Dear Families, Students and Community Members,

Welcome to the 2021 school year, and a special welcome to all our Year 7 students and any new students at other year levels who either joined us during Headstart towards the end of last year or are joining us this year for the first time. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break with family and friends and look forward to a positive and productive year ahead.

This year we have 208 Year 7 students starting with us, which will make a Middle School of just over 650 students and our total school enrolment of approximately 1130 students. We are hoping to stabilise the student population at this number.

I have been Principal of Mordialloc College for ten and half years now and the school has certainly evolved over this time. I continue to be very proud of my leadership team, teachers, education support staff and students, who have all worked so hard to achieve so much throughout our improvement journey.

We look forward to all students taking a positive attitude into 2021, staying focused on achieving their personal best and always striving to improve. I am proud to be the Principal of Mordialloc College and I hope that everyone is proud to be a part of the Mordialloc College community. I am looking forward to the year ahead and hope that all students make the most of the opportunities and challenges that are presented to them.

COVID Safe Behaviours

A few reminders about the key behaviours required for reducing COVID-19 transmission risk. This includes staying home when unwell, washing hands regularly and use of hand sanitiser, no sharing of drink bottles or food and, where possible, social distancing. Students should carry a mask with them at all times and they must be worn when on public transport and school buses. Following the Government’s announcements last night, face masks are now mandatory inside for students over 12 years of age and adults. Hopefully this is only a short term measure. At the moment, density limits do not apply in classrooms and other spaces for the purposes of student use including corridors and other shared areas. However, we are managing any congestion within the school with a one-way flow of foot traffic inside of buildings, for example, the front two-storey building. We will need to follow density limits when conducting information nights at school with parents.

Teachers will be carrying hand sanitiser to their classes and regular handwashing is advised. Hand sanitiser is also located in key areas of the school for student and staff use. Both students and staff are encouraged to cough or sneeze into their elbow or tissue.

Any staff member or student who becomes unwell while at school with symptoms of COVID-19 must return home immediately and get tested. Students need to report to our first aid officer at the general office first and she will call a parent/carer to arrange pick up as soon as possible. The student will be isolated in an appropriate space with suitable supervision until this can happen. It is not suitable for an unwell student to travel home unsupervised.

The additional cleaning in place last term (COVID safe routine cleaning) is continuing this term in line with public health advice, with a particular focus on cleaning and disinfecting high touch surfaces.

All visitors to the school need to wear a mask and sign in and out at reception. To support contact tracing, schools are required to keep a record of all visitors who attend onsite for more than 15mins. This includes the name, contact details, date and time of attendance at school, as well as the areas of the school that person attends.

School events like house carnivals, formals, interschool sport, excursions and camps can now resume, in line with any specific capacity limits on venues that are being used.

Outstanding Year 12 Results and DUX 2020

I would like to congratulate all our 2020 Year 12 students on achieving outstanding Year 12 VCE and VCAL results after such an extraordinary and most challenging year. Some of the highlights of our Year 12 VCE achievements include:

11% of our Year 12 students achieved ATARs over 90, and 13% over 80, thus close to a quarter scoring over 80
7.7% of study scores were in the 40s,
with a median study score of 30 (we were only 6 study scores away from a median of 31).

Congratulations to our three top VCE students who were in the top 1% & 2% of the state of Victoria:

David Le achieved a perfect ATAR score of 99.95 and was awarded College Dux for 2020. David is only one of 38 students across Victoria to score a perfect ATAR score - an absolutely incredible achievement! David also achieved two perfect study scores of 50 in Chemistry and Business Management. David will be studying Biomedicine at Melbourne University
Jasmine Ristevski with an ATAR of 99.8 and a perfect study score of 50 in Psychology. Jasmine will be studying Engineering (Honours) and Science at Monash University; and
Kijana Pauline with an ATAR of 98 and a perfect study score of 50 in English. Kijana will be studying Biomedical Science at Monash University.
Other students scoring in the 90s included: in the top 3% of the state - Noreigh Zuniga achieved an ATAR of 97.85 and will be studying Science at Melbourne University and Callum Roberts achieved an ATAR of 97.15 and will also be studying Science at Melbourne University; in the top 4% of the state - Liam Cox achieved an ATAR of 96.5 and will be studying Commerce at Melbourne University; in the top 5 % of the state Ava Collison achieved an ATAR of 95.5 and will be studying Science at Melbourne University; in the top 7% of the state Hanna Biaroza achieved an ATAR of 93.8 and will be studying Radiation Sciences at Monash University and Dylan Brown achieved an ATAR of 93.75 and will be studying Commerce/Computer Science at Monash University; and in the top 10% of the state Jack Crowe achieved an ATAR of 90.45 and will be studying Media at RMIT and William Lhuede-O’Mara achieved an ATAR of 90 and has been accepted into the Defence Force in NSW.

In addition, congratulations to all our Year 12 VCAL students for completing all course requirements and receiving offers to complete diplomas, traineeships and apprenticeships.

This is a truly outstanding set of results and a credit to all staff and students who have worked so hard to achieve so much, not only last year but over the course of the six year journey for these students.

While we celebrate individual student success stories, it is important to remind everyone that your final ATAR score does not define you as a person. In the end it is a rank for tertiary admission. It won’t necessarily determine where you will go in the future or how happy you will be. All students should feel proud of their efforts and be satisfied that they have given their personal best.

Building Program and Construction Site in 2021

As I reported in my last article for 2020, Neo Construct has been awarded our project of building a two storey Year 7 and 8 Learning Centre. They started earlier than first expected over the holidays to have the construction site set up and clearly sectioned off from students before they returned last Friday. The Year 8 locker shed has become a temporary bike shed until the new bike shed is built at the Year 7 end of the school, and a new locker shed is to be built for Year 8, also at the Year 7 end of the school. We will have three year levels with lockers at this end of the school (Years 7, 8 and 10) until the new two storey building is completed. Then Year 7 and 8 lockers will be integrated into the new centres. The cricket nets have been removed, and at the end of the project it may be possible, with funding left over, to install new ones at the oval end of the school. As everyone should now be aware, one of the main entry and exit points of the school off the walking track near the Discovery Centre has been blocked off and this will be for the duration of this year. Students coming from the train station, bus stop or via bike or walking along the track will need to proceed to the current Year 7 Learning Centre end of the school to enter, or use the entrance on Attenborough road. Please see the attached map of the school to see the temporary out of bounds area.

The construction site also takes out one of our outside basketball courts and one netball court, and a very popular downball area. We will have one year of disruption to student recreation areas for use at recess and lunch, but the end result will be worth it! The outside basketball and netball courts area will be totally upgraded at the end of the project. We have opened up other parts of the school grounds for student use for this year only e.g. the front of the main building for Year 7 & 12 students; and all students are allowed on the oval whether they are playing a ball sport or just wanting to sit and relax at recess and lunchtime.

New School Strategic Plan 2021-2024

Following on from our whole school review last year, this year marks the beginning of our new Strategic Plan 2021-2024 with the following Goals and Key Improvement Strategies:

Goal 1: Student Achievement – to maximise the learning growth for all students 7-12 across all learning areas and pathways.

Key Improvement Strategies:

1a. Improve teacher capacity in VCE with a focus on teacher expectations of student capability, assessment and moderation knowledge and content development from Years 7-12.
1b. Promote VCAL as a viable and credible pathway for all students and improve teacher capability to deliver VCAL with a rigorous and engaging curriculum.
1c. Improve teacher capability to differentiate learning, engage in moderation and provide feedback process to improve learning.

Goal 2: Student Engagement – to strengthen voice and improve student agency across the College.

Key Improvement Strategies:

2a. Inquire, develop and implement a whole school strategy with students, parents and staff to embed student voice and agency.
2b. Continue to develop teacher practice to use student feedback to improve teaching practice and plan differentiated learning activities.

Goal 3: Student Wellbeing – to improve student connectedness and resilience.

Key Improvement Strategies:

3a. Review the College practice of Restorative Justice and key aspects of School Wide Positive Behaviours.
3b. Develop a consistent approach to student wellbeing, behaviours and connectedness. A copy of our new Strategic Plan and the 2021 Annual Implementation Plan can be found on our website.

Positive Start

We have had a smooth start to the year, with Year 7 and 12 students commencing last Friday (where the challenge was to stay dry!) to undertake a special program for these year levels; and then all students resumed on Monday 01 February.

The first day for our Year 7 students involved rotations between ICT set up, developing their codes of cooperation, relational activities to get to know their new classmates and home group teacher, locker allocation and use of the Resource Hub.

Our Year 12 students spent their first day hearing from some of our high achievers from last year, rotating between sessions on goal setting and study skills, pathways and locker allocation; and then listening to a motivational speaker for the last lesson. At the start of the day it was fantastic to welcome back some of our high achievers from Year 12 last year who participated in a panel lead by Ms Greenhalgh “on the taste of success”, sharing their strategies for achieving their personal best with the current cohort of Year 12s. Thanks to David Le, Jasmine Ristevski, Callum Roberts, Ava Collison, Noreigh Zuniga, William Lhuede O’Meara and Hanna Biaroza for giving up their time to take part. We look forward to seeing them return, along with some other students from 2020, throughout the year to act as tutors to support our senior students. After lunch the whole cohort came together again to listen to motivational speaker, Stan Alves. Stan is a former student and played 226 games for Melbourne and was captain for four years. He also played for North Melbourne and coached St. Kilda in the 90s. Stan is well known on the public speaking circuit and as a commentator on radio. Stan spoke to students about getting the best out of themselves no matter what their career aspirations are and having no regrets. “If it’s to be it’s up to me”. It was wonderful to have Stan reconnect with the College and offer his services as a way of giving back to a great school that supported him, many years ago. The students were highly engaged during his presentation and found it most worthwhile.

Thanks to our Year 7 Coordinators, Andrew Potter and Julia Hockey, and Director of Senior School, Jo Greenhalgh, and Year 12 Coordinator, Tim Randell, for their organisation of these programs and the staff involved in leading the sessions for the day.

Mobile Phone Policy

As all should be aware now, the State Government last year issued a new mobile phone policy banning them from use during the day at school. This wasn’t a huge change for us. The main thing for students to get used to is actually locking them away in their locker for the day rather than carrying the phone on them in silent mode. As such, it is even more important that students have a lock on their locker to keep all of their belongings safe. A copy of our mobile phone policy can be found following this link.

Welcome to new and returning staff

We again have a number of new staff starting with us this year, to cover a few staff on leave, taking promotion positions or relocating and a number of extra staff to cater for our increase in student numbers. We welcome or welcome back the following staff to Mordialloc College:

Jamie Towsey – Director of Literacy Improvement and Learning Area Leader, English
Indigo York – started in Headstart, until the end of Term 1 teaching Health/PE
Lauren Hibell returns from family leave for the start of Term 2 teaching Health/PE
Jillian Samuels – started in Headstart replacing Jenny Tran on family leave until mid-year working with our International Students
Emma Walker – Maths/Science teaching in Years 7-9 programs
Madeline Hutton – English/Humanities – teaching in our Year 8 program
Peter Adams – Product Design Technology teaching Years 7-12
Paige Buenemann – Psychology/Humanities – teaching Years 9-12
Kate Duggan – History/Psychology/Humanities – teachings Years 9-11
Phoebe Macreadie – Maths/Science – teaching in our Year 8 program
Lorna Griss – 0.6 EAL teacher and 0.4 International Student Coordinator.
Alexis Reinheimer – our new social worker joining the Wellbeing team
Erica Louise and Megan Dodds – new integration aides
Nadia Daoud – Literacy tutor 0.6 (more tutors still to be employed)
Claire Smithwick – replacing Daniel Williams’ teaching load. Daniel is on LSL until the end of February
With Chris Tze now teaching in Senior School - Biology/Science, we currently have a position advertised to teach in our Year 7 program, Maths/Science

Introducing the College Leadership Team

Please don’t hesitate to contact us here at the College if you need to speak to someone.

Principal – Michelle Roberts
Assistant Principal – Marina Walsh (oversees Teaching and Learning)
Assistant Principal - Tracey Bastin (oversees Middle School)
Assistant Principal – Andrew Moffat (oversees Senior School)
Director of Senior School Years 10-12 – Jo Greenhalgh
Director of Middle School (includes 6-7 transition) Years 7 - 9 – Daniel Williams (Mick Haber acting in this role during February while Daniel is on Long Service Leave)
Director of STEM (includes Science & Digital Technologies LA leader) – Maria Bitzios
Director of Numeracy Improvement Years 7-12 (includes Maths LA leader) – Julie Chambers
Director of Literacy Improvement Years 7-12 (includes English LA leader) – Jamie Towsey
Director of Pedagogy and Innovative Programs 7-10 (includes SEAL coordination) – Alice Leppin
Director of Student Engagement (includes House system, MEX 2.0 and My Mentor programs) – Simon Cummins
Director of Wellbeing and Counselling Services – Di Douglas
Learning Specialists – Instructional Coach – Bryony Lowe and Sally Mitchell
Business Manager – Yvonne Aird

Introducing the Year Level Coordinators

Senior School – Tim Randell Year 12; Robyn Wilson Year 11; Amelia Hargreaves and Megan Furphy Year 10
Middle School – Mick Haber Year 9; Laura Gorman and Georgia Davey Year 8; Andrew Potter and Julia Hockey Year 7
VCAL – Krystle Collyer
International Students – Carrie Tang Semester 1, Jenny Tran Semester 2

Introducing the Learning Area Leaders

Maths – Julie Chambers
English – Jamie Towsey
Humanities – Janneke Newson
Science and Digital Technologies – Maria Bitzios
Health/PE – Ebony Powell/Katie Loynes
The Arts/Technology – Kathryn Bevan
LOTE – Sehenaze Peerbux/Meaghan Baker
EAL – Lorna Griss
VCAL – Krystle Collyer

School for Student Leadership Program

Congratulations to the following six Year 9 students for their successful application and interview to gain a place at the School for Student Leadership Snowy River residential campus for all of this term - Jaya Abaloz, Soma Harrison-Corney, Caity Ford, Lachlan Welsh, Jordan Tchea and James Wilson. The term long program focuses on personal, community and leadership development. We look forward to the students return in Term 2 and hearing about their adventures, challenges and development opportunities.

Uniform and Jewellery

Our uniform is a very important part of the image we project of our College community and, therefore, I expect all students to wear their uniform correctly and with pride to, from and at school. I would like to congratulate the majority of students who have started off the year in a positive way in the wearing of the correct College uniform and I thank all parents for your support with this. A reminder that all students should be wearing polishable black leather lace up school shoes with a heel, not suede or sneakers. And plain grey, white or black socks with NO logos.

For PE and Sport, a reminder that students are required to be sunsmart and wear a broad brimmed or bucket hat when participating in outdoor activities. If they don’t bring a hat, they will be given one from our PE department to wear for the lesson. Students are allowed to come to school in their PE/Sport uniform on the days they have PE or Sport, as long as it is the correct PE uniform.

All students must also be using the official Mordialloc College green school bag available from Dobson’s. We are investigating an option of a smaller black school bag and will seek student feedback.

A reminder of the rules outlined in the College uniform policy regarding jewellery. Jewellery is not to be worn, apart from a wristwatch and a plain stud or sleeper for students with pierced ears. Piercing of other body parts must not be visible.

College Council Elections

College Council elections are approaching. Further information will be in the newsletter next week and nomination forms will be available from reception. Please give some thought to contributing to the College by participating in College Council – there are generally two evening meetings per term, and it can be very rewarding. College Council decides, to a large extent, the policies and direction the College takes and is therefore a most important part of the College community.

Back to School – How to help your teen get enough sleep

The following article in the Conversation, an online publication, may be of interest to parents: https://theconversation.com/back-to-school-how-to-help-your-teen-get-enough-sleep-153624

Ms. Michelle Roberts

Principal

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