been used for different purposes. We learnt that Black Wattle produces some of the hardest wood, making it useful for creating tools. We also discovered that sap from some trees can be used for medicinal purposes and, in some cases, as a natural sweet treat.

After exploring the grounds, the Junior Rangers had the opportunity to make their own keyrings using possum skin, and decorate pots. Each child received two different types of native seeds to take home and grow.

It was a fantastic day of hands-on learning, creativity, and connecting with Country. The Junior Rangers were curious and enthusiastic throughout the day and enjoyed discovering new ways to care for and appreciate our natural environment.

Nicole Boland

Mental Health Practitioner

Doctors in School

Footy Tipping

Students Alex Classon and Harry Ledlin are now locked together at the very top on 134 points. After Harry held a narrow lead last round, Alex has reeled him in and now there is absolutely nothing separating our two student leaders.

But staff are refusing to go quietly. Allison Betts sits just five points back on 129, while Michael Williams is lurking on 128 and Nick Evans remains well within striking distance on 126. One disastrous round from the students, and the staff could be right back on top.

MSC Staff Achievements

Some of our families may have noticed a familiar face (in yellow) on the football field on weekends. Alex Malligan, Head of Humanities, moonlights as an umpire and recently umpired the Mornington FNC Thirds Semi Final.

Ebony Lane: A Personal Thank You

This week we received a personal email from Ebony Lane, who recently represented Australia in the Commonwealth Games. What a lovely gesture!

"Hi Mornington Secondary College team,

I just wanted to reach out and say a big thank you for the support you gave me during my time at the Commonwealth Games.

It meant a lot seeing the school share posts and celebrate the experience with me. Having that support from my old school made the whole experience even more special, and I really appreciate you taking the time to recognise and celebrate what I was doing.

I’ve attached photos from the Games as a little snapshot of the experience. I thought you might enjoy having it.

Thank you again for all your support. I’ll always be grateful for the role Mornington Secondary College played in my journey."

Don’t Miss a Moment at MSC!

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Community News and Opportunities

Dandenong and District Aborigines Cooperative Ltd

Willum Warrain Events

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