Mornington Secondary College Newsletter

From the Principal

Congratulations to our Year 12 Vocational Major students. Our values are alive and well. VM Market day saw our values in action. Almost the entire school came together to support and participate in the events of the day. There was such a positive vibe throughout the community. The students selling goods and the staff and students purchasing the goods were so respectful of each other and our VM students were successful in their achievements. Thankyou to the many staff who supported our students, making the day possible. 

 

Classroom mastery continues with more classes being visited by the leadership team. The entry, exit and cue to start are becoming the norms in every classroom. Staff from other schools are asking to observe classroom mastery in action.  

 

Right to disconnect 

On Monday 26 August 2024, an amendment to the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023 came into effect. The new provisions will be adopted alongside the department’s existing industrial and employment obligations, including occupational health and safety commitments. 

 

The legislation makes explicit that all employees have the right to refuse contact from their employer or a third party (such as a student or a parent) outside of their normal working hours, unless that refusal is unreasonable. This means an employee can refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact that occurs outside their normal working hours. 

 

Where principals, or regional and central department staff contact school employees outside normal working hours, staff have the right to refuse contact outside their normal working hours unless this is unreasonable. 

 

Several factors must be considered when determining whether an employee’s choice not to respond is unreasonable. This includes: 

  • the reason for the contact 
  • whether the employee is compensated or paid extra for: 
    • being available to be contacted to perform work within a specific period, or 
    • working additional hours outside their ordinary hours of work 
  • the nature of the employee’s role and level of responsibility 
  • the employee’s personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities’. 

Employees of the Victorian Education Department work a 38 hour week, therefore under this amendment, staff are not on duty after 4.30pm. At Mornington Secondary College, we endeavor to respond to text, phone calls and emails in a timely manner. We will continue to do this, but contact may not be made until the next working day.  

 

Thankyou for your understanding and support. 

 

We are a great school, with a great community. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linda Stanton

Principal

Important Dates

Term 3

 

September

Wednesday 11th September - Year 7 Showcase Afternoon - 2:30pm - 5pm

Thursday 12th September - Year 7 2025 Parent Information Evening - 5.00pm to 6.00pm

Monday 16th to Friday 20th September - Year 12 completing Units 3 and 4 - Trial Exams

Monday 16th to Thursday 19th September - Year 12 Revision Lectures

Friday 20th September - Last Day of Term 3 - 2.30pm Dismissal

Don't forget to look on compass for sport sign ups, excursions and any other information sent to students and parents. 

Below is a link to help guide you in your use of compass.

 

https://mornsc.vic.edu.au/for-parents/compass-parent-guide/

 

Middle School

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 

As September ushers in the start of spring, it feels as though the season has arrived early, with blossoms and bulbs already in full bloom. 

Spring is often a time of renewal and new beginnings, making it especially fitting that we will soon be welcoming the families of our 2025 Year 7 students on September 12th to our Parent Information evening. The transition to secondary school is an exciting time, and we are committed to ensuring our new students feel welcomed as they join our school community.

 

We provide an excellent transition program for our students. This is particularly evident from the recent survey results. Our Year 7 Attitudes to School Survey results are significantly positive, with strong endorsements across all dimensions of school life. In fact, our students' positive endorsement of the college was significantly higher than the state average, like schools, and our network. We are incredibly proud of both our students and teachers, as these results reflect the success of our magnificent transition program and the dedication of our fantastic staff, who go above and beyond in caring for and teaching our students. 

 

Our laptop portal vendors JB Education, Edunet & LWT will also be present at the event showcasing some laptop options and answering any questions for families looking to purchase a device for their students.

 

Upcoming Events:

September 6 – Year 9 Day Out excursion to Melbourne Docklands.

 

September 11th- Our Year 7 Showcase, and we invite parents to visit from 2:30 to 5:00 PM to view the wonderful work their children have been doing in Science, Humanities and Japanese.

 

September 12- 2025 Year 7 Parent Information evening at 5.00pm in the Learning Centre.

 

Shout out to students:

We wish Andrew Turver and Ethan Sheen all the best as they compete in the National Athletic Championships in Tasmania this weekend. I had the pleasure of chatting with Ethan about his upcoming 4K run. He’s excited and like Andrew he has been preparing diligently to do his best. 

 

Hands on Learning: appreciation shout out. 

 

Charlie Ross and Alec Bradbury for making a pizza lunch at Hands on Learning and bringing it to the office to share. It was really appreciated.

 

Wishing you a great week

 

 

 

Denise Leggett

Middle School Assistant Principal

 

 

 

Senior School

To students and families of the Mornington Senior School,

 

I hope you’ve had a wonderful week and haven’t been negatively impacted by the wind we’ve had this week. It’s been a wonderful week in the Senior School with the highlight being the VM market day on Tuesday. Just 15 school days left this term for years 10 and 11 (Just 9 for our VCE VM students), with our year 12 VCE ATAR students have 10 more days of class and 5 days of trial exams.

 

VCE ATAR unscored – what is it? Is it different to VCE VM?

As our year 12s approach the final weeks of their schooling, everyone has met with the careers team and have mapped or are mapping out their pathway post year 12. Many will be applying to university, some to TAFE, some seeking employment, and some may still be unsure. You may have heard about a concept called an ‘unscored VCE’ which we refer to as a non-ATAR VCE. Technically every student in our VCE VM program is doing an unscored VCE but some students with a viable, non-ATAR pathway may be exploring that option. So what is it and what do we recommend?

 

VCAA say (and I echo):

 

Schools are encouraged to support all students enrolled in the VCE, excluding students enrolled in the VCE VM, to undertake scored assessment. Scored assessment provides VCE students a more detailed record of what they have achieved and is the best way to maximize their employment opportunities and pathways to further education.

 

However: 

 

Where students are at risk of not completing or have other valid reasons for not undertaking scored assessment, a school may advise them to undertake one or more VCE units without being assessed for levels of achievement in those units or sitting external assessment. Students must still undertake all requirements of the outcomes specified for the unit, including any school-based assessments.

 

Schools are well placed to advise parents or carers (and students in individual cases) where students may benefit from this option. However, when students, with support from parents or carers decide to complete a unit without a study score, it is important that schools communicate to all parties the greater number of pathways available when scored assessment is completed.

 

In summary, if your child is studying what we call the VCE ATAR pathway, then we expect them to complete it as a scored VCE (which means scores on all of the year 12 assessments and completing end-of-year exams) to keep the most flexibility in their options and pathways.

 

There may be rare circumstances where the year 12 team contact you or your child to explain the option of unscored in one or more subjects to:

 

a) help them pass in subjects where they are at risk (we have more options for assessment with an unscored student including verbal demonstration of outcomes) or 

 

b) where there are extenuating circumstances agreed upon by the school, student and family including:

  • illness and absence
  • mental health and wellbeing issues
  • clear and well supported post-school aspirations that do not require an ATAR, for example an offer of an apprenticeship
  • other specific personal circumstances.

We are working hard to support our VCE ATAR students to succeed in their studies and final exams. For more information, please contact the Year 12 team

 

Year 12 VCE VM Market Day – August 27th

What a great effort by our year 12 VCE VM students in running an extremely successful market day in windy conditions on Tuesday. Students have been working so hard in classes to make the day a success and it was absolutely brilliant. Not so much for my wallet or my waist line as I spent a lot of money on a lot of food I probably didn’t need, but the profits will be donated to our 2024 charity, Food for Change, so it was for a worthy cause. To see our VM students run such a large and successful event is further evidence that the VM program creates opportunities for students to shine in away from the traditional classroom and revision setting of VCE ATAR. Special shout out to Di Parkinson, Kirsty Hamson, VM KLA leader, Kate Wilson, along with other VCE VM teachers and other staff who pitched in to help make the event so successful. Maybe we can have two market days next year?

 

Term 3 key dates for Senior School

 

Fri 13th September – Final Day for Unit 4 coursework (Yr 12 VCE ATAR)

16-20th September – Trial exam period for Year 12 classes

September 30 – Timely VTAC applications close (Year 12 students only)

 

 

 

Nick Evans

Senior School Assistant Principal

 

 

 

Parent Opinion Survey and Mental Health Safety Net

Parent Opinion Survey train about to leave the station.

That’s right everyone, its your last chance to do the parent opinion survey for 2024.  So far we have 137 completed surveys, a bit short of my target, but I’m expecting a big rush today.

 

Mental Health Safety Net

I wrote about the great work that Mick Simmons from the mental health safety net was doing with our year 10 students about suicide awareness. This Wednesday was our last group and I would like to pass on a few messages from Mick and our year 10 students.

Mick: “What a great year 10 you have! so well behaved and so getting what we are trying to achieve!”

 

From the Kids

  • I learnt where I can go and I saw how much support there is if you are struggling 10/10
  • Really good and informative and I like how he used real life stories 9/10
  • I learnt what to do in a situation 10/10
  • I know who to go to if dealing with suicide 10/10
  • Different tones of voice and a mix of emotions It was great 10/10
  • Very good I learnt a lot 9/10
  • It was really well done and very informative 8/10
  • I thought it was a great experience everyone needs this

Kind regards,

 

 

 

Mike Parker

Assistant Principal

 

 

VM Market Day: Tuesday 27th August

On Tuesday our Year 12 VCE VM students held their annual Market Day.  This day is enjoyed by everyone in the school as our VCE VM students set up stores selling burgers, chocolate coated bananas and strawberries, pizza, brownies, raffles and much more.  All money raised go towards our school’s charity: Food for Change.

 

Our Year 12 students have spent most of this term working on what type of business they were going to have, sourcing products and donations as well as putting together a business plan to make a profit in Personal Development Skills.

They did an amazing job.  Thank you for the support of their teachers, especially Di Parkinson and Kirsty Hamson.  A big thank you also to the community organizations which help support to make this day a success.

2025 AFL Sports Ready Traineeship

The school is offering an opportunity for a current Year 12 student to attain an AFL Sports Ready Traineeship in 2025. If you would like to apply for this position please email Mr Walker, with your cover letter and CV. Your cover letter should outline why you are applying for the position and your personal strengths and attributes that would make you suited for the position. Please include references of people that can be contacted to support your application (references can be teachers).

Art Department: Mastering the Mediums

The Art Department has been buzzing with creativity and talent this year! 

If you’ve walked through the Learning Centre lately, you’ve likely seen the stunning Year 7 Still Life Drawings from Term 1 and 2. These young artists have truly captured the beauty of everyday objects, they’ve also broadened their creativity and created beautiful ceramic fish dishes. 

 

As the pace continues, and to celebrate the Paris Olympics, the Year 7’s are now working on vibrant paintings of the Eiffel Tower. Inspired by the lively work of Robert Delaunay, they are focusing on eye popping contrasting colours… these masterpieces will soon be taking over our display spaces! Look out for them…

 

Over in the Conference Room, our Year 8 students have showcased their skills with truly incredible portraits inspired by the style of Julian Opie. These bold and colourful abstract works are not to be missed!

 

Meanwhile, in the V Block, you’ll find an impressive collection of printmaking pieces from our Year 10 and 11 students. These prints demonstrate their growing mastery of this complex art form, and we could not be prouder of their progress.

 

Finally, our Year 12 students are pouring their hearts into their final pieces as they prepare for their exams. Their dedication and artistic expression promise to culminate in some truly spectacular works. We’re working hard now to deliver an exciting exhibition of their fantastic works, dates to be announced. 

 

Be sure to take a stroll around the school and immerse yourself in the incredible artistic talent on display. Stay tuned for more exciting updates from the Art Department!

2025 School Saving Bonus Information

Please also see the Compass Newsfeed for more information

For further information please visit vic.gov.au/school-saving-bonus

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