Principal Update

Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

I hope that this November newsletter finds you well, and happy in the fact that even though the weather is trying to tell us otherwise, summer is well and truly here!

In this edition, I am focusing on an important Australia-wide event that may impact some Mordialloc College students and families before the end of this academic year.  

New social media age restrictions for students aged under 16 years come into effect on 10th December 2025, and this may be a good time for our students and families to prepare for those changes so that arrangements are in place for students to stay connected with each other this summer. 

Why is this happening?

You may be aware of discussions around emerging concerns about social media use including: 

• high levels of use resulting in young people being distracted, and reduced attention spans
• issues with sleep deprivation
• wellbeing concerns including an increased prevalence of anxiety, and increased social isolation 

• exposure to cyber-bullying, misinformation, and disinformation 

   

A number of surveys across Australia (including in Victoria) found that many families had concerns about their child’s use of social media. Surveys also found that families are not confident that they can keep their children safe on social media. 

Schools across Australia and overseas are reporting the same concerns about the overuse of social media: distraction that is impacting learning, and wellbeing.

What is happening? 

In November 2024, the Australian parliament passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 which requires ‘age-restricted’ social media platforms (where age restrictions already apply) to take reasonable steps to prevent users under the age of 16 from having and using an account. 

The apps affected include: Facebook, TikTok, Kick Instagram, X, Reddit, Snapchat, YouTube, Threads and Twitch

The following apps are currently not covered under this age-restriction: YouTube Kids, Google Classroom , GitHub, WhatsApp, Messenger, Discord, LEGO Play, Roblox, Stream and Stream Chat 

This process is being overseen by the eSafety Commissioner which has a range of resources available for Australians on the Social media age restrictions hub. 

There are also resources specifically to address questions your child may have.

What is Mordialloc College doing?  

As a learning community we embrace the positive ways in which technology has impacted our lives and the community. Our key focus is now on supporting our students to engage with this technology appropriately and safely. 

We recognise that this will take a whole community approach, with schools and families working with students to ensure that they are safe, engaged and enjoying both their childhood and their time at school. 

As a part of our Connect program, we will continue to teach students about the impact of cyberbullying, and safe use of the internet and social media. In accordance with the Department’s Mobile Phones — Student Use Policy, personal mobile phones must not be used at Mordialloc College during school hours, including lunchtime and recess, unless an exception has been granted. We will continue to seek your support in upholding this policy within the college.

What you may want to do now.

If you have a child aged under 16, you may now want to discuss any preparations that may need to be made leading up to December.  These might include: 

• Ensuring your child has the contact details of their friends that they want to keep in touch with over the summer holidays, and identify new messaging apps 
• downloading photos or other posts that they may want to keep 

• starting to use the platforms less leading up to 10 December. 

   

The main advice is to not leave the changes all to the last minute. 

As outlined above there is the Social media age restrictions hub | eSafety Commissioner available for Australians as well as a Get-ready Guide for under-16s 

We look forward to working with you during this time of transition.

Mordialloc College Student Council (MCSC) 2026

Congratulations to all students who went through the selection process of a written application, a presentation to peers, and an interview with senior staff to become a leader within our MCSC 2026 Leadership Team. On Tuesday 25th November, we were joined by Tim Richardson to launch our new MCSC Leadership team in our Headstart 2026 assembly. Our captains introduced themselves to the whole school, spoke passionately about what has driven them to become a whole school leader, and shared ways to further develop student agency and engagement at Mordialloc College. Our 2026 Captains have already been involved in events that have represented Mordialloc College, and I am really looking forward to working with them in 2026. 

• School captains: April George and Zander Howell

• Vice school captains: Ethan Simons and Ryan Westwood

• Middle school captains: Charlotte Ellem and George Horejsi

 MCSC Leadership 2026:                 

As we move into 2026 our new Year 7 students will have the opportunity to select sub-committees of interest and fully throw themselves into their new school!

KELiS Award Winners

As a Koorie Emerging Leaders in Schools (KEliS) school, Mordialloc College was part of a team that was awarded the Outstanding Koorie Education Team Award in this year’s Victorian Education Excellence Awards.

The KELiS program was developed in close collaboration with the Department of Education, the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated and other schools in the Bayside Peninsula area. 

KELiS students are provided with the opportunity to connect with peers across local schools, enhance their cultural knowledge through collaboration with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, and be involved in a variety of projects, including organising NAIDOC and National Reconciliation Week events, and presenting at education and community forums.

A huge thank you to Alan Johnson (Koorie Engagement Support Officer) for taking the time to present this award to our school, we are really proud of the great work we have started to undertake at Mordialloc College.

Supporting our young people to be safe over the summer

A big thank you to Moorabbin Proactive Policing Unit who visited Year 8 with lots of advice about how they can choose to stay safe during this summer.

The presentation focused on expectations of young people within the community, for example riding a bicycle safely to and from school, safe use of public transport, safe movement of young people around the Mordialloc community, and the Proactive Police Unit’s role in working within our community to keep us safe.

Transport Accident Commission (TAC) have also provided us with resources to share,  and these also focus on what families can do to ensure safe travel around the wider school community. You will find a fact sheet and a video via this TAC Safe Migration Project resource. 

Don’t forget to check in with your Year 8 child to find out some hints and tips about being safe over the summer..

ArtsTech Build

We finally have our very first step towards starting this project, with the two portable Food Tech classrooms being dropped off last week. These spaces are currently shells and will take a while to build, before decanting the S-rooms to make those portables into working spaces. However, it is good to finally have something to share with you about something tangible happening!

Staffing

We have had new staff come into the college from Term 3, through Term 4, and into January 2026. I know you will make them feel very welcome to our Mordialloc College community!

• Aimee Chen (Maths)
• Jordy Hine (Drama)
• Jo Howells (Middle school administration)
• Katia Dell'Anna (French)
• Henry Lim (Maths)
• Madeleine Brew (HPE)
• Daniel Vancea (English)
• Jacinta Theobold (Art)
• Braden Grady (Science)
• Thomas Humphrey (Science)

Rachael Stone

Principal