Principals' Report

Term Three is always a busy term and this year is no different.  The first three weeks of the term have been packed with activities for both staff and students.

New beginnings, course counselling and 2020 Subject Selections
I hope the Year 7 and 8 students have enjoyed their new round of elective Art, Humanities and Technology subjects. Year 7 and 8 rotations provide a wonderful opportunity to experience the range of curriculum offerings before students begin choosing electives in Year 9. They have also just completed their counselling and elective selections for Year 9 2020. Sometimes the hardest part of this process is limiting selections to the required number, given there are so many exciting options available.

Year 9 and 10 students have also swapped electives at the beginning of this term and begun the course counselling process. I hope our current Year 9 students have considered the option of accelerating in Year 10 by applying for a VCE subject.  Our Year 10 students have a very important choice in the next week to make: either VCE or VCAL. Both are great pathways. Please ensure you make the most of the counselling time provided.

Year 11 students are choosing their final year subject; this is often a difficult decision. It is essential that all students check prerequisite for possible university courses in 2021.

I would like to thank the House and Pathways staff who are working with our students to make sure they are making informed decisions.

Grease
The College’s annual production begins on Wednesday 7th August at the Karralyka centre in Ringwood.  We are hosting 400 primary school students at the matinee session, and there are also evening performances on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights.  This is an exceptional opportunity to see our wonderful students step out of their comfort zone and perform in front of an audience in a professional theatre.  Tickets are available via the College website.  http://www.mooroolbarkcollege.vic.edu.au/

Debutante Balls
Many Year 11 students are spending their spare time practising for the 2019 Debutante Ball. They are definitely well on their way to perfecting their dances ready for the balls on Friday 16th  and Saturday 17th August.  I am looking forward to these two nights where many of our Year 11 students take part in this annual event.

Maroondah Billy Cart Marathon
We are very excited to announce that Mooroolbark College is being sponsored by ARB in the Maroondah Billy Cart Marathon on Sunday 8th September at METC, 112 Colchester Road, North Bayswater.  Ms Denise Raven and Mr Andrew Dingey are working with a team of 40 students to build and race a billy cart in this event.  Our billy cart will be revealed at the College at lunchtime on Thursday 29th August with a ‘mini race’ which will contribute to House Points.

Wujiang Senior School Visit
Our visitors from Wujiang Senior High School joined us this afternoon.  This year we are hosting 15 students and two staff members.  When they arrived there were many nervous Chinese students, but I expect they will quickly settle in as a result of the magnificent hospitality our students extend to both the staff and students.   A particular thank you to the families that are supporting our sister school relationship by hosting students over the next few days.

Click for photo

Ann Stratford
Principal

Arts Captains

Kyle Wahrenberger: Arts Captain

What do you hope to achieve this year in your role?
Hello, my name is Kyle Wahrenberger and I am one of the Arts Captains for 2019. Currently I am in Year 10 and was in the Aspire class of 2016, 2017 and 2018. This year I am hoping to be able to help the Arts program continue to grow bigger and better. My personal goal is to further support and develop the MMADDD squad within our community, and nurture its future directions.

Who is a leader that you admire and why do you admire them?
Personally, Kyle Chalmers (Olympic swimmer for Australia) is a leader I admire. I admire him because when he was young he was diagnosed with a heart disease that made his road to the Olympics so much more difficult.

What are some of your goals for the future?
My goals for the future include having a happy family and gaining a job that I am happy with. I am prepared to work hard on my studies in order to achieve these goals and have been asking my teachers for extra help and advice to set these goals in place. I am looking enjoying Semester Two and embracing all the opportunities that will help me support myself and our school.

Jaymie Cathie: Arts Captain

What do you hope to achieve this year in your role?

In my time as Arts Captain, I hope to broaden the Arts community within the school and strengthen our Arts programs for the benefit of all students. I believe there needs to be further recognition for all aspects of the Arts at Mooroolbark College and that is something I am striving for, and will continue to strive for after my time as Arts Captain has ended. Mooroolbark College is known for its broad academic success including excellence in the Arts.

Who is a leader that you admire and why do you admire them?
I admire Princess Diana. In her time, Diana was involved in dozens of charities, raised awareness and advocated ways to help people affected with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and mental illnesses. She changed the way people interacted with those affected. She made them feel accepted. Although Diana is no longer with us, the legacy that she left and the causes she fought for continue through the work of her children and others.

 What are some of your goals for the future?
During the rest of my time at Mooroolbark College, I would like to successfully complete VCE while continuing to participate in College productions and the instrumental music program. I want to see the Arts continue to grow into something even better than it has ever been before. After graduating, I wish to go to university and study music and secondary education, to have a career in education, teaching maths and music.

 Final sentence for readers.
“The world is a complicated place, and there’s a lot of division between people. The performing Arts tends to unify people in a way nothing else does.” – David Rubenstein

Sports Leadership AusKick

Sports Leadership students umpired the AusKick game during half time at the Essendon vs. Sydney Swans game at Marvel Stadium on Friday 10th  May and also at Collingwood v North Melbourne on Saturday 29th June at Marvel Stadium.  Well done everyone! What a fantastic experience.

Click for photos 

Year 10 Forensic Science

The Year 10 Forensic Science class were immersed in crime scene investigation techniques at their recent visit to the Police Museum. Watch out CSI ...........here we come!

Click for photos

Arts Week

Recently at the College we celebrated Arts Week with a number of art related activities. These were very well attended and a huge amount of fun (for both students and staff). Students were given the chance to be creative and competitive at the same time in a Chalk Art competition with Red House students claiming 1st place. Some of the designs the students created in such a short time were truly amazing.

Throughout the week we also had screenings of Media student films in the multipurpose room which was a massive hit with the students who also loved the popcorn provided. Music Club and Art Club also saw a huge increase in the number of students attend. Congratulations to all involved.

Click for photos 

Premiers' Reading Challenge

The Premiers’ Reading Challenge for 2019 is now well underway with only a month to go. All students in Years 7to10 are automatically registered.  To complete the challenge, students only need to read and register 15 books before the end of August. This year we also have a number of staff who have taken up the challenge, which was recognised by the Minster for Education. Click below to read the press release. 

https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/premiers-reading-challenge-sweeps-across-the-state/?fbclid=IwAR2nfupEMEpCDwdXAsQp5o8tJ5XOBqEz2c_-MKZ4youdW4JtynUAMIHBV1I

Students that complete the challenge will receive 30 House points and celebrate with a pizza lunch. Congratulations to the following students who have already completed the Challenge.

Gabrielle Bouwhuis  
 B.J. Tabing 
Kane Parkinson  
Carla Hunaidi  
Jacob Mcintosh  
Amy Pearce
Natalya Wheeler
Natasha Rowe
Alex Alame
Holly Waite
Abigayle Huang
Joss Draper
Kyle Roache
Tannar Riches
Zaide Hughes
Iliro Smit
Tara Barnewall
Caitlyn O'Rorke
Emma Whitford

If you require more information, please contact Mrs Mackey at the College on 97278100 or via Compass.
To register your books please visit http://www.education.vic.gov.au/prc/

Billy Cart Marathon

READY SET GO - Mooroolbark College is proud to announce that we are competing in the Billy Cart Marathon.

Maroondah Billy Cart Marathon

8th September 2019

 METEC Driver Training  Facility, 112 Colchester Road, Bayswater North

The event involves 16 teams of 20 kids pushing a Billy Cart around a course for 6 hours to raise money for The Smith Family.

It will be a fun-filled day for all the family and local community!!!

Come along and join in the fun.

The official site  billycartmarathon.com.au  went live on August 1st and so did the signs on EastLink. There are  five weeks to go to the big event and students are busy planning marketing, fundraising and engineering.

We would like to thank our sponsors ARB for working alongside our team.

Arts Camp

Applications for this year's Arts Camp are now OPEN!

Forms can be collected from your Arts teacher (art, ceramics, dance, drama, media, music, photography, studio arts or VCD) or from the Student Administration Office.

This year's camp takes place from December 10 until December 13 with places limited to 40.

Application forms and deposit are due back by August 4 to the Student Administration Office.

Night of Excellence - Save the date

Save the date!

We encourage our community to join us for our Night of Excellence on Thursday the 17th of October. We will feature our Year 7 Showcase Night, as well as displays of student work. Listen and watch our amazing MMADD Artists and be delighted by the beautiful Literacy Bake Off cakes!

Grease Production

Grease Tickets Competition
In the lead up to this year’s College production of Grease, (7-9th) August we are running a special Grease Trivia Competition with a winner for each quiz receiving a family pass valued at $70.

Each night at 8pm a trivia question will be posted on our Facebook page. To enter, simply reply to the post with your answer. From all of the correct answers, a random winner will be selected. (Entry is open for 24 hours on each question).

‘Keep an eye out at 8pm each night for the day’s question’

Don’t forget you can reserve your GREASE TICKETS!
This year’s production is at the Karralyka Centre and will have allocated seating. 
This means you’ll need to get in quick to ensure that you get the best seats to experience this wonderful production. 
Family (2 adults/2 children or 1 adult/3 children) - $70
Adult - $25
Child/concession - $15
Tickets are available at https://www.trybooking.com/BBUWQ

Winter Concert 2019 - Save the date

Don't forget our Mooroolbark College Winter Concert is on the 26th of August. It is a great opportunity to hear our amazing performers. More details will be posted to Compass soon, as well as a link to get your tickets.

Read more.