Principal's Update

Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

End of Semester Reports

The end of semester reports for all students will be available on the parent and student portals on Compass from 1.30pm on Friday 30 June. As you may be aware, Victorian State Schools are now reporting to the new Victorian Curriculum. This curriculum framework was introduced in 2017 for Prep to Year 10 students and replaces the previous AusVELS curriculum. We have also introduced a new format in terms of reporting on each key benchmark task. I encourage all parents to discuss the report with their student/s over the holiday break and put appropriate actions in place to address any areas for improvement highlighted. We are also interested in hearing any feedback you may have for us on the new reporting format.

Lunch at Government House

I was nominated by the Region in my capacity as the Kingston Network Chair, to represent South Eastern Region Victoria at a special working lunch on Friday 23rd June at Government House with Her Excellency the Honourable, Linda Dessau AC, Governor of Victoria, Mr Anthony Howard QC, International Guest Dr Mary Jean Gallagher – former Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Student Achievement Officer at the Ministry of Education of Ontario, Canada, Ms Gill Callister, Secretary Department of Education and Training (DET), Mr Bruce Armstrong, Deputy Secretary Regional Services group DET, Ms Katy Haire,  Deputy Secretary, Early Childhood and School Education DET, Ms Amy Auster, Deputy Secretary, Economics Department of Treasury and Finance, Mr David Atkinson, Director of the Department of Premier and Cabinet Education branch, and seven other Network Chairs  from across the state. During the lunch we were asked to share our school improvement focus and also the work of our respective networks in driving the Education State agenda. I was very proud to not only speak about Mordialloc College, but also the fantastic collaborative work of the Kingston Network of Schools and other networks in SEVR.

Staffing News for Term 3

Unfortunately we didn’t get to formally farewell Lauren Mc Ivor who left three weeks earlier than planned this term with the premature arrival of her baby girl. Both mother and daughter are well. At this stage Lauren is taking 12 months family leave. It is an exciting time for Lauren and her husband. We wish them all the best, and look forward to her return sometime in the future.  We have employed Kurt Kerstens, an experienced teacher from Carrum Downs SC, to replace her from Term 3. 

As most of you probably already know we are saying good-bye to Penny Trumble at the end of term, as she is retiring. Penny is looking forward to lots of overseas travel in her retirement and we wish her the very best, however she will be a huge loss to the College. Penny has been an outstanding teacher and leader within the College for the past ten years. Nothing was ever too much for her to do and she has always been so generous in giving up her time to support students, parents and staff at the College.  James Nicklen has been appointed to replace Penny and comes with five years experience teaching at Patterson Lakes PS, however, he is P-12 trained and is so excited about the opportunity to teach senior English and continuing his career at Mordialloc. 

After over twenty years at Mordialloc College, as most already know, Kevin Osborne is moving on to take up an Assistant Principal role at Monbulk College. We thank Kevin for his dedication to the College over such a significant part of his teaching career as a teacher and in numerous leadership roles and wish him the very best with the move. Mark Bradley is coming to us from the private system and is a very experienced maths/science teacher to replace Kevin.

We are also employing a new VCAL teacher and the selection process is nearly complete.

Year 10 Wellbeing Program

All Year 10 students participated in a two day wellbeing program on Monday and Tuesday of last week. Ann Marsh, our adolescent health nurse, has put the program together and I thank her for all the work that has gone into this, supported by the rest of the Wellbeing Team, Di Douglas and Lana Paten. The program included three workshops on Respectful Relationships and individual workshops on Safe Partying, Drugs & Alcohol and Mindfulness. Police Youth Resource Officers also spoke to all students about the laws relating to the appropriate use of internet etc.

Careers Quest, Subject Expo and Information Night for parents

Last week a most successful three day Careers Quest was held for our Year 10 students on Wednesday to Friday. Students had the opportunity to work on a career action plan, visit Monash University and Holmesglen Institute of TAFE, consider subject selection for next year, and participate in the VCE subject expo. All students in Year 9 and 10 also had the opportunity to attend the VCE/VCAL information night and subject expo on Thursday 23 June. The subject expo was well attended and gave students and parents an opportunity to learn about and participate in aspects of every VCE and VCAL subject we have for students to select from at Mordialloc College. Thanks to Jane Jamieson - Pathways Coordinator, Joanne Greenhalgh – Director of Senior School and Year 10 Coordinator, Rachael Pierce, for providing such engaging activities for our students. There were also many teachers who were involved during the Careers Quest in supporting the activities, especially in setting up and running a section for their subject at the VCE/VCAL subject expo night session. Students will be involved in course counselling sessions early next term where their final subject selections for 2018 will be decided upon in consultation with their parents.

VCE/VCAL Parent Teacher interviews

A reminder that VCE and VCAL Parent-Teacher Interviews will be held in the first week next term on Wednesday 19 July. These will be conducted in the Year 8 Enquiry Zone, from 3.00pm to 6.30pm. With Units 1 and 3 completed, and students having started Units 2 and 4, this is an excellent time to obtain feedback and advice from your child’s teachers to help inform and target their learning for the remainder of this year. Likewise, it is an opportunity for parents of VCAL students to discuss with teachers any learning outcomes that still need to be met. Bookings are currently open via the Compass Portal. If you experience any difficulties booking in, please contact the General Office for assistance.

Senior Formal

A highlight of the Senior calendar year is the Senior Formal, held this Friday 30 June at Southern Golf Club. Thank you to Mr Tim Randell, Year 12 Coordinator and our Special Events Captains, Noraine Zuniga andSam Trewavas for organising this event. We remind students to enjoy themselves in a safe and responsible manner and hope they have a memorable evening with their friends and teachers.

We now come to the end of a very busy and productive term and I would like to wish all members of our community a safe and restful break.

Michelle Roberts

Principal