Mirboo North Secondary College Newsletter

Principal's Update

Uniform Reminder

A reminder about how and why we have a uniform at MNSC. 😊

As consistent with all schools in the South Gippsland region, we ask students to wear a uniform to school for the following reasons:

  • To foster a sense of community and belonging & enhance the profile and identity of the school and its students within the wider community
  • Encourage students to develop pride in their appearance 
  • Support our students to feel equal and reduce student competition on the basis of clothing 
  • Ensure students are dressed safely and appropriately for the full range of school activities. 

Each year the School Council is required to review the current policy, with a full review for the current policy in 2025.

As it stands, teachers, ES staff and principals may ask students to comply with the following dress code as per our school policy – found via the following link: https://www.mnsc.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Student-Dress-Code-.pdf

 

$50
$28
$38
$28
$30
$42
$70
$50
$28
$38
$28
$30
$42
$70
  • Windcheater or woollen jumper - purple with school logo (picture)
  • Polo shirts white short sleeved with school logo or purple and black with school logo 
  • Shorts plain back shorts with MNSC embroidery 
  • Pants plain black casual pants with school logo
  • Students MAY wear a plain black long-sleeved top under their polo shirts – BUT NOT A HOODIE.
  • Black coats with school logo – two different styles available
  • There is also the option of a winter skirt and a summer dress for students to wear
  • SHOES – must be PREDOMINATELY BLACK – no slip-on ballet flats or open-toed footwear.

Quite often pants are raised as a ‘issue’ so I wanted to clarify some points:

(picture of pants also above)

  • Pants must meet the college’s requirement for neat, clean and presentable uniform as well as OH&S requirements
  • Pants CANNOT be denim or jeans, tracksuit pants, leggings, yoga pants or skins
  • Pants must be neat black tailored or casual pants.

OTHER POINTS:

  • If there is a SHORT term reason for not wearing any part of our uniform, then students are asked to bring a note to their coordinator, which will be entered on Compass
  • We always offer to help supply students with uniform items on the day if they are missing or dirty
  • Assistance for students / families experiencing financial difficulties should be sought via your coordinator or the Assistant Principal 
  • Any legitimate request for long-term uniform exemptions or alterations must go through the Principal or Assistant Principal.
  • At this time, we are also looking to clarify and update the rules and expectations around hair and haircuts at school, as there has been some questions raised recently.

Please know that my door is always open (in the Avenue – Middle School) and I am happy to chat on the phone to discuss any further queries about uniform at Mirboo North Secondary College.

STYMIE

For the second time in my career, I had the pleasure of being part of a STYMIE launch day presented by CEO Rachel Downie - this time at my school; MNSC.  As a teacher of 25 years and a past Assistant Principal, Rach (as she calls herself) is the founder and inventor of this online platform which aims quite simply; to help people SAY SOME THING.  She was engaging, charismatic and passionate about keeping young people safe from harm. And she also told us some cool facts about the horrors of being on Australian Survivor on Channel 10 recently! She is also the recipient of Queensland Australian of the Year, 2020, and she continues her work every day so that young people’s lives may be made safer and happier.

 

This year, post COVID, Rach divulged some revealing & quite shocking statistics about the number of peer-to-peer online harassment and bullying incidents in Australia, and we are NOT doing so well in comparison to other countries part of the OECD ☹ She was also able to present to our students some facts about the legal age for criminal liability (10 years of age), and she spelled out the laws around using any carrier service (i.e. social media, email or online messaging) in a way that could be regarded as being menacing, harassing or offensive. This was, I am certain, quite shocking for some of our students and yet quite an important eye-opener and a reminder of our social responsibilities; to each other and our community.  Here are some more statistics to reflect upon:

  • One in four school students are bullied. And they are bullied every day.
  • Australia and New Zealand rank in the top countries for teenage bullying.
  • Kids who are bullied are 9 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts and 3 times more likely to show depressive symptoms.
  • In 90% of cases, the aggressors are known by the person experiencing harm.
  • 43% of kids are cyber bullied.
  • 53% of kids admit to having said something mean or hurtful to or about someone over the internet.

What WE can do now is use this ANONYMOUS reporting platform with integrity, to alert trained professionals and leadership staff at MNSC of any legitimate and serious incidents of harm. Our commitment is to take these reports seriously and investigate circumstances when and where we can. As such, I urge all students, to make sure that the use of STYMIE is genuine, and in the interests of positive mental health and student wellbeing. 

When / if students report an incident via https://stymie.com.au/, they are faced with the following question:

This is an important reminder of the serious and legitimate nature of this tool. 

We urge all students & families to use STYMIE for the purpose of keeping all our community members safe, healthy, engaged in school and, hopefully, happy 😊

Please, always feel free to contact me at the college to discuss this new initiative (or any other matters), in the interests of a positive school culture at Mirboo North Secondary College. 

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this page!

Melissa Neill

Assistant Principal