Mooroolbark College Newsletter – November 2025

Night of Excellence: A Celebration of Student Achievement

This year’s Night of Excellence was a wonderful celebration of our students’ hard work, creativity, and growth throughout the year. The event featured outstanding displays of student work from every faculty — English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities, Technology, The Arts, PE/Health, and Languages — each one showcasing the effort and talent that has gone into learning in 2025.

The library, Wellbeing Centre, MPR & C Block were filled with colourful, thoughtful, and high-quality work, ranging from essays and projects to artwork, design pieces, and research tasks. It was fantastic to see students proudly showing their learning and reflecting on how far they’ve come.

The community turnout was incredible, with students, families, and staff filling the school to celebrate these achievements together. The buzz around the displays and the warm conversations happening everywhere made for a fantastic atmosphere. There was a real sense of pride and connection across the evening — the kind that reminds us what makes our school community so special.

A huge thank you goes to our dedicated teachers, who showed amazing professionalism in preparing the displays and supporting students to present their best work. The care and effort that went into each display were clear to see and made the night such a success.

Overall, Night of Excellence was a reminder of the talent and teamwork within our school community. It was a night filled with pride, positivity, and plenty of smiles — a perfect way to celebrate a great year of learning.

The Great Literacy Bake Off: Stories that you can taste!

It was brilliant to see The Great Literacy Bake Off return to the College at Night of Excellence. It proved that Mooroolbark College’s creativity extends well beyond the classroom! Students and staff rose to the challenge by decorating cakes and cupcakes inspired by their favourite stories, transforming much-loved books into incredible works of art.

With many imaginative entries, the competition was a feast for the eyes. From intricately iced classics to fondant-covered fantasy worlds, each design showcased the incredible talent, attention to detail and literacy-inspired creativity of our school community. The judging table was filled with colour, laughter, and a shared appreciation for the power of storytelling and icing!

Special mention goes to all participants who took the time to plan, design, and decorate their literary masterpieces. Your efforts made this event not just about cakes, but about connection, imagination, and celebrating a love of reading in a unique way.

We’re already looking ahead to next year which promises to be even bigger and better, with more categories, more entries, and even more opportunities to bring our favourite books to life.

A huge thank you to everyone who baked, decorated, voted, or simply came along to admire the display. You’ve helped make literacy deliciously fun!

Year 7 Showcase

Our Year 7 students have shone brightly at this year’s Night of Excellence! They transformed the Discovery Centre into a vibrant showcase of creativity and growth. Each student should be proud of their presented display table. Students selected and filled their space with their best work from across the year, including ceramic animals, archaeological site posters, colour poems, woodwork safety booklets, as well as artworks, writing samples, and design projects. The variety and effort on display captured just how much our Year 7s have learned and achieved in their first year of secondary school. Families and friends were invited to wander through the displays, chat with students about their learning journeys, and cast their votes for the most outstanding showcase in each class.

Congratulations to all our participants, as Year 7s excitedly wait for the reveal of the class winner, who will receive a $30 gift voucher for their impressive displays. Beyond the awards, the evening was a wonderful reminder of how capable our young learners are. Thank you to our Year 7 team, families, and community for supporting a night that celebrated excellence in learning.

Performing Arts Showcase 2025

The Performing Arts Showcase, Encore 2025, lit up T block with an incredible mix of talent, teamwork, and creativity. The event brought together our instrumentalists, vocalists, and production students for an evening celebrating excellence in performing.

The night opened with the Performing Arts Camp (PAC) Band, directed by Viv Doolan and Jordan van Keulen, performing renditions of Sweet Home Alabama and Viv’s arrangement of Lady Madonna. The group’s lively spirit and unified ensemble playing set the tone for the evening.

Our 2025 Year 12 Ensembles shared their exam pieces, with Jake Kinman, Josh Peters, and Shayla Isbel impressing with powerful interpretations of Nobody by Hozier and H by Tool.

Pianist Jarvis Meredith delivered a moving solo performance of Interstellar, captivating the audience with amazing skill, sensitivity and control.

The jazz-inspired Year 12 group, featuring Dylan Kass and Conner Rand, brought smooth energy and flair to their versions of Moanin’ by Art Blakey and Birdland by Weather Report, sharing moments from their exam program.

Adding to the variety, the Year 11 ensemble Stealing Jellybeans rocked the stage with their fierce performances of Shadow and Muzzle by Destroy Boys, and their original song Shut the Door.

Nathan Hand, another fantastic Year 12 performer, shared a self-composed guitar solo, Brewery, which was another standout moment, demonstrating technical skill and style.

A touching highlight came from Laura Harrison’s heartfelt vocal solo, Still Hurting from The Last Five Years, which showcased her emotional range and stage presence for her final performance at Mooroolbark College.

The evening also featured a screening from our talented Year 11 Media students — Shayla Isbel, Jasmine Kavanagh, Jake Kinman, and Jordan Roache — who presented their short film Gotcha, adding a hilarious touch to the celebration.

The finale saw the 2025 Footloose Production Cast take to the stage, performing I’m Free (Heaven Helps the Man) and the Footloose Finale, giving our audience a taste of the highly successful 2025 production.

A special thanks to Drew Hill, Michael Jones and the Instrumental team for all of their help and contributions for the night. We hope to see you next year for more amazing, excellent performances in 2026.

Jordan van Keulen

PERFORMING ARTS COORDINATOR

Spring Concert

November is always such an exciting time in the Music Department, as our instrumental music program shares all the fun and amazing things students have been working on throughout Semester 2. The focus of the Spring Concert was ensemble work, showcasing the communication and cooperation our different groups have developed.

Viv Doolan’s Drumline started the evening with Safe and Sound by Capital Cities, followed by Erica Sykes’ Keyboard Ensemble playing the classic Batman theme. The audience was then treated to Jessy Turner’s arrangement of Sweet Disposition and a performance of Voices by Damiano David, which included the Keyboard Ensemble. Chris Schurmann’s Guitar Ensemble was next with a performance of Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. Viv Doolan’s Concert Band followed with her arrangements of Bye Bye by Louis Armstrong and Outkast’s hit Hey Ya!

The audience of friends and family were then treated to a massed item involving all of our performers, sharing Viv’s arrangement of Nothing Else Matters by Metallica, featuring Eden Fussel and Marty Bolch on lead guitar.

We’re always thrilled to share what our musicians have been learning and working on, and we can’t wait for the Autumn Concert in Semester 1, 2026 – see you there!

Jordan van Keulen

PERFORMING ARTS COORDINATOR

Congratulations to our Graduating class of 2025!

As we enter Term 4, we would like to extend a congratulations to all our Year 12 VCE and VCE VM students on completing their studies. This is a magnificent milestone, and each of you should be proud of the endeavour, resilience and dedication you have shown throughout the year.

To our VCE students – as you head into your exams, we wish you every success that you deserve. Remember that preparation, rest and balance are key. Take time to revise but also allow yourself moments to relax and recharge. You’ve worked hard throughout the year to get here, trust in your knowledge and give each exam your best effort.

To our VCE Vocational Major students – completing your studies and applied learning projects is an achievement to celebrate. Your practical skills and commitment to supporting each other have set a strong foundation for your future pathways, whether in further study, apprenticeships, or the workforce.

No matter what your next steps may be, remember that success comes in many forms. Stay curious, keep learning, and continue to strive in doing your best. And remember, as Mrs Stratford has reminded you “Oh the places you’ll go” – Dr Seuss.

Once again, congratulations, and best of luck to every Year 12 student. We are so is incredibly proud of you!

Celebrating Our 2025 Student Leaders and introducing our next generation of student leaders.

As we move through 2025, we are delighted to recognise and thank our 2025 Student Leadership Council for their advocacy, enthusiasm and dedication. From free dress days to student leader fundraisers and events, we are so proud and grateful to be able to work with our amazing student leaders as they build their leadership skills and become the voice for the 2025 student body.

As the final term continues, we are excited to introduce the newest cohort of student leaders who step up to serve our College community with energy, service and voice. At Mooroolbark College, student leadership is about student voice, agency and leadership—our leaders are choosing to be agents of change, to raise the voice of their peers, and to inspire excellence in every student’s journey.

College Captains

• College Captain: Jordan Roache
• College Captain: Aliyah Orwin
• Vice College Captain: Giselle Leondard
• Vice College Captain: Ainslie Norton

These students have taken on the responsibility of representing the whole student body at formal events, co-leading assemblies, and partnering with College administration to amplify student voice.

House Captains
This year our four houses continue to benefit from dedicated captains who lead house assemblies, champion house-based activities, and ensure that every student feels part of their house community.

• Baan House Captain: Abbey Heemskerk and Ashlee Jordan
• Biik House Captain: Lilli Smirnov and Tom Stafford
• Darrang House Captain: Declan Saunders and Matilda Sleeman
• Ngawan House Captain: Andre Johanson and Henry Pearce

Middle School & Specialty Captains
We are also currently accepting applications for our Middle School Captains and Specialty Captains and advocacy roles. These leaders will work alongside our senior student leadership team to bring student-voice into middle years initiatives and specialty programs. Final appointments will be announced during our end-of-year assemblies.

We are proud of these student leaders for stepping into roles that go beyond title—they are actively seeking to engage their peers, initiate meaningful change, and shape the culture of our College for the better. Their work reminds us that leadership is less about privilege and more about service, collaboration and making visible the voices of all students.

As we continue through the year, we encourage all students to support our leaders, participate in House and College events, and consider how they too might contribute. Together we uphold our values of Respect, Resilience, Endeavour and Compassion.

We are looking forward to the amazing events that our new Student Leadership Council are promoting.