Principal's Update

Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

Farewell to the Class of 2023

To celebrate the achievements of our Year 12 students, on Tuesday 17 October we held our final assembly in the gym, with many of our Year 12 parents in attendance to recognise this significant occasion – the conclusion of six years of secondary schooling. Given the size of our College now, instead of it being a whole school assembly, we could only make it for Years 9 - 12 students, to allow for having enough space for our parents to sit. In future years with our even bigger student cohorts, we will be returning to a whole school assembly with just students and staff, with the Valedictory Dinner being the main celebratory event for parents. 

The Year 12 Cohort started here in 2018 as Year 7 students. After two years of transitioning into and out of remote learning during Years 9 and 10, it is wonderful to be able to congratulate all students who have stayed the distance to complete their final two years onsite in either the VCE University pathway or VCE Vocational Major pathway. They have worked to the best of their ability with our emphasis on high expectations in everything we do, with the support of their fantastic teachers. The final year of school is challenging, and it has required students to be resilient and to persevere over the journey, no matter what challenges have been presented to them, and they have all demonstrated that it is achievable, responding in a positive way and we are all proud of them.

On behalf of the whole College Community, I would like to wish all Year 12 students every success for the examination period, which will begin on Tuesday 24 October, with the English exam. I am confident they will all achieve the VCE or VM results they deserve and have worked towards all year with much persistence. No matter what their pathway on leaving Mordialloc, if they continue to strive to achieve the best they can, while pursuing something they are truly passionate about, they can be satisfied. 

I would like to congratulate all our Year 12 Leaders who were part of the Mordialloc College Student Council this year. Amelia and Jeremy as School Captains, Reema and Jordan as Vice-Captains, Kathryn and Matilda for performing arts, Eva for visual arts, Nina and Lewis for sport, Ava and Jordan for promotions and fundraising, Tenilla and Fay for community and wellbeing, Amelia and Jeremy for Facilities and Environment, Reema and Jessica for Curriculum and our house captains, Bella, Tia, Thomas, Oceana, Liam, Gabbi, Dylan, Michael, Ulyana, Amber, Henry and Isikeli. They have all been proactive leaders for our school formulating and following through on their respective action plans focused on greater student connectedness and student voice for improvement and have worked to the best of their ability in managing the challenges of combining Year 12 studies with the responsibilities of student leadership. 

After the assembly all Year 12 students attended a celebration excursion at gravity zone for the rest of the day. From Wednesday 18 October to Friday 20 October Year 12 classes will continue to run. From the week of Monday 23 October, students can still attend school and meet with their teachers right up until each of their exams. Teachers will be running revision classes and/or one on one sessions for their students during their usual timetabled class and will also be available at other times throughout each day if students would like to meet with them. We hope students will take advantage of this additional help if required in the lead up to each exam. The senior school centre also provides a quiet place to study if students struggle to concentrate at home. 

Another big event, the Valedictory night is to be held this year after the final exam period on Tuesday 21 November at Cathies Lane Receptions in Wantirna South. This night will be an opportunity for parents, teachers, and students to get together in a formal setting to reflect on the past year and recognise the achievements of our Year 12 students. The class of 2023 have made a wonderful contribution to our school, and we are proud of all of our students. I would like to thank Director of Senior School Susan Cochrane, Year 12 Coordinator Tim Randell, VM Coordinator, Susan Cochrane, Pathways Coordinator Emma White, Assistant Principal Tracey Bastin, Senior School Assistant Karen Dewberry, our Wellbeing team, and all of our Year 12 teachers who have all worked tirelessly to support our Year 12 students this year. 

Art Show

It was very exciting to see the EZ absolutely packed on Tuesday 10 October for the opening of our Annual Art Show. It was sensational to see so many students and parents interested in the talents of our students and staff, reinforcing the value the community places on such an event. An incredible amount of work went into the preparation and the Art and Technology team deserves the highest praise for their commitment to the college and dedication in ensuring the delivery of this quality event where over 600 pieces of student work were framed by our staff and exhibited. Our local MP, Mr Tim Richardson attended the event and officially opened the night, and he also appreciated the level of talent on show. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of student prizes for various awards announced and presented on the night. The award winners are listed in an article later in this newsletter. 

Special thanks to Leah Bright for coordinating this event, with our assistant coordinators Alex Trevisan and Quinn Daly. They were supported by the rest of the Arts/Technology team in Aaron Davis, Demis Danoudis, Kathryn Bevan, Nigel Maas, Kelly-Ann Ferguson, Simon Cummins, Adelle Stevenson, Jason Liacos, Liz Scott, Sarah Robinson, and Angela Holloway.

Mordi Idol

One of our traditional end of Term 3 events, Mordi Idol was held in the Gym with the whole school in attendance (except some Year 12 students who were in a practice exam) on period 4 on Thursday 14 September. Thanks to our Adelle Mannerswood, for putting the event together. Thanks also to our judging panel (Bella Barker, Liz Mc Conville and Kelly Ferguson) who scored each act based on set criteria - entertainment value, quality of delivery and creativity.

Congratulations to all student entries across Years 7-12 for this event, who were all prepared to put themselves out there in front of the rest of the school community and give it their personal best. It is always such a wonderful event to bring the whole school together in celebration and appreciation of our student talents. 

Congratulations to:

First Place: Dhawan Sayee (Year 12)

Runner Up: Josh Hadrian (Year 7)

Congratulations to our State Champions in Athletics

Thanks to our Sports Coordinator, Cory Watters for his ongoing support of our students. 

This week at the Schools State Athletics Championships, we had two students who finished first and thus are State Champions, an outstanding achievement. Congratulations to Amy Bourne for Girls 15-16 years 100 and 200m, and Jude Ford for 12-14 Boys Shot Put. Kayden Anderson also did very well, finishing 3rd in the State for 12-13 Boys High jump.

Progress Reports

A reminder that progress check 5 for Year 7-11 students will be released to parents and students on compass by the end of the day this Friday. Please take the time to check these reports and highlight areas for celebration where your child/ren have performed to their personal best, along with discussing any areas for improvement over the rest of the school year. 

Mordialloc College Student Leadership Council

Congratulations to all students in Years 7-11 who have submitted their application letter applying for one of the student leadership roles for next year. The new leadership team will be launched in Headstart in our whole school assembly on Monday 20 November. Students in Year 11 applying for School Captains and Year 12 leadership roles for 2024 will be delivering their speeches in an assembly on Monday 23 October to all current Years 9-11 students and will be interviewed on the Thursday in Week 4. Students applying for Middle School captain’s roles will be delivering their speeches in an assembly on Monday 23 October with Years 7 & 8 students in attendance, with interviews following on the Friday in Week 4. Students applying for the house captain’s roles or to be a member of one of the six sub-committees (mentioned in my last newsletter article) do not need to give a speech, only an application letter. Thanks to our leader of the Student Council and House System, Mrs Kerry Archer for organising the application process. Joining me on the Year 12 leadership selection panel will be Mrs Archer and Mrs Brown; and joining me on the Middle School selection panel will be, Mrs Archer and Ms Bruce. Our new Year 7 students for 2024 will have the opportunity to apply for Year 7 house captain roles in the first half of Term 1, 2024 and select their sub-committee of interest. 

Staffing Update

This week we have welcomed Dani Dudovic to the College to our part-time careers/pathways position joining the Senior School team, in particular Emma White as our Pathways Coordinator. 

Ivy Ma, French and Humanities teacher has recently resigned from her teaching position at the College and we are currently working through the recruitment process to replace her. We are currently covering these classes with casual relief teachers. 

Julia Hockey, a former teacher who took up a position at Albert Park SC for this year, will be returning to our school in 2024 in a leading teacher role with us, Director of Student Engagement. Julia will also be teaching Maths. 

Unfortunately, we still have staff shortages over the rest of 2023 in Humanities, however, this has been addressed for the 2024 school year with some recent appointments to commence at the start of next year. 

School TV 

A reminder of this fantastic resource from leading psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg covering a wide range of topics, that we have invested in for parents and it is linked into our home page: https://mcsc.vic.schooltv.me/

Given we are heading into our Senior School exam period I would like to highlight the section called Exam Jitters: https://mcsc.vic.schooltv.me/newsletter/exam-jitters

This includes interviews with leading specialists about what students can do the night before an exam, what should students do the morning of the exam, what are the secrets to great Year 12 exam preparation, what parents can do to assist, how can students de-stress before an exam etc. 

Most students have participated in Elevate Study sessions during the year highlighting the need for study to be a continuous process not something you cram in at the end just before the exams. Students in Years 10-12 and in Year 9 SEAL, should have received their exam timetables by now and have hopefully mapped out a study schedule in the lead up to their respective examination period. 

Ms Michelle Roberts

Principal