Principal's Update
Dear Families, Students and Community Members,
Future Facility Development
It was very exciting to hear on Monday 18 May from our local MP, Tim Richardson, and Minister for Education, James Merlino, that Mordialloc College has now been allocated the remaining capital works funds to proceed with the building of our new two storey Year 7 & 8 Learning Centre. As I wrote in my article two weeks ago, we had anticipated having to wait until October to get confirmation. It is fantastic news to now be able to start construction documentation with certainty around the project going ahead and hopefully the tender process will be completed by the end of Term 3. Once a building company is appointed, construction will potentially start by Term 4. Total funding promised in the lead up to the last State Election ($8,557,000) is being delivered, with $855,700 allocated in last year’s budget for planning and now the remaining $7.7 million. This new building will be positioned adjacent to the Discovery Centre for Science, with the Year 8 locker bay, bike shed and cricket nets to be relocated. Once this new building is completed and ready for occupation, the current Year 7 Learning Centre, which has been refurbished for our current Year 7s, will undergo further modifications for it to be utilised as a VCE study centre with additional classrooms in the future. If you missed my last newsletter article here are some of the images of our new building.
Extra Works
The main building balcony upstairs has undergone some maintenance work to reinforce and patch areas needing repair, to ensure it is structurally safe before students return.
Return to Onsite Learning
We are excited to have our students return back to onsite learning, over this two week transition period, with Year 11 and 12 students back onsite this week (and any Year 10 student studying a VCE subject) and our Year 7-10 students from Tuesday 9 June.
All parents/carers and students should have received via Compass last Thursday afternoon our Student and Parent Return to Onsite Learning Guide. It is attached here for your reference if you did miss this email. Please take the time to read along with your child. It includes important information on:
- Student Expectations, including recess and lunch breaks
- Health and Hygiene including the extra measures the College has put in place
- Restricted parent access onsite
- Attendance and Timetables
- Wellbeing Support
Year 12 Final Exams
It was unfortunate that the announcement of the confirmed dates for the Year 12 final exams by the Victorian government was all over Facebook and online newspapers last Thursday night before any official advice had been sent to the school. The letter from the VCAA came on Friday morning. I can confirm that everything has been brought forward with the General Achievement Test (GAT) scheduled for September 9th for any student studying a Unit 3 and 4 sequence and the Year 12 exam period is now November 9th-December 2nd, with results to be sent to students before the end of the year. We feel we are well placed with the revised timelines through the excellent work of our teachers throughout remote learning.
Sleep for Wellbeing and Academic Performance
As students return to onsite learning, it will be critical to get their sleep cycle back into sync with the normal school day to improve learning and mental health. Sleep is food for the brain. During sleep, important body functions and brain activity occur. Skipping sleep can be harmful — even deadly, particularly if you are behind the wheel. You can look bad, you may feel moody, and you perform poorly. Sleepiness can make it hard to get along with your family and friends and hurt your scores on school exams, on the court or on the field. When you do not get enough sleep, you are more likely to have an accident, injury and/or illness. Sleep is vital to your well-being, as important as the air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat. It can even help you to eat better and manage the stress of being a teen. Biological sleep patterns shift toward later times for both sleeping and waking during adolescence. This means it is natural to not be able to fall asleep before 11:00 pm. Teens need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night to function best, however, unfortunately most teens do not get enough sleep. One study found that only 15% reported sleeping 8 1/2 hours on school nights. Teens tend to have irregular sleep patterns across the week, typically staying up late and sleeping in late on the weekends, which can affect their biological clocks and hurt the quality of their sleep.
Please read the following article for some helpful tips (and a sleep plan guide you can print out to fill in to assist in evaluating and improving your sleep habits). The guide includes a sleep hygiene pre-assessment, points to address in developing a sleep plan, a bedroom evaluation, developing an exercise plan and a sleep diary.
Maths at Home
Helping your kids learn maths at home doesn’t have to be daunting. Click this link: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/helping-your-kids-learn-maths-at-home-doesn-t-have-to-be-daunting-20200515-p54tbn.html to read this article that was published in The Age last week. It was written by Peter Saffin who is the Chief Executive of the Mathematical Association of Victoria and a former teacher.
Vale Deb Locco
Our former Acting Regional Director passed away as a result of a tragic bicycle accident on Sunday afternoon on Beach Road. Deb was much admired in education and will be missed deeply across the South Eastern Region of Victoria, in particular. Before moving into the region to take on a number of senior leadership roles, Deb was Principal of South Oakleigh SC. Our sincere thoughts are with her family. Please see attached the tribute from the Department of Education.
Michelle Roberts
Principal