Acting Principal's Update

Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

A big welcome back to Term 2 to all of you! I really do hope that you had a restful holiday; the weather has taken on an autumnal feel and as we get ready for the cooler days, hopefully this newsletter will prepare you for all of the great things that this term has to offer. As we have had staff changes in our Front Office, the newsletter will now be sent out on Thursdays.

This is IT: Charity Event

At the end of Term 1, we were asked to host an event for This is IT,  a charity that we have worked closely with for the last few years.

Access to laptops seems to be so commonplace that it is easy to forget that some young people in our community do not have their own laptop; the impact of this can be profound, with those students being unable to access computer based resources outside of school hours. When Andrew Simmons, Chief Executive Officer with the Southeast Local Learning and Employment Network (SLLEN) and part of the This Is IT charity organisation asked for our support in hosting this event, we jumped at the chance as so far, we have received over 40 laptops for some of our most financially vulnerable students.

The This is IT initiative has successfully expanded into the Bayside and Peninsula regions, with a move into Frankston planned later on in the year.

Our event brought together our own Mordialloc College Student Council as hosts and they warmly welcomed Andrew Simmons, Tyrone Landsman, Simon Whitely  and Nadia Conn (This Is IT), Jenna Davey-Burns (City of Kingston Mayor), Peter Bean (City of Kingston CEO), Jordan Perdevski (City of Kingston IT), Tim Richardson, (MP Mordialloc) and Paul Newson (Principal, Oakwood School)

If you would like to know more about this initiative, or have laptops that you would like to donate to this worthy cause, please contact Andrew Simmons, CEO at South-East LLEN and co-founder at This Is IT via email on asimmons@sellen.org.au.

Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews

In the final week of Term 1 we held our online parent/teacher/student interviews; yet again we had a very positive attendance rate. We hope that parents and students found this day to be valuable, we know how important this dialogue for progress is. 

If you were not able to attend the interviews and wish to discuss your child’s progress, please contact specific teachers via Compass email to organise a time to discuss. If you have any feedback regarding the interview process please email Tracey Bastin (Assistant Principal) via mordialloc.co@education.vic.gov.au   

KINGSTON SWIMMING SPORTS (21/03/2024)

Mordialloc College Swim Team participated in the Kingston District Swimming Carnival at Oakleigh Recreation Swimming Pool for the fourth time on Thursday 21st March 2024. With fifty-one students representing the college across all age levels. Ninety-two events were contested, Mordialloc College placed third or better in fifty of these events, fourteen more than in 2023. Mordialloc College finished in third place overall with a grand total of 597 points, fifty-four points fewer than 2023’s result. There were some outstanding performances by Mordialloc College swimmers on the day.

Notable performances on the day include the following:

Izzie Patterson – 1st Girls 15 50 Metre Breaststroke (41.97 secs)

Cooper Tregellis – 1st Boys 15 50 Metre Breaststroke (42.11 secs)

Izzie Patterson – 1st Girls 15 50 Metre Butterfly (34.80 secs)

Jake Ridley – 1st Boys 15 50 Metre Breaststroke (35.67 secs) 

Jake Ridley – 1st Boys 17 50 Metre Butterfly (27.82 secs) NEW KINGSTON RECORD

Izzie Patterson – 1st Girls 15 50 Metre Freestyle (31.38 secs)

Jake Ridley – 1st Boys 17 50 Metre Freestyle (27.34 secs)

Daniel Vincze – 1st Boys 14 50 Metre Backstroke (35.17 secs)

Izzie Patterson – 1st Girls 15 50 Metre Backstroke (39.83 secs)

Jake Patterson – 1st Boys 17 50 Metre Backstroke (31.50 secs) NEW KINGSTON RECORD

Jake Ridley – 1st Boys 16-20 200 Metre IM (2:23.86 secs) 

Mordialloc College – 1st 15 Girls 200 Metre Freestyle Relay (2:30.23 secs)

SMR – SECONDARY SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS (25/03/2024)

Congratulations to all swimmers on their exceptional results and all the very best and good luck to Jake Ridley &, Daniel Vincze who have both qualified for the SSV – State Swimming Championships on Friday 19th April at MSAC. A big thankyou to Mr Watters for his organisation of these sporting events. 

Girls 15 Years Breaststroke, 50m – Izzie Patterson – 2nd (43.48 secs)

Boys 15 Years Breaststroke, 50m – Cooper Tregellis – 4th (45.85 secs)

Girls 15 Years Butterfly, 50m – Izzie Patterson – 3rd (36.64 secs)

Boys 17 Years Butterfly, 50m – Jake Ridley – 1st NEW RECORD (26.13 secs)

Girls 15 Years Freestyle, 50m – Izzie Patterson – 3rd (32.04 secs) 

Boys 17 Years Freestyle, 50m – Jake Ridley – 1st (25.70 secs)

Boys 14 Years Backstroke, 50m – Daniel Vincze – 1st (34.51 secs)

Girls 14 Years Backstroke, 50m – Izzie Patterson – 3rd (39.56 secs) 

Boys 16-20 Years Individual Medley, 200m – Jake Ridley – 1st (2:30.90 secs)

House Athletics Carnival

On the last day of Term 1, we celebrated our House Athletics Carnival; it is always so much fun to spend the day with the students, and a real privilege to see so many of your children try their best to support their house.

Congratulations to Bunurong (Yellow House) in taking out the 2024 House Athletics Carnival by 137 points to Yerlonga (Blue House). Well done to all Age Group Champions and to all students who participated on the day. 

Thankyou to all staff for their assistance in such an enjoyable day of House Athletics.

Open Events

This Thursday 18th April we are holding our SEAL information night for prospective parents and students. Thanks to Amelia Hargreaves (SEAL Coordinator) for her presentations for the night. Congratulations also go to our student speakers for SEAL on the night, Tallain Connell, Suu Mon Naing and Isabelle Vicendese.

We also look forward to meeting prospective students and their parents at our Open Night on April 24th.  The formal start to Open Night will be at 6.30pm in the Gym with our School Captains Isabelle Vicendese and Antonio Marques Vaz Serra hosting this event alongside myself, and our new School Council president, Mr Jason Allan. Attendees will be taken on a guided tour of the school so that they can see teaching spaces, meet teaching staff and speak with current students. Thanks to the many students who have volunteered their time to act as guides. 

A reminder to all that we are expecting this to be a well-attended event and as such, parking will be at a premium. The car park in Governor Road is a useful space to consider if you are looking for somewhere that has easy access to parking for this event.  

If you know of families that are interested in sending their child to Mordialloc College, do let them know that we also run tours of the school during the day; people can book in for these tours that run on Fridays at 9.30am by calling us on 9580 1184.

SchoolTV: A Wellbeing Resource for Parents

We subscribe to SchoolTV, a wellbeing website designed by Dr Michael Carr-Gregg to assist parents with modern day parenting. This award-winning resource can assist in starting important conversations with your child about topics that can sometimes be deemed as awkward.

Topics feature interviews with leading youth wellbeing experts and additionally, each topic includes a compilation of related resources from key organisations providing a comprehensive stream of content.  To access the vast range of SchoolTV resources, go via our website https://mcsc.vic.edu.au/,  along the top bar click on parents & community and then scroll down to click on SchoolTV.

Mordialloc College School Values: Respect

As we start Term 2, I would like to take the opportunity to share some insights into one of our school values: respect.

It is so very important that this value underpins our core focus on positive relationships for learning across the College and within our school community. Throughout 2023 and 2024, all staff continue to work closely with Kristy Elliott to better inform our journey towards exemplarity relationships for learning. Alongside Kristy, we have engaged in bespoke professional learning with the desired outcome of creating a culture of dignity, inclusion, and equity where our students and school  community thrive.

When families and school staff work together as a team, your children do better. Everyone at Mordialloc College, particularly staff and families, play a role in making our school a better place for learning and working. When this relationship is built on respect and trust, students learn better and feel as though they belong.

The department’s Respectful Behaviours within the School Community Policy sets out the clear standards of behaviour that we expect from all members of our Mordialloc College community so that we can continue to create the safe, respectful, and inclusive learning environment that our students and staff deserve. 

If you have any questions or feedback as regards this, then I always welcome your contact via mordialloc.co@education.vic.gov.au.

I am really looking forward to working with you for a positive Term Two.

Rachael Stone

Acting Principal

Mordialloc College would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land – the Bunurong/Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin nation, and pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. 

As a school and community, we are committed to a greater understanding and appreciation of Indigenous culture.