From the Principal

The end of term is near, and students and staff are looking forward to a well-earned break. 

Term 2 has provided many opportunities for students. It began with our traditional ANZAC day service, followed by marching up Main Street, Mornington to the Memorial Park to pay our respect to the ANZACs who fought and died for peace. 

Students in Year 9 participated in Morrisby interviews, identifying potential career opportunities; to be reviewed prior to course counselling interviews. Year 10 students attended the Careers expo at the Caulfield Racecourse and Senior Art students viewed Top Arts at the Ian Potter Centre in Melbourne whilst the Legal Studies students attended the Magistrates Court. VM students spent time with members of our local community at the Mornington Library. Year 8 students attended the ‘World of Maths’ incursion for World Numeracy Day and Year 7 students had a great time at the Summit. 

At the end of this term, students, and families at Year 9 and Year 10 are invited to the Course Information evening, 20th June. Year 9 families meet in the Learning Centre at 5pm for a presentation before attending the Expo in the Robert Herbert Gym. Year 10 families meet at the Learning Centre at 5.45pm for a presentation before attending the Expo in the Robert Herbert Gym. I look forward to seeing many of you on the night.

As I walk around the school, particularly in classrooms, I see students engaged in their learning, without the distractions of mobile phones. Thank you to the students for doing the right thing and families supporting the mobile phone ban.

The focus for next term and beyond will continue to be a safe and orderly learning environment, where all students can learn and achieve success. One of the ways to ensure success is by placing importance on full time attendance. 

'Schooling is compulsory for children and young people aged from 6 to 17 years unless an exemption from attendance or enrolment has been granted.

Daily school attendance is important for all children and young people to succeed in education and to ensure they don't fall behind both socially and developmentally. Children and young people who regularly attend school and complete Year 12 or an equivalent qualification have better health outcomes, better employment outcomes, and higher incomes across their lives. It is important that children develop habits of regular attendance at an early age.

School participation is important as it maximises life opportunities for children and young people by providing them with education and support networks. School helps people to develop important skills, knowledge and values which set them up for further learning and participation in their community.

Conversely, limited school participation is associated with a greater chance of dropping out of school, disruptive and delinquent behaviour and may lead to a cycle of rebellion against authority. These outcomes have later implications for employment, a range of health risk behaviours (drug and alcohol abuse), homelessness, poverty, welfare dependence, and involvement in the justice system'. (education.vic.gov.au)

If you require assistance in ensuring fulltime attendance, please make contact with the relevant Year Level Coordinator.

I hope you have a lovely week.

Linda Stanton

Principal

Important Dates

JUNE

15/06/23 | GAT day

20/06/23 | Course Information Evening

23/06/23 | Last day of Term 2 - School ends at 2.30pm

JULY

10/07/23 | First day of Term 3

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,

Yesterday I visited students in the VHAP class (Victorian High Ability Program) and they were madly typing on their laptops engrossed in their work.  

I was told that they were writing stories.  Students were required to write a dystopian story. Ms Stroud oversees the program, and it is delivered virtually to schools across Victoria. 

Just a little about the VHAP program:

Students are selected for the program by the Department of Education and Training using a selection algorithm, which draws on student achievement data to assess student ability and readiness to participate in the program.

The Victorian High-Ability Program (VHAP) enables high-ability students in Years 5-8, at all Victorian State Schools, to be challenged and extended in a supportive environment.

In the VHAP English course, students explore links between reality and fiction by observing the world around us and our journeys into fictional worlds. It is a 10-week course.

VHAP English empowers students through cultivating confidence and a willingness to take academic risks. Below is part of a story by Lulu Ramalinga of Year 7. Lulu hopes to be an author or a lawyer.

Lulu Ramalinga:  Year 7C

FORBIDDEN

It was just a normal breezy day. I felt the wind flow through my hair as I ran around my backyard. The sun stalking me through its eyes, and starting to hide behind his friends, the clouds.

Then, I felt a tinge of coldness with my prosperity leaking as the sun vanished yet again. After that I stopped running and waited patiently sitting down for the sun to show again so I could run amok.

It was a rule. A rule that we mustn’t do any physical activity whilst the sun is not out. I didn’t exactly know why, but I still obeyed. 

My father used to tell me stories about the great sun and the land waiting for us past the horizon. So, I chose never to question the great sun and the people who say otherwise.

My backyard now had this gloominess about it, I wasn’t sure why, I’ve always known how lucky and fortunate I had been to have such a house.

My house, it was grand. It had a little patio at the back with cracked walls and windows. Our wall colour was grey, and the house was about 10 square feet, we called it a mansion. But not only that the backyard was my fairyland. It had no trees but tons of dirty grass and “junk toys” as my father called it. He got them from a special place called the junk yard, he said that was where all the rich kids got their toys, so as you can imagine I was extremely grateful. My favourite toy was this giant pink plastic kitchen with lace dangling on the sides for windows, it was lovely. We had a few little seatings with one armchair, and that was about it, my palace.

It was a doomy and gloomy day with the sun feeling ever so far away. I missed the sun. It was my safe place, my quarry, part of my home. I’d been hearing mother and father speak of something called a government, I’d never heard of such an exotic word. 

Mother and father knew not to say such words around their children. It was a swear. It was forbidden.

To find out what happens next you will be able to see the full story on the board in the Learning Centre.

Have a great week.

Denise Leggett

Denise Leggett

Middle School Assistant Principal

Senior School

To students and families of the Mornington Senior School,

As this fast-paced term approaches its finale, I wanted to highlight the power of reflection has in helping us achieve our goals. The Year 11 VCE VM students spent several days last week, reflecting on their successes, challenges, and learnings in presentations to panels made up of their peers and teachers. Whilst I was fortunate enough to attend a few of these presentations, it was a great opportunity for students to discuss their individual experiences of their VM journey so far and observe different presentations from their peers. The feedback from the VM teachers involved on the panels was positive and the success of this activity will be embedded into our VM program moving forward. I’d like to thank one of our learning specialists, Di Parkinson, for creating the program, following through with the logistics and ensuring the success of the experience for those involved.

Semester reports will come out at the end of this term, and this will provide a great opportunity for all senior school students to reflect on their achievements and effectiveness of their learning habits, including revision skills. While schools can assess the learning behaviours, academic growth, and academic achievement levels, only students can really understand the impact of revision and homework because they know exactly what they are or are not doing outside of classes. I would encourage all Senior Schools students to read their reports, reflect on their practice, and ask themselves some questions…

• What can I do in Semester 2 to improve my results and meet or exceed my learning goals?
• What am I prepared to do to achieve these goals?
• What assistance do I need to help develop even better learning behaviours?

Highlights from this week include:

Year 10

The end of term draws near, and with exams over and done with, we can understand that many Year 10 students are longing for the final finish on the 23rd June.

While we are all excited to finish Term 2 and Semester 1, we just wanted to reiterate the importance of wearing the proper College uniform, as we are seeing more than a few hoodies and leggings starting to creep in. These items are in no way College uniform and may see your child needing to be sent home to change. If you require support in purchasing the correct uniform, please always feel free to reach out to us or the College office.

Course Counselling Evening will take place next week, and we encourage all students and their parents/guardians to attend in order to receive the most up to date information regarding the subjects and pathways on offer in 2024, including our VCE ATAR and VCE VM options.

We hope to see you there and we will be happy to answer any questions you have,

Year 11

Our Year 11 students have completed their mid-year exams and have now begun Unit 2 in their subjects. Some students who are studying a Year 12 subject will be sitting the GAT on Thursday. Their attendance, behaviour and attitude has been excellent. The atmosphere in the Year 11 Common Room is respectful and pleasant. Students have been very receptive to guidance and they know that they are always welcome to approach the Year 11 Coordination Team for support and guidance.

We are currently preparing for our formal in September and are encouraging students to get involved in creating a special and spectacular event for all to enjoy. There is a different focus for each term; term 1 was attendance, term 2 positive culture, and term 3 will be a focus on future pathways and careers. The previous foci continue for each term. Students in the ATAR program will be given holiday homework and it is important for them to complete, and we welcome the continued support from parents and carers.

Year 12

Year 12 Fancy Dress event took place at Frankston Art Centre. The event was a Masquerade theme, as voted by the student cohort. The Year 12 leaders worked with the Year 12 Coordinators to organise and plan the event which featured a DJ, Photobooth, two course meal and student voted awards. Outfits and masks were genuine highlights. It is so lovely to see the effort that everyone goes to with such events. 

Everyone seemed to spend most of the night on the dance floor. Dessert was not even enough to lure 100 plus students off the dance floor during the Nutbush. Tina Turner would have been proud watching the synchronised line dancing. 

The Year 12 student management team could not have been prouder of how amazing the students were on the night. They were so inclusive and encouraging of one another and shared smiles with all. The evening had such a lovely feel. 

Thank you also to the parents and guardians for supporting the drop off and pick up of students to ensure they arrived and left safely. Events such as this are a community effort and between students, parents, additional staff who gave up their free time to attend and our partnership with Frankston Art Centre, it was a wonderful event and a tradition that will be continued for a long time. 

I look forward to writing to you for the last time in Term 2, next week.

Nick Evans

Senior School Assistant Principal

Where to from here?

Next Tuesday night is a very important night for most of the students in the school. Its Course Information Night! This night show cases all the options that students have in 2024 and starts the process of subject selection. But more importantly it gives us all an opportunity to engage with our students/children around the important conversations about future pathways.

We ask students to work hard and to aspire to achieve both academically and socially, often students don’t have the long term vision to make the link between their efforts now and future choices that those efforts will open for them. I often find myself talking to parents about their own school journeys and the “if only we knew then what we know now” style of conversation.  All is not lost! The course selection process opens the door for serious conversations with your child around where they are at right now and what they should keep doing, because it is working, and what changes they need to make to be even better.

As a College we celebrate students aspirations and look forward to supporting them towards a bright future.

See you Tuesday!

Kind regards,

Mike Parker

Assistant Principal

Staff profiles

Alex Malligan

My name is Alex Malligan and I have been working as a Secondary School teacher for over four years now.

I started at Mornington Secondary College as a Classroom Teacher. I then transitioned to Year 7 Coordination which I worked in for almost two years. I have now moved into Year 10 Coordination which I have been thoroughly enjoying. I love my position as I can assist students in and outside of the classroom with anything they require. 

I never wanted to become a teacher until I turned 22. Since then, I began to realise that my passions lay with helping the future generation. I hope to assist students in making positive choices and influence their academic progress. 

My passions lay with sport, music, travelling and cooking. I umpire local football matches around the peninsula on the weekend and have travelled to seven countries so far this year and plan to do more! 

I enjoy working with the students, staff, and school community and hope to help make this an amazing year at Mornington Secondary College. 

Simone Henry

My name is Simone Henry, I have just joined the Inclusion Team here at Mornington Secondary College.  I have come from Elisabeth Murdoch College where I worked as an Integration Aide for 3.5 years and prior to that I have 30 years’ experience as an Early Childhood educator/kindergarten teacher.

I have lived in Mornington for 28 years, and I am looking forward to working within my local community on our beautiful Mornington Peninsula.

I am very passionate and committed to my role in supporting students to achieve their best across all year levels 7-12.  I look forward to sharing my skills and knowledge as well as learning the needs of our students to effectively support them in making learning achievements.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family, socialising with friends, camping and scrapbooking.

LATTE TO SCHOOL: MSC CAFE ! 

Our MSC CAFE, LATTE TO SCHOOL is finally nearly ready to open!  We will be in Barista training next week and fingers crossed will be ready to launch next term. 

Purchases will be made via Compass with delivery available. Menu and Opening hours to follow soon. 

A BIG thank you to Michael Enderby and his team for all their hard work and patience as we met Council regulations, South East Water requirements and the coordination of plumbing and rather large electrical works! Breakfast club staff have also been very patient as we worked in their space and have been very generous in allowing us to share their location.

It has been a long process, but we will now be able to provide our students with the opportunity to experience working in real time, under pressure and adding to their resumes and skill set all while in a safe and familiar environment. We aim to add certified VET opportunities through the CAFE in the near future. Our students in VM Work Related Skills will be the first to run the CAFE including several of our funded students, which will be a particular focus and priority of the CAFE. Hands On Learning will also, in time, provide their students with a chance to learn in this space.

Southern Metro Region Primary School Hares

Congratulations to the following students who represented MSC as Hares/ Pacers at the Southern Metro Region Primary School Cross Country today at Hastings Foreshore. 

All students were fantastic ambassadors for our College and took a great deal of pride in their leadership role. It was great to see our students leading races as well as supporting the primary children at the back of the pack! 

The representatives from School Sport Victoria were very thankful to have our students helping out today, they did an amazing job! 

Year 11 and 12 Exam Skills Webinar

Dear Parents, 

RE: Upcoming webinar for parents: Exam Room Skills - Minimising Stress and Maximising Marks. We’re excited to announce that Elevate Education will be hosting a free webinar for our parents on Wednesday 21st June.

Elevate Education works with our students, delivering high impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation. By tuning into their webinar series you will learn how you can help better support your children at home through reinforcing the skills they learn at school:    

Wednesday 21st June @ 6:30pm (AEST) Exam Room Skills - Minimising Stress and Maximising Marks

Click here to register for free

Here's what Elevate will be covering:

✅ What to do in the final days before any test or assessment 

✅ How to establish a good routine for the night before 

✅ How to optimise exam-room performance

Click here to register for free

Year 12 Formal - Masquerade Ball

On Thursday 8th June, our Year 12 cohort celebrated their Masquerade ball. 

Everyone had a great night with awards being given to teachers and students, dancing, laughing and generally enjoying being able to socialise together. 

Thank you to all that helped organise the night and we wish all of our Year 12 students a successful second half of their year.

Exhibition Review: MPRG's Current Showcase. 

We had a wonderful time at the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery on June 7th. MPRG hosts a wide variety of contemporary artworks  from both local and international artists, making it an entertaining and thought-provoking gallery.

MPRG is currently exhibiting Artists; Michael Cook, Vera Möller and Blak Designs. The exhibition was divided into individual rooms for each artist.

When we entered the first room we were struck by the bright white walls and 5 giant photographs by Michael Cook.  Each artwork was carefully curated, and the gallery's layout allowed visitors to explore each piece at their own pace. 

 The Main large gallery space displayed, a big collection of Vera Möller's works, Titled; ‘Sea. Liquid. Sensation. Flux. Space’, it is an intriguing and awe-inspiring study. 

Moller previously studied Microbiology and Limnology (freshwater ecology), her love of under the sea led her to depict her passion through art making. Moller's work references the ocean and it’s beauty whilst also making people aware of the ongoing things that affect the marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Western Port Bay and the Bass Strait Coast. 

As visitors we felt immersed in the dark space and it gave us a sense of being underwater.

Many of her sculptural works show the effects of coral bleaching by using minimal colour. 

Her artworks consisted of a range of different art forms including drawing, collage, watercolours, paintings and sculptural works. 

As we were leaving the gallery we were very fortunate to meet Vera Möller herself. She led us back into the gallery and took the time to explain the materials and processes she used to create one of her art pieces. She answered any questions we had and her enthusiasm for art and her willingness to share with us made the experience of visiting the gallery even more memorable.  

Overall, we had a wonderful time at our local Regional Art Gallery. We are so fortunate to have such a gallery right on our doorstep which exhibits incredible local artists' work along with international artists of the past and present. We highly recommend visiting the MPRG to experience the creative energy and talent on display.

Siân Corfù and Abby Christie.

2024 Applications for CHES Programs Opening Soon

There will be an online information session for prospective students and families on Tuesday 20 June and Thursday 13 July 2023 about the Centre for High education Studies. 

Please visit the CHES website for more information and to register for updates www.ches.vic.edu.au

The Centre for Higher Education Studies (CHES) provides VCE subjects for high-achieving

and high-ability students in Victorian government schools. These selected VCE subjects are highly regarded and typically have great appeal for high-ability students:

— Algorithmics Units 3 & 4

— English Language Units 1 - 4

— Extended Investigation Units 3 & 4

— Specialist Mathematics Units 1 - 4

Students accepted into a VCE subject at CHES will also have access to our Student Enrichment Series providing masterclasses, seminars and mentoring opportunities.

Positive Quotes for the week

Call received after TRAG (Teenagers Road Traffic Group)

"There were seven different schools who attended TRAG today and the Mornington Secondary College students were a standout.

They were the only ones who all thanked the bus driver as they got off, they all said hello and made eye contact with the people there to greet them. 

They were all well behaved, respectful, and polite. In all the years I have been involved presenting at TRAG, your students were the only ones to hug the presenters after speaking with them.

It was an absolute standout in my day and I had to call and let you know."

-From a presenter at TRAG

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram