Principal Team Report

Welcome to our first Mullauna Community Links for Term 4. We have much to share and celebrate, despite the very cold and wet weather in recent days.

Celebration is a theme throughout this final term of the year as the term commenced with a celebration of creativity within the college with our annual Art Show. This was quickly followed by celebrations for the ‘Class of 2023’. Our Year 12s now have a number of exams behind them, in addition to the many milestones that mark the culmination of their secondary schooling: Flame Assembly, Valedictory Celebration, and Celebration Day, along with the intensive study program that is the swot-vac period. It is a time of many transitions, not just for our year 12s.

Many of our Year 11s have now also experienced the formality and rigour of the VCAA final exams for their advanced placement subject. We have welcomed the 2024 Year 7s and their families to the school, and the current Year7s celebrated the end of year at their Music and Challenge presentation evening.

Our whole school Flame Assembly was an opportunity to celebrate the passing of student leadership from our current School Captains to the incoming School Captains for 2024. It was my great pleasure to share with the college community that our 2024 School Captains are Alexia Anemikos, Camryn Dixon, Jack Fortington and Keira Pontefract.

We look forward to their valuable contributions throughout the 2024 school year.

Reminder – Term 4 student-free days:

Monday 6th November (the day before Cup Day) is a student-free day for the staff Professional Practice Day. Most staff will be undertaking curriculum preparation, especially for the Headstart program commencing Monday 27th November. A team of some 20 staff representing the Wellbeing, Sub-school and key ES team members will be undertaking the face-to-face component of the Youth Mental Health First Aid training.

Similarly, Friday 24th November, our Headstart Planning & Preparation Day, is also a student-free day with no scheduled classes.

World Teachers Day

Today, Friday 27th October, is World Teachers Day, a day to celebrate all the amazing things that teachers do for students! We celebrated with a visit from a coffee van, a special morning tea provided by our Education Support staff and special messages from students and the community. Our thanks to you all for the many messages of appreciation we received.

Community Partnerships

We are lucky to have (and very appreciative for) the support of several local service clubs. Just this week, it was a pleasure to welcome John Pullen and Bill Tomkins of the Lions Club of Blackburn, who presented the college with a cheque for $300 to support our student wellbeing work. Our community can support them by purchasing a Christmas tree when they go on sale here at the college early December.

Vale Joan Ikin

Some sad news for our alumni community; we were informed today that Joan Ikin, a Maths teacher at Mitcham High School in the 1980’s, passed away on Wednesday. Our condolences go to her family and friends.

Support to students – Israel & Gaza conflict

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to cause distress for staff, students, families and carers, especially those who have family and friends in the region. Our school is a rich and diverse community and acknowledging that it is vital that our students, staff and families all feel safe and included in everything we do.

We want to assure all community members that the department is monitoring the situation from a school security perspective. While we want to maintain an open and welcoming environment, we are also being vigilant in terms of safety, ensuring all our procedures, like visitors signing in and out, are being followed.

If your child is impacted and/or distressed by the current conflict, you may find some aspects of this resource helpful:

Helping my children after trauma: A guide for parents.

Support is also available through external services including:

Please feel free to get in contact us at the college if you would like to discuss this further.

New Building Progress

Stage 1 of our new building program remains on track and is nearing completion. We look forward to setting the rooms up ready for the new academic year.

Stage 2 planning has also commenced with the appointment of an architectural firm, Architectus, who together with representatives from the NEVR and the Victorian Schools Building Authority (VSBA) meeting to start this next exciting stage. Mullauna staff have commenced visits to local schools with newer STEM facilities to gather ideas for our state of the art facilities.

Art Show – and more Arts success for our students (refer Art Award section)

Schools represent a community within a community, and nothing brings greater pleasure than a celebration within a community, as it provides the opportunity for us to come together – and in a community like Mullauna there is always a lot to celebrate, and of course, it’s particularly rewarding to celebrate the work and achievements of our students; it was a particular pleasure to do so with creative works from the Arts subjects, across all year levels, at our annual VCE Art Exhibition.

The arts represent the creative spirit of a community. George Otero, an educationalist, describes it thus: “What makes life in human communities unique is the artistic impulse. To be human is to create. Art in all forms, and there are many, is the learning pathway to being wholly human. Being better human beings is a goal of most 21st century schools. Art is the vehicle.”

We recognise that students who pursue these studies are often left feeling like they are swimming against the tide, as education focusses more and more on the financial benefits that the purportedly ‘academic’ areas bring. It’s a contentious area that is much debated, and creates a real conundrum for educators, and especially administrators, in endeavouring to offer college programs that cater for all needs and for all interests – it is a challenge we will continue to wrestle with.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that the top VCE Study Score achieved by a Mullauna student in 2022 was a 47 for Visual Communication Design by Sophie Lovell in Jess Anderson’s VCD class.

We see the value not of each individual subject as such (in these academic / aspirational times for focus), but rather in terms of the value to individual students to learn, grow, explore, share and express themselves, to and with peers, teachers, family, and their community.

So, we thank and acknowledge particularly the Art staff, under the leadership of Rebecca Holmes, who work so hard with their students, in what is truly a labour of love. And we thank and acknowledge the many staff who joined the team to make the Art Show possible. Above all, we thank the students for daring to pursue their passions, and we thank their parents and friends for supporting them in this.

This exhibition of student work is a tremendous demonstration of the creativity, imagination and artistic talent of a broad range of our students, and we are immensely proud of our students and are delighted to show off their talents.

Many pieces have been produced by our current Year 11 and 12 students who have been assessed on these works. However, the exhibition was also about participation and encouragement, and all students involved in the arts program should be proud of their work.

On a personal note, I must add what a pleasure it has been to follow the development of the Year 12 folios over the year in VCD and Studio Art, whose classes I was able to visit over the last three terms

It was my great pleasure to present student awards on the evening, being certificates of commendation, and the ‘Principal’s Certificate of Excellence’. I find it highly ironic that someone so bereft of artistic talent had the pleasure of this task! I also freely acknowledge the frustration in being only able to acknowledge individually a small group of students.

Firstly, for recognition of the effort and passion required to meet the challenge of completing multiple portfolio subjects, being Art, Media and Visual Communication Design:

In Year 12

Misha Abadi – Media and Art

In Year 11

Lauren Baker – Media and Art
Tilly Hepponstall – Media and Art
Holly Dobell – Art and VCD
Tom Li – Art and VCD
Andy Mason – Media and VCD
Chloe Chailert – Art, Media and VCD
Ami Koike – Art, Media and VCD

Then, our encouragement awards go to:

Year 10

Art – Zindzi Clayford and Leroy Szabo
Media – Bryn Norris
Photography – Abbey Dixon, Sienna Smith (also undertaking Year 11 VCD and 10 Media) and Jaylen Allen-Garlett

Jaylen deserves additional acknowledgment as his image has been selected to grace the cover of this year’s school magazine – look out for it when the kids bring it home!

Year 11

Art – Lauren Baker
Media – Lauren Baker
VCD – Asher Littlejohn

Year 12

And finally, the Principal’s Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts for 2023 goes to two students who have each excelled in their chosen fields, being Art and Media.

In Year 12 Art, to Veronica Rojas in recognition of her outstanding artistic achievements: congratulations, Veronica!

Veronica is the face of our exhibition, her work having been selected for the publicity is an accolade in itself!

In Year 12 Media, to Ryan Harrison in recognition of his outstanding artistic achievements: congratulations, Ryan!

We must also acknowledge the collaboration with George Bampas.

Year 12 Celebrations

The final day of classes for our Year 12 students is emotional for both students and staff alike. We concluded the day with a whole school assembly to both celebrate and farewell our Class of 2023 as well as pass the banner of leadership to our incoming school captains. The Year 12s were welcomed to a standing ovation, just as they did when they first commenced at the start of Year 7 six short years ago.

That evening, we continued the celebrations with parents, caregivers, friends and family at the Valedictory event where each student was presented with a completion certificate and memento drinking glass that commemorates the Class of 2023. It was also an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the effort of students that had achieved outstanding results in their classwork throughout the year and thus awarded, Top of Class for each subject.

Year 7 welcome night

It was great to welcome our new Yr 7 students & their families. An overview was provided of the college, including hearing from the school captains, parent reps and members of staff. Yr 7 camp plans were presented as well as hearing from representatives from Primary School Wear (PSW) uniform and LWT laptop lease suppliers. We now look forward to welcoming back all new Yr 7s returning to Mullauna College for the statewide Orientation Day on Tuesday 12 December.

Year 7 Music and Challenge night

Year 7 Challenge in Term 4 has focussed on our college values of curiosity, courage and community. To explore these themes, students investigated issues that effect our college community and wrote short plays that represent this learning. It was a great pleasure for families and staff to see each student group perform these plays in front of a live audience. Their courage was evident as well as their sense of community as each group demonstrated both acting skills and an understanding of issues that are important to young people today. The evening was also an opportunity for each class to perform as a group a musical item of their choice. Thankyou to all the challenge and music teachers for supporting our Year 7s to step out of their comfort zone and have the opportunity to explore these important college values.

Preparations for final assessments and exams

Whilst our Year 12 students have already commenced their final exams, the rest of the school is also completing their final assessments and begun their own exam preparation. Students from Year 7 to Year 11 will have the opportunity to develop and apply important revision and exam techniques over coming weeks. Exam timetables and further information will be published to students soon.

End of year program

Further detailed information regarding the end-of-year program will be published progressively through Compass and the weekly MC Community Updates.

Final day of formal classes and compulsory school attendance for Senior School students (current Year 9, 10 and 11) is Friday 1st December. Students must clear their locker by this day.

Final day of formal classes and compulsory school attendance for Junior School students (current Years 7 and 8) is Thursday 7th December. Students must clear their locker by this day

The optional Funfields excursion for students in Years 7 and 8 is on Friday 8th December – refer further details on Compass.

OPTIONAL SUMMER PROGRAM – final week (Week 11) of Term 4.

To give our staff the required time to complete critical tasks in our final days of the school year, we will run only a limited Optional Summer Program for students in Years 7 and 8, commencing Monday 11th December and continuing until Friday 15th December.

The program will consist of a combined Year 7 and 8 class attending a range of subjects / activities each day; this program may also include assistance with basic cleaning tasks etc. There is no additional cost involved for the Summer Program, and it will be operating on the normal 5 period day timetable. This program is NOT part of students’ formal assessment.

To assist in planning for the Summer Program, parents MUST indicate the attendance of their child on Compass. If you have any concerns or wish to discuss this program, please contact Jeff McMillin (Assistant Principal) on 9874-3422.

The state-wide Orientation Day for Year 6 students is on Tuesday 12 December.

HATS HATS HATS

During Term Four, students are required to wear a hat during the majority of PE and Sport Education classes which are held outdoors. Students are encouraged to bring a hat to school and leave it in their locker to have available for these classes.

Thunderstorm asthma

There is an increased risk of seasonal asthma, hay fever and epidemic thunderstorm asthma during seasons with increased grass pollen levels. This typically occurs between October and December. Epidemic thunderstorm asthma events are triggered by a combination of higher grass pollen levels and a certain type of thunderstorm. People with a history of asthma, undiagnosed asthma or hay fever are at an increased risk under these conditions.

This risk is increased further for people who have poorly treated hay fever and asthma. The best way to reduce and prevent symptoms of asthma or hay fever and reduce unnecessary absences from school is to follow an up-to-date asthma action plan or hay fever treatment plan, provided by a general practitioner (GP) or specialist.

We ask that families:

ensure all students diagnosed with asthma have an up-to-date asthma action plan, a student health support plan and student medication, including relievers (puffers), on hand
ensure students with a history of seasonal hay fever symptoms see a GP if they don’t have a hay fever treatment plan
consider downloading the VicEmergency app and create a ‘watch zone’ for epidemic thunderstorm asthma advice and warnings
keep asthma medication accessible

The VicEmergency app forecasts thunderstorm asthma risk between 1 October and 31 December for 3 days at a time (today, tomorrow and the day after) using a coloured scale from low risk (green), moderate risk (orange) to high risk (red). While not a formal warning, this information can help you manage risk and prepare. On a high-risk day, the VicEmergency warning platform will issue warnings and advice.

Harry Ruff, Michael Bray & Jeff McMillin

the MC Principal Team

Community

October 2023

Whitehorse Meals on Wheels volunteers