From the Principal
Hello everyone, I hope you have had a wonderful week. Despite being a short week, students have had the opportunity to participate in many different activities, such as, lawn bowls and Yr 8 sport and squads. The annual athletics carnival was a huge success, with many students participating.
NAPLAN is in full swing for students in Yrs 7 and 9. I enjoyed walking around reading the responses to the writing task on Wednesday. Our students conduct themselves in a manner we expect and are very proud of. They have been extremely respectful and polite.
Every day is a great day at MSC and we recognise students feel more connected to the College when they can participate in extra-curricular activities. I would like all students to participate in at least one activity outside of the classroom.
There are 2 parent vacancies for School Council. If you would like to join we meet 8 times per year on Tuesday at 5pm. Please contact Alli Betts in the General Office for further information.
I have included a fact sheet for your information. When a student is considering having a day off, this fact sheet maybe a useful discussion point.
School is better when your teenager is there
Why it’s important
We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school each and every day.
Students develop good habits by going to school every day – habits that are necessary to succeed after school, whether in the workplace or in further study.
Missing school can have a big impact on students academically and socially. It can affect their test results, including VCE & VM, and, just as importantly, it can affect their relationships with other students, and lead to social isolation.
There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind and can affect their educational outcomes.
Each missed day is associated with falling behind in subject topics and assessment tasks, and lead to fewer subject choices and may impact on achievement in years 11 and 12 and post-school pathways.
Getting in early
It’s never too late to improve attendance. Even in the middle years, when school can seem the most challenging for students and when attendance rates can be at their lowest, going to school more often can make a big difference. Every day counts.
Schools are there to help – if you’re having attendance issues with your child, speak to your school about ways to address those issues.
In Victoria school is compulsory for children and young people aged 6 – 17 years
Student Absences
The main reasons for absence are:
Sickness – There are always times when students need to miss school, such as when they’re ill. It’s vital that they’re only away on the days they are genuinely sick, and setting good sleep patterns, eating well and exercising regularly can make a big difference.
Family holidays - It's vital that holidays are planned during school holidays where possible, and not during the term. If you are planning to go on holiday during term time, make sure that you talk to your school in advance, and work with them to develop an absence learning plan.
“Day off” – Think twice before letting your teenager have a “day off” as they could fall behind their classmates – every day counts.
Truancy – This is when students choose not to go to school without their parent’s permission or skip out of school during the day. There can be many reasons for truancy; the best way to address this is for schools and parents to work together.
While all absences can effect academic performance, DET’s statistics show that unexcused absences are a much stronger indicator of lower reading and maths achievement.
School refusal - School refusing children experience significant emotional distress not only when going to school but also at the thought of going to school; they may be absent from school for weeks or even months at a time. School refusal differs from truancy as children generally stay home with the knowledge of the parents and despite their best efforts to encourage their child to go to school. See: My child or teenager has anxiety
Being away from school for 1 day a fortnight equals missing 1.5 years over 13 years of school
If your teenager is away
If for any reason your teenager must miss school, there are things you can do with your school to ensure they don’t fall behind:
- Inform the school via your teen’s Form/Home Room teacher or Year Level Coordinator
- Find out what work your teenager needs to do to keep up.
- Develop an absence learning plan with your teenager’s teacher and ensure they complete the plan.
Remember, every day counts. If your teenager must miss school, speak with your home room teacher or year level coordinator as early as possible.
Openly communicating with your teenager’s school about all absences is a good way to prevent attendance issues being escalated to a School Attendance Officer. A School Attendance Officer is a Department of Education and Training Regional Director who has authority to follow up attendance issues. Chronic or ongoing attendance issues that are escalated can lead to an Infringement Notice being issued to parent/s.
If you’re having attendance issues with your teenager, please let the year level coordinator, wellbeing coordinator, principal or other relevant staff member know so you can work together to get your teen to school every day.
Top attendance tips for parents
- Schools want to work in partnership with parents – act early if you have any concerns by contacting your child’s school and asking for advice and support
- Remember that every day counts
- There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes and their social connectedness
- Talk positively about school and the importance of attending every day
- Open and prompt communication with your child’s school about all absences is a good idea
- Avoid making routine medical and dental appointments during the school day or planning family holidays during the term
- Seek help from your school if you are concerned about your child’s attendance and wellbeing. Schools want to work in partnership with parents to support student attendance and wellbeing’.
Further information
For more information and resources to help address attendance issues, visit:
Have a great weekend
Linda Stanton
Principal
Important Dates
Term 1
March
Wednesday 13th to 25th March - Year 7 and 9 NAPLAN
Monday 25th March - Year 7 Grandparent Morning Tea
Wednesday 27th March - Parent Teacher Interviews - Hybrid online and face to face
Thursday 28th March - Whole School Assembly
Thursday 28th March - Last day of Term 1, 2.30pm dismissal
Friday 29th March - Good Friday Public Holiday
Term 2
April
Monday 15th April - Term 2 Commences
Monday 15th April - Year 7 and Year 10 Vaccinations
Wednesday 17th to Friday 19th April - Year 9 Morrisby Meetings
Wednesday 17th to Friday 19th April - Year 11 Outdoor Ed Wilsons Prom Camp
Friday 19th April - State Swimming at MSAC
Wednesday 24th April - ANZAC Day Commemorations at school
Thursday 25th April - ANZAC Day - Public Holiday
Monday 29th April to Wednesday 1st May - Year 10 Outdoor Ed Otways Camp
May
Wednesday 8th May - Year 7 Cross Country
Thursday 16th May - Year 10 Careers Expo
Friday 17th May - Staff Professional Development Day - Student free
Wednesday 22nd to Friday 24th May - Year 7 Camp - The Summit
June
Tuesday 4th June - Year 12 TRAG Excursion
Thursday 6th to Friday 14th June - Year 10 and 11 Mid Year Exams
Monday 10th June - King's Birthday - Public Holiday
Monday 17th June - Semester 2 Begins
Tuesday 18th June - Year 12 GAT
Thursday 20th to Friday 21st June - Year 12 Outdoor Ed Snow Camp
Friday 21st June - SMR Cross Country - Ballam Park
Tuesday 25th June - 2025 Course Information Evening - 5.00 to 7.00pm
Thursday 27th June - Year 12 Fancy Dress Evening - Frankston Arts Centre
Friday 28th June - Last Day of Term 2 - 2.30pm Dismissal
Follow us on
Don't forget to look on compass for sport sign ups, excursions and any other information sent to students and parents.
Below is a link to help guide you in your use of compass.
https://mornsc.vic.edu.au/for-parents/compass-parent-guide/
Middle School
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We had a great athletics day because we had so many students participating in so many events. Athletics Day provides an opportunity for students to mix with other year groups and to have a go joining in events such as the long jump, high jump, javelin, and the hurdles.
Personally, it is great to see students do well beyond the classroom. I am always amazed at the number of talented athletes we have. Of course, it was lovely to see our parents who were able to attend to see their children compete.
Naplan : this week our Year 7 and Year 9 students are participating in Naplan. Our students are taking Naplan very seriously. I am very impressed as I watch our students typing away responding to the writing prompt. The Naplan writing process uses visuals. These visuals can serve as prompts or triggers for generating ideas for the writing task.
Now that Naplan assessment is digitised we get the results sooner which allows us to look at our teaching of skills and knowledge and make data informed decisions to support student learning.
Year 8 camp was a great success! Mr Pirrie and his team did a magnificent job, and this was noted by many. It is lovely to be appreciated and acknowledged and Mr Pirrie is very grateful to all the families who contacted the college to say thank you.
Just a reminder Year 7 parents- we have our grandparents morning tea on Monday 25 March 9.30am to 11.00am. (if not a grandparent – a special adult is most welcome) Come and join your grandchild in class and enjoy a scone and cup of tea.
Wishing our families a wonderful week
Denise Leggett
Middle School Assistant Principal
Senior School
To students and families of the Mornington Senior School,
We have two weeks remaining in our first term for 2024, and with parent teacher interviews and a public holiday, the term will be over before we know it.
Our Year 11 and 12 students have now completed assessments for most of their subjects and have a better understanding of how effective their study strategies are. Many Year 11 students will have noticed a considerable increase in workload during the first months of VCE and may have faced some challenges adapting to the demands on their time.
For our VCE ATAR students, they are expected to spend between 2.5 - -3 hours of homework/revision/preparation per subject per week (usually a total of 15 hours or so per week). By combining homework questions with revision strategies and pre-reading or pre-watching Edrolo videos, our students have the best chance of succeeding in their studies. The more students hone their skills in Years 10 and 11, the more likely they will reach their academic goals in Year 12, achieving the ATAR they dream about achieving.
To prepare for these demands at Year 11, we recommend Year 10 students are completing 1-1.5 hours per week per core subject (English, Maths) and for any elective subjects they are likely to complete in VCE. We will have semester exams for our Year 10s and 11s in early June and we’ll provide further information about them early next term.
Our VCE VM students should be able to complete most of their learning during class time and then their time away from school is spent on their VET subject and structured workplace learning (SWL). This SWL is an important part of preparing our VCE VM students for the next phase of their pathway whether it be into an apprenticeship, full-time employment, or a traineeship. The SWL is also designed to ensure students meet the government requirement of minutes per day spent in education and/or training. Students without an SWL will be supported to find one or may be required to attend school for a fourth day in the week to meet that government requirement.
Our first Captain’s Council for Term 1 will be running in week 8 and I look forward to working with our College Captains, Bridie Borthwick and Molly Pierce-Decker and the other student leaders to further improve our school environment to ensure each student can feel safe, supported, and connected in order to thrive and flourish.
Have a fantastic weekend.
Nick Evans
Senior School Assistant Principal
Time for a Check In
As we approach the end of term it’s time to check in on how your child is going at school. Its been a really productive term and there are a number of markers which give us an opportunity to celebrate the success of our students. Progress checks have been completed and are available on compass these give you a great insight into how your student is going in each class and hopefully triggers you to book parent teacher conferences, which are happening on Wednesday 27th of March. As I have previously written, these conferences provide a great opportunity to celebrate success and to help your child work on strategies for improvement. Alongside progress reports students have set personal improvement goals for each subject, I would encourage you to ask your child about these prior to parent teacher conferences so they can form part of the discussions. Finally it is assessment season at the moment, where students are completing performance tasks based on the work they have completed over the term. This is again a great opportunity for you to have a chat with your child about what they have coming up and what things you can do at home to help support them achieving their best.
Kind regards,
Mike Parker
Assistant Principal
Year 8 Camp
On Monday March 4th, 44 keen students boarded the bus for three days of fun filled activities in Phillip Island. Students stopped in San Remo to stretch their legs and have some lunch, before crossing the bridge and arriving at the Big Wave holiday resort.
After settling in their rooms, they were off to the beach for a surf lesson and beach games. Tired and hungry, we headed back to our accommodation for a roast dinner, before heading out for ten pin bowling and laser tag.
Day 2 started with a hearty breakfast, before students broke into their activity groups. Throughout the day, students participated in mountain biking, snorkelling and stand up paddle boarding. By dinner time, students were clearly feeling the full effects of the long day of activity, but were soon back to their lively best after a pizza and ice cream dinner. After this, we headed out to see the famous Penguin Parade, which anecdotally is the second highest tourist attraction in Australia.
Day 3 we woke and packed our bags before heading out to Woolamai beach for a long walk. Once again tired and hungry, we headed back to San Remo, where we met up with the second group of campers- 47 excited students who were just beginning their three day camp and would return on Friday.
On both camps, all students participated in every activity and got out of their comfort zones, which was really pleasing to see. Students made new friendships and built on existing friendships. Staff were also amazing in encouraging and supporting students who may have been reluctant to participate.
Huge thanks to Mr Pirrie and Mrs Cameron, who stayed the entire week for both camps, as well as Mr Papettas, Mrs Rattue, Mr Williams, Mrs Nichols, Mr Southam, Ms Carnie and Mr Doherty.
Adam Pirrie
Year 8 Team Leader
Shaun Doherty and Kim Rattue
Year 8 Coordinators
Positive Feedback from the Year 8 Camp
Dear Linda, Adam & Robyn,
What a pleasure to host Mornington SC and work with Adam and the team.
Noticeably this year we had two completely different camps with a different energy and student cohort.
Adam and the team’s ability to recognise this change in personality needs and then to pivot and change direction to accommodate the students needs was a highlight for me.
Often students, schools and teachers only hear the negative comments.
Important to call out the positives…
Please pass onto Adam, Leadership, and team and most importantly the students of our thanks and gratitude for another successful camp!
On a personal note, Adam, I wanted to let you know that your effort, energy, and dedication to this program doesn’t go unnoticed with my team. Like all camps we have our challenges but it’s the leadership of Adam that made the camp so successful.
Your ability to work and adjust to the individual needs of your students and as a group is inspirational.
Kind Regards,
Larson Henderson
The Island Accommodation
House Athletics - Tuesday 12th March
On Tuesday 12th March we held the College House Athletics competition at Ballam Park. The weather gods smiled upon us with a perfect day to run the event, especially after such a hot long weekend! The participation by students was fantastic with students running from one event to another to give their best effort for house points. We even had an extremely competitive dinosaur 100m race! The novelty events were fun to watch with the sack race, egg and spoon, gum boot toss and the classic tug of war in full swing. Students enjoyed a BBQ sausage while dancing to the pumping music which has become a hallmark of our carnivals. It was great to see staff and students dressed in their house colours and cheering for their house mates. The grand aggregate house points was exceptionally close this year with the final standings as follows: in fourth place on 1055 points the Beleura Red Backs, in third place on 1069 points were the Coolart Crocs, our runners up this year on 1182 were the Tuerong Sharks which leaves our 2024 House Athletics Champions on 1181 points the Balcombe Stingrays. Congratulations to Balcombe house and to all our competitors who competed with such enthusiasm and positivity throughout the day. Our event winners will go on to represent the school and the Division athletics competition which will be held at Ballam Park on Thursday 2nd May.
Congratulations to Balcombe Stingrays
Year 7 and Year 10 Immunisation Information
For the attention of Year 7 Parents / Guardians:
The 2024 Immunisation Program for Year 7 students is scheduled for Monday 15th April.
Please read the attached letter from Mornington Peninsula Shire regarding a move to online consent. Manual consent is still available using the attached pdf. Please print, complete, and ask your student to deliver to Student Services at the college. A paper consent is also available at Student Services
Click here for Year 7 Immunisation online consent
For the attention of Year 10 Parents / Guardians:
The 2024 Immunisation Program for Year 10 students is scheduled for Monday 15th April. Please read the attached letter from Mornington Peninsula Shire regarding a move to online consent. Manual consent is still available using the attached pdf. Please print, complete, and ask your student to deliver to Student Services at the college. A paper consent form is also available from Student Services.
For online consent for Year 10 Immunisation click here
Use of the Mornington Secondary School Buses
Dear Parents / Carers,
Students with a place on a Mornington Secondary College school bus are reminded they can only travel on the school bus they have been allocated to.
Students are not allowed to travel on any other bus as this results in allocated students not getting a seat.
Students found to be travelling on the wrong bus may lose their bus place. Staff will be on duty to check this.
We ask parents to please remind their children to follow the process, so it is fair for everyone.
If you need further information regarding your child’s allocated bus, please contact Student Services on 5970 0200 – Option 1.
Thank you,
Shellie Farnill
Bus Coordinator
Percy Jackson is coming to MSC!
Stay tuned to next months newsletter for tickets to come and see our production of The Lightning Thief! The musical follows Percy Jackson, a 12-year-old boy who newly discovers that he is a demigod and goes on a quest to find Zeus' missing lightning bolt and prevent a war between the Greek Gods. Our cast list will be announced soon so we can celebrated our talented students!
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