Assistant Principal Update

Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

What a busy and exciting few weeks we have had as we wrapped up the 2025 school year and launched our 2026 Headstart program!

Our 2026 Headstart whole school assembly welcomed our 2026 Student Leaders. Congratulations to our new College Captains on their confident presentations — 2026 is shaping up to be another wonderful year.

Well done to our Year 12 VCE students who recently completed their exams. It was fantastic to see so many students working closely with their teachers throughout the examination period. We look forward to celebrating your hard work when results are released next month.

Last week, we celebrated the Class of 2025 at our Valedictory Evening at Cathies Lane Receptions. It was a wonderful night filled with presentations, awards and great moments shared with families, staff and our Class of 2025.

Thank you to:

• Year 12 Coordinators: Bella Kennedy and Mick Haber

• Director of Senior School: Susan Cochrane

• MCs: Auburn Hewet and Madison Sinn

• Speakers: Eden Handfield, Catherine Cole, Addison Heitman, Principal Rachael Stone, and School Council President David Beckett

• Valedictory Presentation team: Elysium Nieuwoudt, Kyle McDonald, Anoushka Jithesh, Sophie Heazlewood, Natachia Murphy, Aliyah Prescott, Zed Davenport

Congratulations to all Year 7–9 students who completed their Student-Led Conferences last week. We achieved an excellent online turnout, and our Junior and Middle School teachers were impressed with the quality of the presentations. Thank you to Julia Hockey, Director of Student Engagement, for coordinating Student-Led Conferences for more than 600 students. We also appreciate the families who attended online or followed up afterward with their child.

After completing their conferences, our Junior School students enjoyed a fantastic day at Gumbuya World in Tynong. A big thank you to our Director of Junior School, Brendan McFarland, for organising a wonderful day. Our Middle School students are looking forward to their celebrations after Headstart.

Our Year 10 and 11 students also completed their exam period last week. It was impressive to see the growth in confidence, preparation and exam stamina since last semester. We look forward to even more development as they progress into 2026. Thank you to the Year 10 and 11 team for coordinating almost 70 exam groups (and many reschedules) while our Year 12 team were supporting students completing their VCAA exams. A special thank you to Kelliann Roberts for overseeing the Special Exam arrangements for our Year 10 and 11 students. 

The students have made a positive and enthusiastic start to the 2026 Headstart program. It has been great to see our students in their new classes ready to learn. Our bell times remain the same for 2026. With transport and building works continuing into 2026 please allow yourselves additional time to ensure that you arrive to school on time.  

We are excited for our 2025 Awards Night on Monday 10th December at the Frankston Arts Centre. Invitations have been sent and tickets are now on sale. We look forward to celebrating the many student achievements from across the year.

On a personal note, this newsletter also marks a farewell from me as Assistant Principal of Mordialloc College. The decision to move to a school closer to my home on the Mornington Peninsula was a difficult one, as Mordi has also been my home for over six years. Starting here in late 2019 as a school of just over a thousand students I have been proud to watch our school grow — not just in numbers, but in spirit, culture and achievements. The challenges of lockdowns and remote learning in my early years at Mordi revealed the incredible resilience, compassion and determination within this community.

Since then I have watched our students continue to thrive: achieving excellent academic results, securing wonderful apprenticeships and exciting university and TAFE offers, participating in wonderful camps and excursions, memorable school productions, achievements in the Arts and Sports and making incredible Mordi memories. 

To the staff, students and wider school community; thank you for your trust and enthusiasm, your conversations and support over the years. I feel incredibly lucky to have been a part of Mordialloc College, and I am excited to see the school continue to shine in the years ahead.

Tracey Bastin

Assistant Principal