Principal Update

Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

I am going to begin with a real sense of gratitude for the amazing start that we have had to Term 3; it has been inspiring to see our students be so successful in a range of ways: working with our local Year 5 students when they came to visit Mordialloc College, getting ready for our production Mama Mia!, creating toys for Marketing Madness, and our wonderful School Captain Zander making us so very proud at the Premier’s VCE Awards 2026. 

Year 12

Term 3 requires resilience, routine and a growth mindset for our Year 12 students as they launch themselves into these final few weeks of completing their VCE VM work, or preparing for their Term 4 VCE examinations. To support our students, we continue to offer after school sessions with our ex-Mordialloc College graduates, and after school Study Support; student feedback about these sessions is amazing, and the packed Senior Centre space speaks for itself.

In Term 3, Week 10: we will again run practice examinations; this process is an essential step in preparation for the VCE examinations that begin in Term 4. 

The VCAA Exam timetable can be found here:

https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/administration/key-dates/vce-examination-timetable 

There has been some real excitement from Year 12 students who are beginning to engage with the VTAC application process, and having conversations about their ‘What Next?”. Whatever pathway our Year 12 students choose to embark on, we are there to support them: please reach out with any questions about how you can support your child as, we know that keeping those conversations going only serves to support student success here at Mordialloc College. 

Mama Mia! 

Tickets are now on sale for this much anticipated event running across Wednesday 19th August - Friday 21st August;  I am so excited to see the culmination of months of hard work from staff and students.

Alongside watching both Aspendale Gardens Primary School and Aspendale Primary School sing a few songs with our Mama Mia cast, I have also had a few sneaky peeks at the rehearsals. It is pretty amazing to see how many students know all the words to so many ABBA songs! 

To buy a ticket and join in with what will absolutely be an amazing production, please go to https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1618863. 

Course Preference Meetings

Our three sub-school (Junior, Middle, Senior) model strategically supports your child as they transition in, transition through, and transition out of Moridalloc College.

A key theme that aligns our sub-schools is Career Pathways, where counselling conversations are held with members of our Career and Pathways team, and course preference conversations are held with Career and Pathways staff, and teaching staff. 

A huge thank you to all of our families who over these last two weeks have attended (both on-line and in person) meetings to support the subject selection process; it is amazing to work with you to support every students’ success at Mordialloc College.

Michael Raydan work with Students and Families

Over the past few weeks, our Year 10 and Year 11 students had the privilege of hearing from motivational speaker Michael Raydan. Through his powerful personal story, Michael challenged students to think critically about the choices they make, the influence of peer pressure, and the long-term consequences of risk-taking behaviours. 

Drawing on his own lived experience, he spoke openly about substance abuse, decision making, personal responsibility, resilience and the importance of seeking support before small choices become life-changing ones. His message was both confronting and inspiring, encouraging students to make informed decisions and to look out for those around them.

On Tuesday evening, we were delighted to welcome our families to a special community presentation with Michael. The session explored many of the same themes, while also providing practical strategies for parents to have open conversations with their children about staying safe.

What made the evening particularly powerful was the inclusion of Michael's parents, who shared their own perspective of supporting a teenager through some of life's most challenging moments. Their honesty and vulnerability provided a unique insight into the emotional impact that difficult choices have on families. They spoke candidly about the fear, uncertainty and hope they experienced, reinforcing the important role that families play in maintaining strong relationships, setting clear expectations and keeping communication open throughout adolescence.

The evening was highly interactive, with families encouraged to ask questions and engage in discussion throughout the presentation. The feedback received has been overwhelmingly positive, with many families commenting on how authentic, thought provoking and relevant the session was.

A sincere thank you to Michael and his family for sharing their experiences so openly. We are also grateful to our families who attended and contributed to such a meaningful evening;  opportunities like these help strengthen our connections with you. For more info on Michael's story please visit https://michaelraydan.com.au/

Thursday 20th August - Staff Professional Learning Day

A reminder that Thursday 20th August is a Staff Professional Learning Day and is a designated Student Free Day. Our focus for the day is Inclusion where all Teaching and Educational Support staff will be receiving professional learning around OHS, Disability Inclusion, and Wellbeing for Learning.

Reporting to Parents and Parent Teacher interviews

I would like to include a reminder in this newsletter about our arrangements for our online Parent Teacher interviews for Years 7 - 12 to be held on Monday 31st August from 10.00am - 6.30 pm.

On site classes will not run on this day as students are expected to attend the online interviews with their parent/s. Students must attend their interview with a parent, or adult member of their family.

Each student will be set meaningful work for every lesson that they must complete throughout the school day; this work will be accessible through Compass.

Bookings will be open through Compass for you to book interviews with teachers from 9:30am on 12th August until 4:00pm on 25th August, If you encounter any problems logging into Compass, please contact the College General Office on 9580 1184.

Signing in Late

The school day begins at 8.55am. If your child is running late, they need to sign in at the Front Office using the Compass machine. To do this, they need the Compass card that all of our students were provided with at the beginning of the year. The Compass card is also used to get into toilets, to swap for loaned equipment, and to use in the Hub; if your child has lost their card, you can easily order another one via this link: COMPASS NEW CARD.

As part of our normal OH&S procedures, after the school day has started, we lock the two gates that lead onto our site leading from the Mordialloc Creek path. This means that If your child arrives at school late, they can only enter the school via the Front Office. 

Rachael Stone

Principal