Mornington Secondary College Newsletter

From the Principal

Hello everyone, 

I hope you are finding the contents of my newsletter each week enjoyable and informative.

We recognise student wellbeing is an important factor in achieving academic excellence. Our wellbeing staff work alongside student managers to provide an environment where students are happy, healthy and resilient.

 

In this newsletter I would like to highlight the extensive wellbeing team we have working with our young people. Currently there are three student wellbeing counsellors, Bron, Nicole and Jon. Bron is a qualified teacher, Nicole a social worker and a Mental Health Practitioner and Jon a Chaplain. We are lucky to have Michelle as our second Mental Health Practitioner. Michelle is a qualified psychologist, and our school nurse, Suzie. All members of the team work individually with students and offer programs to small groups. Equine Therapy and Strength are two examples offered on a weekly basis. 

 

Our students also have access to the Doctors in Schools program. Dr Steph is onsite every Thursday and students can bulk bill through Medicare. HeadSpace have also offered the services of Psychologist, Sarah O'Reilly. She will be onsite one day per fortnight.

All students are welcome to access our wellbeing team.

 

I look forward to meeting our Year 7 families today in the Learning Centre beginning at 4.30pm at our annual Year 7 Parent Teacher Meet n Greet.

 

 

 

 

 

Linda Stanton

Principal

 

Important Dates

February

23/02/23 | 4.30pm - 6.00pm Year 7 Meet and Greet for Parents and Students 

28/02/23 | Whole School Athletics Day

 

March 

09/03/23 | OPEN NIGHT

13/03/23 | Labour Day public holiday - (No students)

20/03/23 - 24/03/23 | Year 8 Camps

30/03/23 | Parent/Teacher Interviews

 

April

06/04/23 | Last day of Term 1- Finish 2.30pm

Wellbeing Team

Who can attend the Wellbeing Centre?

All students

 

Who can students meet with from the Wellbeing Team?

 

 

Suzie Adsett 

Secondary School Nurse  

Monday and Thursday

 

 

 

 

Michelle Allsop 

Mental health Practitioner/Psychologist

Tuesday to Thursday

 

 

 

 

Nicole Boland 

Mental Health Practitioner/Social Worker

Monday to Friday

 

 

 

 

Jon Gibson 

Student Wellbeing Counsellor

Monday to Friday

 

 

 

 

Bron Hocking

Student Wellbeing Counsellor

Monday to Friday

 

 

 

Where is the Wellbeing Centre?

Near the Breakfast Club

 

What are some of the reasons students access Wellbeing?

  • Friendship or family matters
  • Stress and/or worries
  • Mental health concerns
  • Organisational skills
  • Advice/support for a friend matter

How can you access Wellbeing?

  • Coordinator can refer
  • Self-refer
  • Parent referral
  • Student can pop in at recess or lunch

Introducing Sarah O'Reilly

 

 

Sarah O'Reilly 

HeadSpace Frankston

 

 

 

 

Sarah from Headspace in Frankston will be at the school every second Monday as part of the Enhancing Mental Health in Secondary School EHMSS initiative. Sarah will be providing brief interventions to a collection of students. If you need mental health supports please reach out to the Wellbeing Team or Headspace Frankston. 

STOPIT service

STOPIT is a new Victoria Police text notification service enabling commuters, including school students, to report any form of inappropriate behaviour that makes them feel uncomfortable, frightened or threatened on the public transport network.

 

How STOPIT works:

The STOPIT service enables commuters to use their mobile phone to promptly, easily and discreetly report inappropriate behaviours.

 

To use the service, commuters simply text ‘STOPIT’ to 0499 455 455. This triggers an automated response that includes a link to where the commuter can provide more details about what’s just happened.

 

When people report these types of inappropriate behaviours, police can investigate and identify offenders to improve safety on public transport for everyone.

 

Parents and carers are encouraged to consider discussing the new service with students who travel on public transport. Students who use mobile phones outside of school hours are encouraged to save the STOPIT number in their mobile phone.

 

Please note, STOPIT is for reporting non-urgent incidents on public transport. Always phone 000 in an emergency.

 

For more information, refer to sexual and anti-social behaviour on public transport on the Victoria Police website.

Middle School Assistant Principal

Dear Parents and Guardians

 

We have had a great start to the year across the college.  I have had the opportunity to pop into classes and, of course, be out and about around the yard and one thing the Year 7's like about secondary college is the opportunity of  learning  different subjects and having more than one teacher. The canteen is also a popular subject.  The happy faces of our students running around with groups of friends in the yard confirm how quickly our Year 7 students have settled into secondary college.

 

Year 8 and 9 students are familiar with the college routines and they too have settled into their new locations and new structure which includes the five period day and Connect. The Year 9's have Intermediate Sport tomorrow with the students signing up for a sport of their choice.  

 

Other exciting news is that we have our Athletics Carnival at Ballam Park next Tuesday 28 February and on Tuesday 14 March we have Year 8 Sport.

 

As of this week, students in all  year levels will have an opportunity to be setting learning goals. As you can hear we have many great and wonderful activities taking place.

 

 

 

Denise Leggett

Assistant Principal 

 

Year 12

Dear Year 12 Families

 

VCE has a very strict attendance policy which is outlined by the Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority (VCAA). In line with this, Mornington Secondary College VCE attendance policy is 90%. This includes Vocational Major students. If your child is absent from school, it is essential that a medical certificate is provided. If you are completing this on Compass, please either upload the certificate or your child can bring the certificate to the general office the next day they attend school. 

 

If a student is away with Covid, a medical certificate or statutory declaration is required. This extends to all absences including assessments. If a student misses an assessment task but does not provide a medical certificate, they will receive a zero for the task. We want to ensure students have the best year possible and that their hard work is rewarded. If you have questions related to attendance, please feel free to contact Evangeline Romage, Victoria Milner or myself. 

 

Scott Kirkby

Year 12 Team Leader

Maths News

Thanks to all of those who attended the Numeracy Information Night. There was some really great feedback. For those who were not able to make it below are some of the key take-aways.

 

Speak about Maths in a positive way, and encourage students to give tricky work a go. 

  1. Practice Multiplication Tables regularly - they are required for 80% of the Year 8 curriculum. 
  2. Complete numeracy activities at home, whether it be study, budgeting, board games or planning your next holiday. 
  3. Watch this quick clip to get some more ideas of how to support your child - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8EQPz_Zhkw

 

Please note students in Year 7 – 10 are welcome to attend Maths Homework Help on Wednesdays from 3:20pm in R8.

 

General Maths students can attend Mr Brenton’s Masterclass on Wednesdays from 3:20pm in R4.

 

Stacee Reddy

Head of Mathematics

Numeracy Leading Teacher

 

The Resilience Project

There will be a Parent and Carer webinar presentation, Discovering Resilience, (with other schools) on Wednesday 15th March from 6.30pm - 8.00pm (90 mins).

 

What you can expect.

Martin Heppell will be delivering his flagship ‘Discovering Resilience’ presentation to you. Through his high-energy humour and captivating storytelling, Martin will share simple, practical tips we can use everyday to improve our wellbeing.

 

Why a Parent & Carer presentation?

When building positive mental health in schools, we know the best impact happens when we work together. 

 

The ‘Discovering Resilience’ presentation helps do just that by sharing those same evidence-based strategies being taught in the classroom, so they can be also practised at home and beyond. Attendees will also be reminded of the importance of their own wellbeing - we bring the best versions of ourselves to our family and community, when we make time to look after ourselves.

 

Parents and Carer will need to register for the webinar using the following link:https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tWLlDrq3QbmIOzKvO5-SpA

Upon registration, registrants will receive a link to attend the webinar, along with a reminder the day prior.