Assistant Principal's Update

Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

A big hello to the Mordialloc College school community! It’s been a whirlwind since joining the College at the beginning of Headstart in 2019 as Assistant Principal of Middle School. During that time I have been able to meet the Year 8 and Year 9 students and now this term, it’s been wonderful welcoming our largest group of Year 7s to the College. My previous role, as Head of Senior School, was at quite a large school of 1700 and although I have always taught across all years, it has been a few years since I have had a leadership role focusing on Middle School. I hope, with my experience at another high performing secondary college, that I will be able to support the staff and students with a smooth transition from Middle School into Senior School with high expectations focusing on students finding a positive pathway and achieving their personal best.

The decision of which secondary school to send your child to is a huge one which all parents make with thought and care. As a college, we take this responsibility very seriously. As the Assistant Principal looking after your children for the first three years I look forward to working with all the College stakeholders to ensure that all students maximise their learning outcomes and achieve their educational potential, as well as providing a safe, supportive and caring environment. As a College, we welcome communication and feedback from our parents and look forward to developing a partnership that benefits the education of all students. The Year 7s have had their first taste of team teaching in our upgraded Learning Centre. Our Year 7 Coordinators, Ms Laura Gorman and Ms Julia Hockey, along with a skilled Year 7 teaching team and the very experienced Head of Middle School, Mr Daniel Williams, will be there all the way to support this important period of your child’s educational life.

Welcome back to all of our Year 8 and 9 students for 2020 and thank you for making me feel so welcome to Mordialloc College. The start to this year has been smooth, thanks to the hard work of our Year 8 coordinator, Mr Mick Haber, and Year 9 coordinator, Mr Simon Cummins, with students clearly embracing the College values, as well as the academic challenges of the new year. Already I have enjoyed visiting the Year Level Assemblies, observing engaging team teaching in our flexible learning spaces, seeing students enjoy chosen electives and begin the MEX (Mordialloc Experience) program. It is always important to continue to grow as a learner in each new stage of your educational journey. There should be no year that this growth stagnates, even when Year 12 seems so far in the distance.  These are the years of consolidating good work habits, both in the classroom and in the development of study outside the classroom. It is also the time when friendships continue to develop and positive relationships are formed with teachers, as a true learning partnership between student and teacher is vital for success later in your educational journey. These middle years of schooling are as important as any other stage of your education. Embrace the challenges, have some fun and continue to grow as a learner and as a positive and active member of the Mordialloc College community.

A growing school population has also seen a much busier carpark and surrounding area during drop off and pick up times. Parents, please be mindful of the parking areas to ensure a smooth drop off and pick up of students. Also please keep at or below the speed limit in the surrounding streets to ensure the safety of our students and the general public walking and driving  in the local area.

This week was another busy week for the Mordialloc Community:

Census week

A reminder to all students and parents that it is not ok to be away or late without a medical certificate! Please support the school in sending through medical certificates to update our records and keeping family holidays to school holiday times. Daily attendance is important and, for all learners to succeed in education, consistent attendance is important to ensure students do not fall behind.  Shortly you will be receiving the 2020 update of our booklet: Attendance Matters – a parent’s guide. If you are having difficulty getting your child to school, please contact the Wellbeing Team at the College or Year Level Coordinator to discuss how we can assist you.

Swimming Sports!

It was great to see the students dressing in House colours and participating in what turned out to be quite a close competition. A huge thanks to the staff who kept a very full swimming program running like clockwork. Congratulations to Iwala (Red House) on their win!

Hands on Learning

After a successful start to the Hands on Learning program in 2019 we look forward to the expansion to two groups in 2020. The Hands on Learning program is an alternate program one day per week where students participate as a small student team in practical projects around the school. Last year these projects included upgrading the deck around the Enquiry Zone, building the outdoor area for the Hands on Learning shed, upgrading some of the garden areas around the College and assisting in the Orientation day BBQ catering for the Year 7 students. If you would like to support the program by donating any materials or would like to volunteer in the program please contact Andrew Moffat.

Progress checks

Our first updated progress checks were completed this week. Progress checks are now available on Compass. The areas of assessment include behaviour, organisation and homework, work ethic and use of class time. The progress check will also include an attendance review and if the student is currently at risk of receiving an ‘N’ or unsatisfactory result for the unit. Although students will be still receiving detailed feedback from teachers on SACs and benchmark tasks, feedback comments will not be transferred to Compass reports. Parents and guardians will have three snapshots this term of how students are progressing via two progress checks and parent teacher interviews on Wednesday 18 March. We also encourage parents and guardians to utilise Compass to email teachers with any questions, concerns and advice to support students.

Morrisby online test

The majority of Year 9 students completed the Morrisby online test this week as part of the My Career Insights program for Year 9 students in Victorian Government schools. The program has been designed to help students discover, develop and drive their career planning. It's a unique opportunity for them to learn more about their strengths and abilities, while exploring potential career options – giving them the confidence to start taking control of their future. Students who missed the Morrisby online testing this week due will have a follow up opportunity shortly. In week 8 students will have a 1:1 careers counselling session with outside careers practitioners to help them set realistic goals and start putting actions in place to continue their career journey.

Finally I’d like to thank all of the staff, students and the wider school community for their support in my first few months at Mordialloc College. I’m looking forward to the year ahead.

Tracey Bastin

Assistant Principal