PRINCIPAL'S REPORT 

When you stop and think about all that happens in a term – it is amazing just how much takes place. 

Staffing: schools have not been immune to the workforce pressures that the broader community is facing, and Mount Eliza Secondary College has certainly faced our fair share of issues. I am pleased to report that the college has been able to fill all our teaching positions. I would like to thank the support of countless staff that have enabled this to happen. Some staff have increased their time fractions, others have altered their positions of responsibility, and many have volunteered to become members of interview panels. 

Patrik Staahl: joins us as a Generalist teacher whose allotment has a combination of maths and humanities classes and a CRT component. Welcome Patrik.

Art & Design Technician: the college has been successful in recruiting Stuart Vance. Stuart is employed 3 days a week to support the Art & Design departments with the preparation of materials and oversight of the machinery / workspaces within this building. Stuart is a qualified and experienced Cabinet Maker by trade.

Social Worker position: the college has recently advertised for a social worker position to join our wellbeing team. The college is continuing to grow in student numbers requiring us to forward plan our human resources to meet the needs of students. Adding this new position will support the great work being undertaken. Hopefully, this will be filled in time for the beginning of next term. 

Uniform: you may have noticed some alterations / additions that have been made to the college uniform. Too often the uniform can become a battleground between students, teachers, and parents. Shoes and the blazer are 2 items that cause the most grief. It has been amazing to the see the uptake of the new college soft shell jacket. On day one of sales, we expected there to be a rush of students wishing to purchase one – and we were correct. Then the second day arrived, and the same thing happened. And so on. Whenever I ask students about the jackets and what they think, they all have the same answer (with a smile on their face). “They’re great, they are so warm”. 

Shoes: for many years traditional black ‘school’ shoes were required to be worn. And by in large most students wore the correct style of shoes every day. However, it was clear that students were not overly happy with this limited set of options. Students understood why were had the uniform requirements, but they didn’t necessarily agree with the limited options of footwear. By altering the policy slightly to allow ‘black polishable shoes’, this has reduced the issue of incorrect shoes being worn drastically.

How did these changes come about? Student agency is the answer. Throughout 2022 the voice from students was growing about the uniform. Firstly, in a non-verbal sense: the behaviour of students was changing, and uniform standards were slipping. This led to students taking action. VCAL students took on this issue and became spokespeople for the broader student population. They surveyed students and parents and presented their findings to the college principal and the school council – no mean feat. Their proposal was supported by school council and change was upon us. 

I know that we are only coming to the end of term 2, however the college is already heavily invested in working with students from years 8-11 and their guardians on selecting subjects and pathways for the 2024 academic year. Assemblies, parent information evenings (webinars), a comprehensive Senior School Prospectus and Individual Course Counselling Interviews form a multistage process to ensure that the decisions that are made are informed and in the best interest of the students. I would like to thank the numerous staff members that have (and will) give hours and hours of their time to meet the needs of students. 

MESC Senior School Prospectus: can be found in the Senior Pathways section of the schools website.

Last but certainly not least – I would like to acknowledge and praise the efforts of dedicated students from each year level who have been fearlessly led by college Captains Chelsea Rix and James Richards. They have taken the cause of advocating for government funding for new buildings for our school to a new level. Supported by Bill Di Blasio (parent and school council member) these students have developed a suite of measures to involve the local community and raise the profile of our school needs to the people who make these decisions – politicians. James and Chelsea have hosted Peta Murphy (Federal Member for Dunkley) as well and Chris Crewther (State Member for Mornington) and Matt Bach (State Shadow Education minister) to the college. Social media campaigns and accessing community events are also planned to reach a goal of 10,000 signatures on a petition to the state government. 

Student agency at work - Well done students. 

Enjoy the school holidays as a family and safe travelling is you are going away. 

Micah Davis

Acting College Principal