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Mooroolbark College Newsletter – April 2021

30th April 2021

Our latest Mooroolbark College Newsletter is here!
 
The Mooroolbark College newsletters are an important form of communication for our school community.
Each newsletter contains a great deal of information about what is happening in the College including upcoming events and celebration of student success.
 
Enjoy the read…

In this Issue:

Upcoming Events

Next PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

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The start of Term 2 is always an exciting time at Mooroolbark College as we celebrate and share with the community the many wonderful things we do here at the College. On Thursday 22nd April, the College held its annual Open Night. It was exciting to see over 500 people come through our doors from many different primary school settings. I was fortunate enough to meet and talk to many people throughout the night. Our goal for this newsletter is to share a little from the night with our current parents and students.

I want to thank the 100 students who attended and helped out on the night. It was great that so many students shared their experiences of Mooroolbark College. I am also grateful to the Mooroolbark College staff for their attendance, who once again showcased the College for our community. Finally, my thanks goes to the Mooroolbark College Parents Association who volunteered their time to welcome our visitors on the night.

Congratulations to Adele Sutters from Mt Evelyn Primary School who is the lucky draw winner of the notebook computer passport competition.

Please enjoy reading this month’s newsletter and celebrating with us the excellence presented across the College.

Ann Stratford
PRINCIPAL

PreviousCover PageNext SENIOR SCHOOL

SENIOR SCHOOL

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Mooroolbark College’s Information Night saw a steady stream of visitors to the Senior School. The Senior Study Centre held a display of all things relevant to the life of a student in their senior years at the College. Information relevant to VCE, VCAL, VET and Pathways were on display. Mrs Roache, our Senior School Leader, spoke several times throughout the evening regarding what the Senior School is and what is involved in the education of a senior student, answering many questions from our visitors with the help of Ms Bisi. Mrs Dingey was kept busy stamping visitors’ passports keen to complete the Open Night challenge that had been set by the organisers.

Jennifer Roache
Senior School Leader

PreviousPRINCIPAL’S REPORTNext HOUSE LEADERS – School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support

HOUSE LEADERS – School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support

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Over the last 4 weeks of Term 1, Mooroolbark College and the SWPBS team had a real focus on one of our school values “Compassion”. Beginning with the General Assembly with a focus on inclusion and supporting others, house captains presented ways in which they show compassion and empathy. Following on from this John Nichol and the Cluster Coordinators ran “Inclusive Sessions” to discuss the house system, discuss how students can prevent bullying and how coordinators care for each one of Mooroolbark College students. House assemblies also presented awards for Compassion while showing a short videos and speeches from captains and house leaders on what it looks like to be inclusive, supportive, and compassionate. Recently at our Open Night, the House Leaders talked about and explained the how the house system and SWPBS plays a major role in Mooroolbark College. 

Matt Bell
Yellow House Leader

PreviousSENIOR SCHOOLNext STUDENT WELLBEING

STUDENT WELLBEING

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As a College we pride ourselves on our caring nature. While we focus on the importance of our students doing their best with school work, their overall wellbeing is also important to us. 

Our Year 12 students had Sports And Life Training speak to them about the importance of looking after themselves and each other during what can be a stressful year. They said it was important to ask friends and school colleagues, not just an Aussie “ow ya goin?” but rather, “how are you really going?” in order to get a more honest response from someone who may be struggling. Various strategies to improve their own resilience and mental health were explored. Students were also reminded of the various wellbeing supports we have in the College for them.

In the last fortnight of Term 1, every Year 7 student participated in a wellbeing session with the other students from their house cluster (around 15 – 20 students) to talk about how they have settled into school and the importance of treating everyone with kindness and respect. It was emphasised to them the important role they each play in preventing bullying and ensuring all students feel safe at school.


If you have any concerns at all about your child please contact their coordinator or myself and chaplain Gill Van Der Ende. We are available to parents via phone or text and your child can also contact us directly by knocking on our office door. We are here to support you!

John Nichol
Student Welfare Coordinator

WELLBEING AND WELFARE SUPPORT SERVICES

24 Hour Emergency
Kids Helpline Counselling service for people aged between 5 and 25 24 hours/7 days 1800 551 800 

www.kidshelpline.com.au

www.kidshelpline.com.au/young-adults

(email, web chat)

LifelineCrisis support, suicide prevention and mental health support services24 hours/7 days
www.lifeline.org.au

13 11 14

Beyond BlueInformation and support for all ages to promote optimal mental health.24 hours/7 days1300 224 636 

www.beyondblue.org.au

(Chat online or email)

E headspaceProvide mental health support for young people aged 12–25Phone: 

10pm – 1am

Online counselling: 1pm – 1am

1800 650 890 

https://headspace.org.au/eheadspace/

Yarra Ranges Youth TeamProvide support and advice to young people 9294 6716 

1300 368 333 or 9294 6905

www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Community/Youth

youth@yarraranges.vic.gov.au

InspiroFree youth, teen, young adult and family counselling 9738 8801 

or visit https://www.inspiro.org.au/
for more information

Parent lineSupport for Parents and carers with children from birth to 18 years8am–midnight/7 dayswww.parentline.com.au 

13 22 89 

1300 30 1300

EDVOSFamily violence service in Melbourne’s eastern metropolitan regionMon-Fri 9am-8pm 

Sat 9am-5pm (phone or email) 

03 9259 4200  

edvos@edvos.org.au

https://www.edvos.org.au/

No To ViolenceSupports for men who use family violenceMon – Fri 8am-9pm 

 

 1300 766 491
PreviousHOUSE LEADERS – School-Wide Positive Behaviour SupportNext MATHEMATICS

MATHEMATICS

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In Mathematics, we love celebrating the amazing qualities both our students and staff have to offer. Our Mooroolbark College Open Night was an excellent opportunity to do just that. This was a fun and vibrant night that allowed us to showcase all the wonderful things we have to offer within Mathematics at Mooroolbark College. From our Numeracy Program, to Assistance and Extension, and elective subjects like Building Maths Confidence and Investigate Maths. This was a fantastic opportunity to discuss what Mooroolbark College has to offer to the community. It was great to see so many staff and students involved in this event.

Jade Hubben
Mathematics Key Learning Head

PreviousSTUDENT WELLBEINGNext HUMANITIES

HUMANITIES

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Humanities was alive with colour and activity on Open Night. A huge thanks to all staff and students who helped showcase our great activities. Our rooms were filled with great assignments completed recently by Humanities students. Hands-on activities from Be Your Own Boss, our new Year 9 subject, were a focus of the Commerce display. We also had many dazzling assignments from Accounting, Business Studies, Economics and Legal Studies on display.

The Geography room saw students working on a collaborative task in which they decided how to best manage a small town and nearby forest. The challenge was to develop a plan considering all stakeholders’ views – quite a challenge, given competing interests from conservationists, mountain bikers and a logging company. Students also created landform models in a pop-up sandpit. They used sand to show how contour maps are created.

Our History display included pottery artefacts from Ancient Rome (part of a Year 7 activity), a mysterious, unearthed skeleton (with a sword – who could this be), and assignments on Ancient Australia, Ancient Rome, Vikings, slavery and twentieth century history.

A special thanks to our enthusiastic student helpers on the night – Laura Harrison, Tegan McDonald and Isla Wakeham.

Chris Hanneberry
Humanities Key Learning Head

 

 

 

 

 

PreviousMATHEMATICSNext HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

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A huge congratulations to all staff and students who ran a brilliant open night for 2021!

As always with the end of day light savings, running activities outside can be a daunting task, however, the night proved to be a great success with only a few patches of drizzle. This allowed for our wonderful student helpers from our select entry programs Talented Sports and Advance Sports Leadership to put on a show, highlighting just some of our amazing activities that we have on offer at Mooroolbark College. These included 9-Square, Bat Tennis and Ultimate Frisbee. It was awesome to see so many children, parents and teachers getting involved, especially to shake off the chilly evening.

The Health and Physical Education display consisted of an array of student work from all year levels 7-12. Some of the works included – Year 7 Health – Peer Support Program, Year 7 Time Capsules, Year 9 Health workbooks and Mental Health Choose Your Own Adventure CATs, Year 10 Health and Human Development Community Assignments and VCE Outdoor Education and Environmental Studies Dioramas.

A huge thank you to Paul Ryan and Lachlan Mann and their exceptional student leaders that came to support the night, engaging with our prospective student and parent community and helping with the set up and pack up of the evening. True leadership shines when those who seek growth, push themselves outside of their comfort zone and dedicate themselves to sharing their experiences with others. This was displayed eloquently throughout the night and the student’s knowledge and professionalism was not only an asset to the college but a credit to the hard work they have been doing in their respective subjects. It is easy for teachers to talk to their subjects however, it is truly the students that are the stars of the night.

With the re-commencement of Inter-School Sports this year, it was the perfect opportunity to highlight some of the amazing accolades that our teams have achieved so far this year including Divisional Volleyball and State Swimming just to name a few. Thank you to Ryan Exon, our Inter-school Sports Coordinator, who has worked tirelessly putting together teams and training in sports such as Volleyball, Cricket and Tennis during Term 1. Term 2 sports are up and running already – so please see your Compass Newsfeed for the Microsoft Forms sign up link or see Mr. Exon in the Maths office if you have any questions.

Stephanie Todd
Health & PE Key Learning Head

PreviousHUMANITIESNext TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY

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Open Night was a fantastic night for the Technology KLA. The Food Technology department baked biscuits, sealing them individually in plastic bags to ensure they were COVID safe. There were over 500 biscuits baked and sampled on the night, a massive effort by all the staff. They also encouraged visitors to check out the College’s webpage to find the recipe for the biscuits so visitors could make them for themselves at home. 

Food Studies
During the last term our food studies students have been hard at work developing their skills to make a fantastic range of products.

  • Year 7 Food Studies students made scones, chicken fillet burgers and pasties.
  • Barker’s Bakery students challenged themselves making hot cross buns, biscuits box and cottage pies.
  • Year 10 Food Studies students flexed their cooking skills by making vanilla slices, meat pies and pizzas.
  • BBQ students barbequed up a storm making Middle Eastern Chicken Kebabs with spiced fruit and nut pilaf, Korean BBQ beef with bulgogi and cucumber kimchi.
  • Year 9 Food Studies students developed their skills making frittatas, calzones and apple pies.
  • Special Occasion Food students worked on designing and making mud cakes and presented their work on the ‘What’s Your History’ CAT.
  • Well done to our Year 12 students for completing their first lot of outcomes. Their practical work has been fantastic including their teriyaki pork cutlets with spicy slaw, Vietnamese salad made with Unicorn Noodles and reduced sugar summer berry jam.

Product Design
Year 8 Product Design Textiles students have now finished their folios producing some fantastic results experimenting with techniques such shaving cream marbling, tie dying, bleaching, block printing and sharpie designs. They are now commencing their designs for their final products. Can’t wait to see what they will come up with. 

Our Cosplay/Fashion Design students have had a busy Term 1 visiting op shops to select items they will up-cycle into a ‘new’ product. They have investigated the importance of reusing and reducing waste in the textile industry. It will interesting to see their results in the coming weeks. 

Photos of the students’ production work can be found on the school’s social media sites. We will also be add to the schools YouTube channel by making some videos, which can be found at https://www.youtube.com/c/mooroolbarkcollegeofficial. Stay tuned. 

Hard Technology
Hard Technology had the laser cutter running overtime making ‘Mooroolbark College Rules’ as an example of what students can do with the new technologies we have at Mooroolbark College. We gave away around 150 of these 100mm rules for students to put in their pencil cases On Open Night. The 3D printers were also running non-stop while we took a quick poll on whether pineapple should be used on pizzas with the Microbits. A lot of questions were answered by our staff and visitors said that it was good that Mooroolbark College offered Technology education to students. 

Andrew Dingey
Technology Key Learning Head

PreviousHEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATIONNext LANGUAGES

LANGUAGES

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It’s Term 2 and we’re back at school eager to teach and learn! 

Before we highlight the hugely successful Open Night held on the 22nd April, a few words on our achievements in The Education Perfect World Championships in which we competed against 1,894 schools. It is worth mentioning we came 18th out of 308 Victorian Schools and, even more impressively, 13th out of 1082 in German, putting us into the top 2% globally! 

Education Perfect Championships – The award winners are…  

Ash Missen Emerald 5000 Points
Bailey Paget Gold 3000 Points 
Elijah Coles Gold  
Aliyah Orwin Gold  
Dylan Kass Gold  
Kiele Donald Silver 2000 Points 
Joshua Nubley Silver  
Tiana De Vincentis Silver  
Sian Groves Bronze 1000 Points 
Sienna Harper Bronze  
Dylan Pickett Bronze  
Summer Tuppenney Bronze  
Jed Birkner Bronze  
Mason Williamson Bronze  
Leah Smith Bronze  
Olivia Cahoon Bronze  
Henry Pearce Bronze  
Lal Chhuani Bronze  
Ashlee Jordan Bronze  
Noah McConville Bronze  
Matilda Sleeman Bronze  
Chloe Haley Credit 500 Points 
Teresa Hramkam Credit  
Mikaylah Sleeman Credit  
Thomas Brincat Credit  
Lyzia Fancun Credit  
Justin Villacis Credit  
Tiarna Gerrey Credit  
Bawi Mang Bawi Zi Credit  
Taylen Walker Credit  
Lilli Smirnow Credit  
Austin Leonard Credit  
Breanna Wickham Credit  
Riley Saultry Credit  
Laura Harrison Credit  
Solomon Hlawn Ceu Credit  
Tegan McDonald Credit  
Riley Ker Credit  
Bianca Lagwa Credit  
Kirsten Wheeler Credit  
Alex Paget Credit  
Nathan Hand Credit  
Hansom Gideon Credit  
Jacob King Credit  
Jarrod Peake Credit  
Connor Kreemers Credit  
Robbie Petrie Credit  
Lexie Bak Credit  

All of these students will receive a special certificate to be awarded in at a future school assembly. These results show how engaged our learners are, how much fun it can be to learn for pleasure and how vibrant our languages are at Mooroolbark College. 

Open Night
Recently, Mooroolbark College held its Open Night. Due to COVID restrictions we could not do our usual waffle and stir-fry extravaganza. Instead, we were very grateful to our student volunteers (in German: Nikkisha Dempster (Year 7) and Alexis Haslett (Year 8) and in Chinese: Keiffer Just, Keira Leonard, Niamh Delaney, Tegan McDonald) who assisted us the whole evening in running our activities. Visitors received their passport stamps but were also encouraged to participate in one of our activities, including matching up words and interactive word searches. These were hugely popular, to the point that parents and staff from other faculties tried their luck and were greatly surprised with their level of ability.

We are looking forward to the rest of the term and ready to assist all our learners as they progress towards completing their Semester One assessments. 

Jonas Bahlo
Languages Key Learning Head  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PreviousTECHNOLOGYNext EAL

EAL

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On Open Night, English as an Additional Language displayed information about our program as well as examples of student’s work. Below are some examples of the resources we displayed.

 

Eddie Mabo’s life is defined by the multiple struggles he faces throughout the film. His life is lived while fighting for the Indigenous people within social and historical context. In addition, Eddie faces a number of conflicts throughout his life which has been explored throughout this essay. These are his struggles to balance his political ambition with his family, his struggle between fighting for his land right. At the end of the film, the victory of Eddie’s hard work has paid off and the Aboriginal people got their own land right and opportunities. Throughout the film, the director of the movie, Perkins, shows us the difficult road of a leader and leaves us thinking about the struggles Aboriginal people have faced throughout their lives as well as the competing sources of tension inherent in human life in general.

Charlie Chaturapornkul
EAL Coordinator

PreviousLANGUAGESNext THE ARTS

THE ARTS

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April has been a busy and productive time in The Arts faculty. We have been learning Guitar in Music, technical drawing in VCD, making short films in Media and preparing and setting up our amazing displays of student work and activities for potential new students for Open Night. Open Night was a huge success for the department, as curious parents explored the possibilities we offer potential students in the future and enjoyed participating in musical performances, ceramics, photography, painting and drawing. The energy and colour were wonderful and we are very grateful for the contribution from all of our staff.  

We are thrilled to welcome our new Arts Technician, Ruth Donaldson, who will be helping our instrumental music team and the arts department with displays, administration and maintenance. We would like to wish Mia Sund all the best on her maternity leave and share her excitement on her new family member. We also welcome Sarah Clarke, who will be helping with Mia’s drama classes. We have also been grateful for the contributions of pre-service Clint Eldridge, from Deakin University.  

Jordan van Keulen 
The Arts Key Learning Head  

PreviousEALNext ASPIRE

ASPIRE

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What a busy start to the term it has been in the ASPIRE program!

In Week 1 we welcomed lots of prospective parents and students at our College Open Night. This was a great opportunity for people to hear about our fantastic program and all of the opportunities that being selected provides. Students and parents also loved reading the profiles filled in by some of our current students. Hearing a first-hand description of the positives of the program (and recognising faces from their own primary school!) proved to be a very popular display.

More information about our program and the testing information can be found on the website or you can email aspire@mooroolbarkcollege.vic.gov.au if you have any questions.

 

 

This term we also welcomed a new group of Year 7 students participating in the Victorian High Ability Program.

We have 8 students participating in the English program, who are reading and analysing the book “Hive” and discussing dystopian societies, and 6 students participating in the Maths program, who are enjoying the challenge of investigating the variety of ways people may find solutions to problems.

“I enjoyed hearing ideas from new people and learning about a new topic!” – Colbie (English).

“I enjoyed learning about utopia’s and dystopia’s because they were really interesting, and I didn’t know what they were.” – Jaylen (English).

“The VHAP was very fun and pushed me to use 100% of my 4 brain cells to figure out the math. It was challenging figuring out how to figure out the problem ?! Looking forward to the next session!” – Mo (Maths).

“What I liked about the first session was meeting all of the student participants and also getting to make new friends from other people at Mooroolbark College.” – Georgie (English).

“I really enjoyed the varied amount of things we got to do, and I also really liked how you really had to think about the problems but once you got it, you understood how it worked.” – Aliyah (Maths).

Kara Salmon
ASPIRE Coordinator and High Ability Practice Leader

PreviousTHE ARTSNext SCIENCE

SCIENCE

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Another successful Open Night and in Science we had the opportunity to once again show off some of the amazing work our students have done in their classes so far this year. 

A huge thank you to our student volunteers on the night, Dylan Lamb, Hannah Philpott, Scarlett Wheeler, Gabrielle Bouwhuis, Owen Wahrenberger, Mikayla Knight, Anabel Floyd and Blake Hazeldene. Each of you did a wonderful job representing Science and your school. Each student was kept busy by performing experiments and expertly answering all of our visitors questions.  

We had two of our Science labs open, in one room we had on display student work from Years 7, 8 and 9 as well as some experiments our students perform in Science classes across all year levels. Our Year 8 students have recently finished exploring the circulatory system and dissected a sheep’s heart as a part of that unit. On the night, two of our students demonstrated to our visitors how they performed the dissection in class. We also had both rat and kidney dissections being performed as well, which is always a highlight for most. Visitors could also examine specimens under our light and digital microscopes. 

In our other lab, visitors could make their own slime, experiment with a range of acid/base indicators and have a balloon rocket race against each other. Our VCE student’s practical investigation posters were on display for all to admire. 

Our turtles Franklin and Sheldon were very excited to see so many new faces and will hopefully see them again next year! 

 

Skye Jennings 
Science Key Learning Head

PreviousASPIRENext LIBRARY

LIBRARY

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Open Night is an interesting concept for a reader – the library is always open to our students and we work hard to ensure that it is a safe space for everyone. Our books are always open, as well – access to the Wheelers ebook catalogue is available 24/7 and through Compass, you can search our online catalogue at any time of the day to find out what texts we have available on our shelves.

So it is interesting to glance at the library through the eyes of a visitor – to see the neat shelves with rows of novels, to look more closely at the displays full of new or themed recommendations, to consider how open and calm the space truly is.

Humming quietly below the energy and enthusiasm displayed by our incredible students at the recent Open Night were the whispers of positivity – acknowledgement of how friendly and open the library appeared, of how many books there were and how much bigger it was than some of the local primary schools, and for some parents – who had attended Mooroolbark themselves – just how much had changed, even if the building was still the same. The swag and zest that our Year 12 helpers brought to the library – chatting with prospective students and parents, stamping their passports and promoting the Mooroolbark Community – also helped to demonstrate the passion and zeal that our students have for our school and it was so wonderful to see so many parents and young students look around our library with wide open eyes.

Premiers’ Reading Challenge
The library would like to remind you that login details have been distributed to all year 7 and 8 students and they should now start logging the books that they are reading on the PRC website – https://vprcidentity.eduweb.vic.gov.au/account/login – if you have any questions about the Premier’s Reading Challenge, please contact Miss Pauer. Don’t forget that you can earn House Points!

Book Club is back on this term!
Running every Thursday lunchtime, if you would like to participate in Book Club, please speak to Miss Giles! We chat all things books and reading, there are lots of fun activities and we also supply the snacks!

Scholastic Catalogue – Issue 3
Issue 3 of the Scholastic BookClub has been released and you can now order! There are some fantastic book offers in this issue, including a massive range of books all under $5! If you’d like some help with ordering through Scholastic, please contact the library!

Prue Bon
Library Coordinator

PreviousSCIENCENext 57th MOOROOLBARK COLLEGE DEBUTANTE BALL

57th MOOROOLBARK COLLEGE DEBUTANTE BALL

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There were moments when we thought that the 57th Mooroolbark College Debutante Ball wouldn’t run. Venues, photographers and dresses were organised, and then postponed. Hair and make-up appointments were rescheduled; dress fittings were rearranged, and beards were grown. But, as all good things come to those who wait, the Debutantes and partners of the 57th Mooroolbark College Debutante Ball were finally presented to their friends and family on Sunday March 28th, 2021.  

The intervening six months between the original date and the actual date did little to dampen the spirits and enthusiasm of the 57th Debutantes and their partners. They arrived at the first dance rehearsal full of energy and despite the exhaustion presented by the first term of Year 12, they all maintained this fervour throughout the five weeks of rehearsals and the day of the Ball.  

After being formally presented to our special guests – Mr Zac Parr and MP Mr David Hodgett – our Debutantes and partners nervously took to the dance floor to show off their newly mastered ability of ballroom dancing. Performing the Waltz, the Merengue, the Charleston and three other dances, our Debutantes and partners demonstrated that the hard work and practice they had completed over the past few weeks was worth the effort.  

Applause from the several hundred guests surrounding the dance floor was loud and full of cheer. The flash of cameras was insistent and the wide smiles of all participants were splendid to see.  

All of our Debutantes and their partners conducted themselves with grace. Despite some early concerns about being able to bow and curtsy low enough, our Debutantes and their partners demonstrated precise control over this particular aspect of decorum. Joshua McMeeken and Shayla Kimpton represented the Debutantes with their speeches of appreciation, speaking with confidence and setting a wonderful example of the etiquette required at such an event.

We would like to thank everyone who was involved in the 57th Mooroolbark College Debutante Ball, including the Debutantes, their partners and their families. We would particularly like to thank Ann Stratford and the Leadership Team, as well as the MCPA for their extensive support and dedication towards the running of the Debutante Ball. Our gratitude is extended to everyone who has volunteered their time to support our Debutantes over the last twelve months.

Prue Bon and Evgenia Giles 
57th Debutante Ball Coordinators, 2021 

 

 

 

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Mooroolbark College Newsletter – April 2021