The Middle School would like to extend a warm Welcome to the Senior Campus for the new year of 2024. We trust that you have had a restful and relaxing break, spending much deserved time with family and friends. It gives us great pleasure to introduce the 2024 Middle School Team:
Campus Principal: Mr Ian Macleod
Head of Middle School: Mrs Asha Vazirani
Acting Middle School Leader: Mr Liam Wall
Middle School Administrator: Mrs Karen Box
Year 10 Level Coordinators: Mrs Juliz Mathew and Mr Adam Wheeler
Year 9 Level Coordinators: Miss Stephanie Xing and Mr Aayush Khosla
It has been an eventful start to the school year with our Year 10’s going on Camp to Coonawarra and our Year 9’s engaging in the INSPIRE Program. Both events ran very successfully with students providing positive feedback on their experiences. We would like to express our sincere thanks to all the staff who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that both programs were a success. Congratulations to the Year 10 team, Mr Liam Wall, Ms Juliz Mathew, Mr Adam Wheeler, Ms Karen Box and all the staff members who accompanied the Year 10 students on camp. Congratulations to the Year 9 team, Ms Stephanie Xing, Mr Aayush Khosla, Ms Karen Box and all the staff who supported the Year 9 Inspire program.
Here is what the students had to say about their start to the year!
Year 9 Inspire Program
“The first time coming back I wasn’t expecting fun activities to start the day, matter of fact I was expecting for us to be given a ‘welcome back from holiday homework!’ but it was amazing. The Inspire program was something that exceeded my expectations. I’ve always had trouble fitting in with new classes, it takes a lot of time for me to settle in and talk to others but the Inspire program made me connect with others by sharing ideas on how we can move a whole family over a river using only a boat, which helped overall to make me feel comfortable, the other activities were a scavenger hunt, which was fun especially when you are with your friends and solving puzzles together, and the Morrisby test which shows my future careers, which I couldn’t wait to get done. Overall the Inspire program was fun and exciting to attend.” By Angus NC 9B
“We had the Inspire program on the first week back to the senior campus. The Inspire program seemed nerve-wracking at first, but as the first day went by, it was an enjoyable experience to start at a new campus. On Thursday, we started with a few fun group activities and riddles to get our minds running again. The riddles were a great way to bond and discuss our thoughts with our peers. Afterward, we got our lockers and planners for the school year and started our morrisby testing. The Morrisby is a series of tests that would inform us of potential careers and subjects to pick for our future.
On Friday morning we started our day with Toolbox, which was an enjoyable interactive well-being seminar about what goes on in our head and how to manage our thoughts and mind movies. After a short break, we participated in an amazing scavenger hunt with 4 other classes in our year level.
Personally, this was our favorite part of the entire program, as we got to pick our teams and run around the school, cracking codes to eventually find the combination of a lock. The group that got the code first and correctly got lollies. Even though our group didn’t win, the experience was really fun and we got some free time after all the groups found the code. To end the Inspire program, we finished off our Morrisby profiles and found careers and subjects we could pursue in the future. For me, the jobs weren’t very accurate, but the subjects were exactly what I was thinking of doing for VCE and university. For my friend, it was close to what she was interested in. The Inspire program was a fun way to get us back into school and get us students more comfortable with the Senior Campus.” By Shehrain Z and Jessica W 9D
Year 10 Coonawarra Camp
“Camp Coonawarra was packed with adrenaline-pumping activities, from canoeing across the lake as we attempt to stay upright to the giant swing where our hearts skipped a beat during the initial drop and many more thrill-seeking adventures. During the evening, we embarked on an hour-long guided hike where a stunning backdrop of various hues of pink, yellow and blue was on display that some grazing wallabies and wombats accompanied. Overall, Camp Coonawarra was an experience filled with out-of-the-ordinary activities to test our courage and build our confidence.” By Izzie D 10D
“Camp Coonawarra was really fun and enjoyable. I was on Lakeside and we had a lot of fun, especially on the trivia night. Some activities we did were flying fox, giant swing, faft making, canoeing and lots more. My personal favourites were the rock climbing wall and the raft making. We made lots of fun memories that will definitely stay with us forever and got to get closer with people we have never spoken to. My camp highlight was the rock climbing races I did with my friends and going for a swim in the lake. A piece of advice I would give everyone is to bring salt for their food.” By Sofia T 10F
The Middle School Team is committed to supporting our students to develop skills in resilience, persistence and independence. We are confident that our parent community will support us in ensuring high standards in each of the core areas mentioned below so that together, we can build a safe and positive learning environment for all our students.
Attendance
The Department of Education (DE) requires that children of school age (six to seventeen years) are in full-time attendance at a government or registered non-government school unless formally exempt.
Daily school attendance is important for all children and young people to succeed in education and to ensure they don’t fall behind both socially and developmentally. Children and young people who regularly attend school and complete Year 12 or an equivalent qualification have better health outcomes, better employment outcomes, and higher incomes across their lives. It is important that children develop habits of regular attendance at an early age.
School participation is important as it maximizes life opportunities for children and young people by providing them with education and support networks. School also helps people to develop important skills, knowledge and values which set them up for further learning and participation in their community.
All students in Years 7 to 12 at the college are required to have an attendance rate of at least 90%. Mount Waverley Secondary College will keep a record of the reason given for each absence. If a student is arriving late to school, they are to report to the Middle School Office to sign in. If a student is leaving early, a parent is required to sign them out at the Main Office.
Uniform
School uniform assists our students to develop a sense of school pride, dress smartly, become confident and help them to realize that they are all equal in our educational organisation. It also assists our students in establishing unity within diversity, students begin to apply their focus on their education as they do not get distracted, and they develop skills in working collaboratively as they develop a sense of belonging to the school community.
All students are expected to wear the correct full school uniform to and from school. They will be expected to change into their correct full Physical Education uniform at school for practical classes and wear their correct full Physical Education uniform to school on the day of a school approved sporting event. No long sleeved tops under short sleeved tops are permitted, hoodies are banned and will be confiscated.
If a student is not wearing the correct full school uniform, they are expected to bring a note from home and get a uniform pass from their sub school when they arrive, prior to their first class. If a student does not have a note from home, they are still expected to get a uniform pass from their sub school when they arrive.
Mobile Phones
As per the Department’s policy, mobile phones should be kept in lockers throughout the duration of the school day. Students are expected to place their phone on silent and in their school bags upon entering the school gates. Their bags should be securely locked in the lockers and students can take their phones out once they have exited the school gates. We expect all our students to follow this expectation. Students cannot use their mobile phones to pay at the canteen, they are expected to bring cash or a card.
Lockers
All students should now have a locker allocated to them, if any student does not have a locker they are required to come to the Middle School office to have one organized. Bags are to be securely locked in student lockers and it is expected that students do not share their combination with any other students for any reason.
ILEARN Values
As a student of MWSC, we expect our students to demonstrate the College’s ILEARN values at all times and uphold the highest standard of behavior inside and outside of the classroom and also when they are traveling to and from school
We look forward to working with you all during this year to ensure our students achieve their personal best in all areas of school life. Our great team of teaching staff and education support staff are looking forward to ensuring students feel safe and supported as we commence 2024. Please feel free to contact your student’s Year Level Coordinators if you would like clarification or support in any matter.
Wishing you all a great start to the year and I would like to leave you with this quote: ‘High Achievement always takes place in the framework of High Standards’ – Charles Kettering
Mrs Asha Vazirani Mr Liam Wall
Head of Middle School Acting Middle School Leader