Principal Report

Dear Families,

Who can believe that today marks the first day of summer? Hopefully this cold front disappears quickly so we can enjoy some well-deserved sunshine. Our senior students (2026 Year 7–12) have been actively participating in our two-week HeadStart Program, with this week marking the final stage of their transition into next year’s learning. Our Primary students will spend Tuesday, December 9th working with their 2026 classroom teacher and classmates as part of their transition day.

A reminder that the last day of formal classes for all students is Tuesday, December 16th. This week is another busy one, with our Primary Presentation Night on Wednesday (December 3rd) and Year 12 Graduation Dinner on Thursday (December 4th), as well as our Senior Presentation Night on Monday, December 8th. Both presentation nights begin at 6:00pm and will be held in the GGC.

Next week, our Primary students will also participate in their Bike Ed Program. If any families have spare bikes available, we would greatly appreciate being able to borrow them to ensure all students can fully participate and benefit from this important program.

We are delighted to welcome three new staff members to our Teaching and Learning Team in 2026.

Belinda Humphrys will be joining our Primary team as the Year 2–3 classroom teacher;
Claudia Higgins will join us two days per week, teaching Senior Science and VCE Biology;
Ken Bell will be returning in 2026 to teach VCE Physics, bringing his expertise back into our senior pathways.

We are incredibly excited to begin the new year with such a talented, passionate, and fully staffed team. We are looking forward to commencing 2026 with great energy, confidence and enthusiasm.

We will be publishing our final newsletter for the year on Monday, December 15th. This edition will capture all the important information families need for the beginning of the 2026 school year, including key dates, start-of-year processes and helpful reminders to ensure a smooth transition into Term 1.

Primary Presentation Night

Our Primary Presentation Night will be held on Wednesday, December 3rd, and we warmly invite all families to join us at 6:00pm in the GGC as we come together to celebrate the 2025 school year.

On the night, our students will present a special showcase performance they have been working hard on. We will also take the opportunity to acknowledge our 2025 Prep students, who have completed their very first year of school, and celebrate our Year 6 students, who are graduating from their primary years and preparing to begin their secondary school journey.

Secondary Presentation Night

We also look forward to welcoming families to our Secondary Presentation Night on Monday, December 8th, also starting at 6pm. Please join us as we recognise the achievements of our secondary students throughout 2025 and, most importantly, farewell the Class of 2025, our magnificent Year 12 students.

This special evening will include the presentation of a large number of awards and scholarships, acknowledging academic excellence, effort, leadership, and contributions to the college community

Both evenings promise to be meaningful celebrations of learning, growth, and achievement, and we look forward to sharing these moments with our school community.

2025 Presentation Ball – A Truly Spectacular Night

Despite the rain on Friday evening, our Presentation Ball was nothing short of magical! Bella and Gus, our adorable flower girl and page boy, absolutely melted hearts as they presented each of the debutantes a flower.

The students looked spectacular, radiating confidence and rhythm as they stepped onto the dance floor. Watching them perform was truly a highlight of the night. I’m still undecided on my favourite dance……was it the always-iconic YMCA, or I’ve Had the Time of My Life with that unforgettable (and hilariously perfect!) run-and-jump catch? Honestly… it may have been even better than the movie.

Events like this don’t happen without a dedicated team behind the scenes. A heartfelt thank you to Melissa, who coordinated the entire event with her usual brilliance; to Brad for the impressive setup work; and to Sally, whose delicious food kept everyone fuelled throughout the night. And of course, thank you to everyone who supported, attended and contributed to making this such a wonderful celebration for our students.

It was a fabulous night, rain and all, and a true reflection of the spirit of our school community.

Celebrating Our 2026 Student Leadership Team

We are proud to announce our 2026 Student Leadership positions, a group of outstanding students who will represent the voice, values, and aspirations of our college community. Each leadership role plays an important part in strengthening our culture, building student agency, and ensuring that all young people have opportunities to grow, contribute, and shine.

Our School Captains for 2026 are Isabella Pickford and Sarah Russell. As the leading student representatives of our college, they will play a vital role in modelling our school values, supporting whole-school events, and being strong, respectful advocates for their peers.

A new leadership opportunity next year is our VCE VM Community Project Captain, awarded to Bodie Jubb. Bodie will lead and support the many community projects undertaken across the college in 2026, helping strengthen our partnerships and reinforce the importance of service, teamwork, and community pride.

Our Wellbeing Captain, Olivia Schuuring, will play an important role in promoting inclusiveness, connection, and student wellbeing initiatives across the school.

Geordie Rollings Wurak will take on the role of Arts Captain, championing creativity and celebrating the many artistic talents across the college. In 2026, this position will be supported by an Arts Assistant Captain, Kara Ledgard, who will help lead rehearsals, events, and arts-based projects.

Another exciting new leadership role in 2026 is our Student Voice Captain positions. These students will gather ideas, opinions, and suggestions from their peers and present them in student leadership meetings and at School Council. This shared responsibility has been awarded to Ella Maher and Zavier Fowler, who will be instrumental in strengthening student agency across the college.

Our Sports Captain for 2026 is Spencer Sagnol, who will lead sporting events, encourage participation, and promote teamwork, fairness, and house spirit.

House Captains 2026

Endeavour House

Senior Captain: Cameron Goddard
Intermediate Captain: Natalie Krepp
Junior Captain: Isabella Robertson

Inspire House

Senior Captain: Holly Jones
Intermediate Captain: Elijah Bradbury
Junior Captain: Isabella Reichman

Succeed House

Senior Captain: Nathan Mann
Intermediate Captain: Elise Jewell
Junior Captain: Syriah Guy

Across all roles, our leaders will be supported and guided by Miss Amy Lodge, who will work closely with the team to help each student develop their individual strengths, confidence, and leadership capacity.

At Mortlake P-12 College, we believe leadership is not limited to a badge or title. It is something we foster in all students, every day, through opportunities to contribute, collaborate, and step forward with integrity and pride. We look forward to seeing our 2026 leaders continue this tradition and inspire others throughout the year ahead.

Semester 2 Student Reports

Student Semester 2 reports will be available to all families via the Sentral App on Wednesday, December 10th. These reports provide valuable insight into your child’s academic progress, effort, and achievements throughout the second half of the year.

We encourage all parents and guardians to take the time to read through the report carefully with their child. Celebrate their successes, acknowledge the areas where they have shown growth, and discuss any challenges they may have experienced. This is a wonderful opportunity to open positive conversations about learning, effort, and future goals.

To support your child moving forward, consider helping them set simple, achievable goals for 2026, whether it’s improving organisation, strengthening a particular subject area, or continuing to build on their strengths. Showing interest in their learning and talking regularly about school can make a significant difference to their confidence and motivation.

If you have any questions about your child’s report or would like further guidance, please don’t hesitate to contact their classroom teacher. Together, we can ensure every student continues to grow and thrive.

2026 Prep Transition Program

Our 2026 Prep students have been thoroughly enjoying their transition sessions, held each Friday throughout this term. It has been wonderful to see their confidence grow as they become more familiar with their classmates, their teacher, and the routines of school life. There are now only two sessions remaining in the program (Friday December 5th and Tuesday December 9th).

This Friday, we will be meeting with parents and guardians for individual Prep interviews. These conversations help ensure we have all the important information we need to support each child’s successful transition and to give them the very best start to their schooling journey.

We look forward to welcoming our newest learners to Mortlake P–12 College in 2026.

School Council Update

Last week on Tuesday, School Council met for the final time this year. It was a productive meeting, with reports presented from the Principal, our School Captains, the Finance Committee, and the Buildings and Grounds Committee.

Key items discussed included the draft 2026 Annual Implementation Plan (AIP), with a strong focus on improving outcomes in Learning and strengthening Student Wellbeing and Inclusion across the school.

We also updated Council on our funding application for Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) in 2026. This funding is essential to allow the service to continue next year. At this stage, we are still awaiting confirmation on whether the application has been successful.

Other important agenda items included the renewal of our cleaning contract for the next three years and the sharing of our 2026 indicative budget, which shows that the school is in a relatively healthy financial position heading into 2026.

Our next School Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 24th 2026.

Mortlake Christmas Carols Evening

The College is excited to once again support the Mortlake Christmas Carols on Friday, December 12th. Our students will be performing on the night, bringing festive cheer through song and celebration. We will also be selling our famous Mortlake College Christmas showbags, which will be a crowd favourite.

This is a fabulous family, and community-focused event, and we look forward to sharing the evening with our school community as we come together to celebrate the festive season.

Creating a Safer Online World for our Students

We’d like to make all families and community members aware of an important change coming soon. From 10th December 2025, a new national law will prevent children under 16 from having accounts on most social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook.

This change has been introduced to help protect young people from online risks such as cyberbullying, harmful or inappropriate content, pressure around body image, and unhealthy screen-time habits. Importantly, it is the responsibility of the online platforms—not families or schools, to ensure they meet these new legal requirements by verifying age and preventing underage access.

To support the law, social media companies will begin using age-verification tools (such as ID checks or digital age confirmation) before allowing new accounts to be created.

Both schools and families have a key role in helping young people adjust to this shift. At school, we will continue to teach safe online behaviour and encourage responsible technology use. At home, parents can help by monitoring device use, talking openly about online safety, and modelling healthy screen habits.

By working together, we can create a safer online environment and support the wellbeing of all young people in our community.

Moving to Compass in 2026

We’re excited to share that from the beginning of 2026, Mortlake P–12 College will be moving from Sentral to Compass as our new school management and communication platform.

Compass will provide a more modern, efficient, and family-friendly system that brings everything together in one place — attendance, reporting, student progress, events, and communication. It will make it easier for families to stay informed and engaged in their child’s learning, and for staff to manage day-to-day tasks more effectively.

Some of the key benefits of Compass include:• A simpler, more intuitive interface for families and staff• Instant notifications and messages to keep parents updated with school events and student information• Streamlined attendance and reporting, with improved access to student learning data• Mobile app access, making it easy to connect from anywhere

Student Reports:

We recommend that families download or print all student reports from Sentral, especially families who are leaving Mortlake College at the end of 2025. Student reports will be stored digitally in Compass from 2026 onwards.

We’ll be providing information and support sessions for families early next year to help everyone become familiar with the new platform. This transition marks an exciting step forward for our school community as we continue strengthening communication and partnerships between home and school.

2026 Parent Payments

As we enter the final weeks of the 2025 school year, we kindly ask families to support us by finalising any outstanding 2025 Parent Payments. These contributions play an important role in supporting the College to deliver programs and resources that were not fully funded by the Department of Education.

Looking ahead to 2026 Parent Payments, we would like to share an update regarding student stationery. For 2026, all stationery items will be supplied through Officeworks. A dedicated Parent Portal has been created, giving families access to our Business Account discount. When comparing previous years’ stationery costs with the new Officeworks pricing, we have found that this option is slightly cheaper across all subjects.

Families may still choose to purchase stationery from another supplier if they prefer; however, the Officeworks portal provides a simple, user-friendly option that allows you to select items by year level or subject, with flexible payment methods available.

If you have not yet received your 2026 Parent Payment information letter, please urgently contact the College office as soon as possible so we can ensure you have everything you need for the year ahead.

Thank you for your ongoing support as we work together to prepare for a successful start to 2026.

2027 – Moving Towards a New School Uniform

We’re pleased to share some important updates regarding our school uniform as we work to ensure consistency, comfort, and availability for all students.

Lowes will become our new uniform supplier for the black jackets and black shorts. They will also complete the artwork and design updates for the remaining uniform items in preparation for supplying families from Term 4, 2026. This means we are now moving into the implementation stage, with the new uniform officially available to families at the beginning of Term 4 next year.

As part of these updates:

• The white and red polo shirts and green windcheaters will feature a refreshed design;

• The grey shorts will be removed from the uniform list;

• The school dresses will remain unchanged and continue with the current design.

We are pleased to confirm that an order of school dresses will arrive at the college before Christmas, ensuring they are available and ready for 2026.

Once the new uniform becomes available in Term 4, 2026, our current uniform will be slowly phased out over the following years, giving families plenty of time to transition.

We will continue to provide updates as we move closer to the rollout.

Sun Smart Reminder

Just a reminder that we are a SunSmart school. It’s important that all students wear their school hats during outdoor activities and apply sunscreen as needed to protect themselves from harmful UV exposure.

We encourage families to support this by ensuring students bring a hat to school each day and understand the importance of sun protection during this time of year. Together, we can help keep our students safe and healthy while enjoying the outdoors.

Important Upcoming Dates

Please continually check Sentral and the newsletter for important dates, student information and highlights of events.

2025 Primary Celebration Assembly: Wednesday December 3rd (In the GGC starting at 6pm)
Year 12 Graduation Dinner: Thursday December 4th
2025 Secondary Celebration Assembly/Presentation Night: Monday December 8th (in the GGC starting at 6pm)
Statewide Orientation Day: Tuesday December 9th
Primary Bike Education Program: Monday December 8th to Friday December 12th
Mortlake College Community Christmas Elves: Wednesday December 10th
VCE Results Released: Thursday December 11th
Mortlake Community Christmas Carols: Friday December 12th
Last Day of Formal Classes (all students): Tuesday December 16th
Last Day the School Office is Open: 8:30-3pm Friday December 19th
Staff Return and the School Office is Open: Tuesday January 27th
Students Return (including Prep Students): Wednesday January 28th

As always, thank you for your ongoing partnership and support. Please continue to stay connected through Sentral and our school calendar for the latest updates. If you have any questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact the office or your child’s teacher.

Together, we can ensure every student feels supported, engaged, and ready to succeed.

Linda Mooseek

Mortlake P-12 College Principal

Birthdays

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS FOR DECEMBER