MWSC College News – Issue 17

2025 College Captains and Prefects

Congratulations to the following 2025 Year 12 students who have been elected as our college leaders. These students went through several rigorous steps to be selected, and I would like to thank Mr Grant, Head of Student Voice for overseeing this process.  Congratulations to

College Captains Jimmy B and Nicola G
College Deputy Captains Cate F and Anvi R
Music Captains Ananya H and Jacqui N
Sports Captains Naomi K and Jeni R
Arts Captains Esther S and Jessie T
Wellbeing Captains Sophie E and Tasmiya H
House Captains
Bradman – Emaad S and Miyu W
Cuthbert – Mihin G and Aadithya P
Fraser – Mia J and Kimi T
Goolagong – Bhavika G and Kavil S
Landy – Alina B and Miu N
Whitten – Mia J and Marcus W
Prefects
Dua A, Nikita A, Lynna B, Simar B, Faariha F, Raphael P, Ritu P, Aryan R, Zinia R, Iaroslav S, Michael S and Enara W.

Arts and Design Festival

Our inaugural Arts and Design Festival was held on Tuesday 12 November in our STEAM Centre.  The quality of our students’ art and design work continues to amaze me, and many awards were presented to students.  Students, parents, and staff were entertained by musical items, Drama performances and Media films.  Congratulations to Ms Misa Murphy, Head of The Arts, Mr Matt Hall Head of Technology and all the arts and technology students and staff who were involved on the night.

Night at the Museum 

On Thursday 14 November parents and staff had the privilege of visiting the Year 7 Night of the Museum displays. Our young historians researched civilisations from Ancient China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The students have been working hard over the past month to create replicas of artefacts and interactive displays. Thank you to all the Humanities Staff for supporting this wonderful educational opportunity for our students and well done to all the students who were involved. Special thanks to all the family members and friends who came to visit this exhibition. I know you enjoyed our students work come to life.

Community Bank Pinewood

I along with my Business Manager Mrs Kari Simmons had the pleasure of attending the Community Bank Pinewood ‘Pitch It 2024!’ Finalist Event on Thursday 14 November. On the night the Community Bank together with their Pitch Partners distributed $70,000 to thirteen City of Monash community groups for their impactful projects. This was a valuable networking opportunity for our college and a rewarding experience. Thank you to the Community Bank Pinewood for inviting us to this event.

Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Program

Over 2000 applications from Year 10 students were received for this exemplary Melbourne University program this year. Mount Waverley Secondary College had one student; Jayda C accepted into the Successful Class of 2025 Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars. Congratulations Jayda and thank you to Mr Tom Grant for supporting our students with their applications.

Mango Drive

Thank you to all the families who ordered a tray of mangoes in this year’s Mango Drive.  We are expecting the mangoes to be delivered by early December. Families will be notified when they arrive and where to collect your order.

Parent and carer School Saving Bonus code distribution 

The Victorian Government is delivering the School Saving Bonus – a one-off $400 support for government school students from Prep to Year 12 in 2025.

From Tuesday 26 November 2024, you will receive an email from the Department of Education with your unique $400 School Saving Bonus code.

The School Saving Bonus will help families cover the cost of uniforms, textbooks, excursions, activities and more.

If you have multiple children enrolled in Victorian government schools for 2025, you will receive one School Saving Bonus code email per child. These emails might arrive on different days. Please make sure to check your spam/junk email folder.

Parents and carers can use the School Saving Bonus code in store at school-nominated suppliers. Parents and carers can also choose to access the School Saving Bonus online system, where they can allocate part or all the $400 bonus to use at school nominated-online suppliers or for school activities.  To learn more about the School Saving Bonus, visit School Saving Bonus | vic.gov.au (www.vic.gov.au). A step-by-step user guide will be available on the webpage on 26 November.

If you have not received your School Saving Bonus code via email by Friday 29 November, please contact the Department of Education by emailing school.saving.bonus@education.vic.gov.au

2024 Examination Dates

The exam dates are as follows:

• Year 10 and 11 exams start Monday 11th November and finish Thursday 21st November.
• Year 9 exams start Wednesday 20th November and finish Thursday 21st November.
• Correction Day / Student Free Day will be held on Friday 22nd November.
• The Early Commencement Program (ECP) for 2025 Years 11 and 12 will run for two weeks and will be held from Monday 25th November until Friday 6th December.
  The Early Commencement Program (ECP) for 2025 Years 8,9 and 10 will run for two and a half weeks and will be held from Monday 25th November until Tuesday 10th December.

Year End Program (YEP)

Year 7-9 students will be invited to attend the YEP activities program at the end of the year. Parents have received notification regarding this program via Compass.

Presentation Night

This year, Presentation Night will be held on Tuesday 17 December at The Besen Centre, 7.00pm, 87-89 Station Street, Burwood.  Students will be notified if they are to receive an award and details regarding tickets for the event will be published over the next few weeks.

Mrs Karen Wade
College Principal

Night at the Museum 2024

Thank you so much to our wonderful community for turning out to support our Year 7 students yesterday at our annual Night at the Museum event. Students have spent the last few weeks analysing the ancient civilisations of Greece, Rome, China and Egypt, all leading up to displaying for our community on Thursday. Families thoroughly enjoyed viewing the student-made artefacts, and playing the interactive games thye prepared. Thanks to the Junior School Humanities team for their organisation of this event.

Pancake Breakfast

On Friday morning our Junior Campus students were lucky to be treated to a pancake breakfast cooked by our community partners from Syndal Baptist Church. This is a longstanding partnership and we are very grateful for their support in the form of student activities and delicious treats.

Junior School Leadership

Well done to all of the Year 7s who applied for 2025 student leadership positions. During the week, a number of students were interviewed by our Junior Sub School team, and a shortlisted few presented their agenda to the student cohort on Thursday. We look forward to announcing the successful Junior Campus Captains, Deputy Captains, and House Captains next week.

End of Semester

Good luck to Year 7s with their move into year 8 during the Early Commencement Program, and a big farewell to our year 8s who will next week be joining the Senior Campus as Year 9s! We thanks the Year 8s for their contribution to the Junior Campus over the past two years, and wish them all the best for their educational journey.

Mr Matt Sheehan
Campus Principal’s Report – Junior School

This week the Senior Campus has been a very busy place. The VCAA exams for all Units 3 & 4 subjects have been running during the past couple of weeks and will finish next Wednesday. Year 10 and 11 students started their exams this week, with Year 9 students to complete exams for their core subjects next week.

The exams provide students with the opportunity to develop revision strategies, reinforce their understanding of a semester’s worth of knowledge and material and to practice working under exam conditions.

Thanks to all the subschool teams, exam supervisors, support staff, faculty heads and teachers who have been involved in the exam preparation and class and individual revision with students.

2025 College Captains

After a rigorous process that included a written application, interview and a speech to the 2025 year 12 cohort we are excited to announce that our 2025 College Captains are Jimmy B and Nicola G. Our Deputy College Captains are Cate F and Anvi R.

Congratulations to all students who have been selected for a leadership position in 2025. We look forward to working with you next year.  Thanks to Tom Grant, and all the other staff who were involved in this process.

Early Commencement Program (ECP)

Students in Years 7 to 11 will participate in ECP starting from November 25. This program provides an opportunity for students to meet their 2025 teachers, start work for the year ahead and begin their transition into the next year level. All year levels will participate in their classes for 2025, as well as year level assemblies. A special thank you to the staff and, the subschool team, faculty heads and Mr Scott Smith (timetable) for all their hard work.
 

VCE/Senior Certificate – Vocational Major

The college introduced the Vocational Major Pathway in 2023. This year the program had their first graduates. VCE VM students in Year 12 will be at school, in the workforce on a placement and attending their Vocational Education and Training (VET) course.  A team of teachers lead by Mr Wayne Griffin have done a huge amount of work developing a program that caters specifically to our students and prepares them with a range of skills required after school. A big thank you to the team for all their hard work.
 

Staff Expertise

Many of our teachers have been involved in assessing the written and performance exams for VCAA during term four. This work is important, and it is a recognition of the knowledge and experience of the teachers at the college when they are selected to be assessors.

Several teachers and staff have presented, or will present, at conferences during the next few weeks. It reflects the skills and expertise of the staff at the college.
 

2025 Year 11 students – Central Australia Trip

The college is currently finalising an itinerary for the Central Australia Trip. This will be offered to students in Years 11 in 2025. The trip is planned for the end of term three and the first week of the term break. More information will be available, and an information evening will run in early term one 2025.
 

Semester Two Reports

Teachers provide continuous feedback via Learning Task grades and comments throughout the semester as CATs are completed.  Year 7 to Year 11 students and parents/carers will receive an end of semester report via Compass that consolidates all this information, including providing information on each student’s learning behaviours and performance against the Victorian Curriculum. Communication will be sent out via Compass when these become available.

Ms Lauren Kelly
Campus Principal – Senior School

Term 4 has been packed with Wellbeing events and programs as we finish up a very strong year. From targeted programs, cohort presentations, awareness days and community connection work we have been busy connecting with our students and learning community.

Awareness Days

Our Social Work Placement Students provided the college with some fantastic awareness events across term 4 with the Polished Man Campaign in October, and Mental Health Week in week 4. The Polished Man Campaign encouraged staff and students to spark conversations about respect towards women by wearing a blue polish on one nail. Headspace came to visit us on the Junior Campus to help promote Mental Health Week and handed out some fun prizes to our Year 7 and 8s.

Tier 2 – Targeted Programs

Over Term 4, Wellbeing had 5 targeted programs that external facilitators, wellbeing team staff, and MWSC students delivered.
In week 4 we had the final session of our Year 8 select male student ‘Boys to Noble Men’ Program, facilitated by Mr Eric Agyeman. The students have been working with Youth Mentor Eric Agyeman over term 3, and in term 4 had the opportunity to invite their coordinators and key staff members to a cooked lunch celebration. The boys made Mexican food for 30 staff/students and spoke to the invited group about their takeaways from the program.

On the Senior Campus, placement student Ruby facilitated a small group Organisational Skills program for some of our Year 9 and 10 students. Students undertook 4 sessions learning about stress management, organisational skills, compartmentalisation etc.
Our Peer-to-Peer project collaborated with Mount Waverley North Primary School to host its 2nd workshop with selected Year 10 students running wellbeing workshops for Year 5 and 6 classes. The Year 10s did a fantastic job exploring help-seeking concepts with the Year 5 and 6s and had great conversations about the transition to high school.

Speaking of transition, we also hosted a student-led workshop by Year 10s and 11s for our Year 8 cohort, giving Year 8s the opportunity to hear all about what the Senior Campus is like, and ask questions about subjects, events and get to know the campus.

Finally, we had the privilege of hosting Teen Mental Health First Aid for 80 Year 9s and 30 Year 7s in weeks five and six. Students were given the opportunity to identify and understand how they can support a young person who might be experiencing a mental health problem or crisis. Students were led by Ms Irine Sojan (Student Wellbeing Coordinator on Senior Campus) and Ms Rebecca Kent (Director of Wellbeing And Inclusion from Glen Waverley Secondary College), who did a fantastic job over the course of 3 sessions.

Year Level Wellbeing Programs & Workshops

Wrapping up a big year of year level wellbeing programs, we have had 5 presentations delivered so far this term. Our Year 8s engaged in GEM workshops during the camp alternate program, exploring Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness delivered by the Wellbeing Team.

Starting fresh on the first day of term 4, our Year 9’s saw Brainstorm Productions’ ‘Sticks and Stones’ interactive play that explored social and emotional skills. During mentoring sessions, Year 10s engaged in Open Parachute sessions and Felstead Education’s Power of Sleep workshops.

To finish up their final term at school, the Year 12s got to hear from Red Frogs who hosted a presentation on safe partying and schoolies, and Comedian TV writer Mr Declan Fay – a returning presenter to MWSC, who shares his stories on ‘Don’t Wonder what if..’.

Monash Youth Services

On Monday 11 November, we had a special lunchtime workshop with Monash Youth Services focusing on mental health. Monash City Council supports a range of services for young people, including youth, middle-year, and homelessness support programs.

In the workshop, the students participated in a fantastic activity exploring where they feel stress in their bodies. Then pointing to those spots on a body outline they discussed different ways to manage that stress. It was a great way to help everyone understand how stress shows up physically and ways to cope with it.

Students also had the opportunity to spin a prize wheel for a chance to win a fabulous prize! It was a fantastic way to learn some valuable tips for handling stress and have a bit of fun at the same time.

Mr Paul Graham
Student Support and Resources Manager

Fresh from the Archives

Our Alumni Newsletter is packed with exciting news and events, including a special section called Fresh from the Archives. This two-page feature brings you nostalgic photos and relive cherished memories from years gone by. You might even spot yourself in one of the photos!

To register and get the newsletter along with all the latest news events sent directly to your email, please click here. If you would like to share your school photos, please send them through.

Ms Victoria Tortopidis
Alumni Coordinator

This year Monash Council held the Golden Tales short story competition in a celebration of Grandparents Day on 27 October 2024. As part of the competition older adults (ages 65+) were invited to write about a special younger person and children (ages 4 to 14) to write about a special older person who has touched their hearts.

This competition celebrates and recognises connections between generations and the wisdom our older community members bring to our lives.

When I think of you,
I envision greenery so vivid,
it feels like a painting
I see colorful cloth in patterns galore
and bare feet ruddy from the dirt
I feel the rough husks of coconut shells
scraping at my palms
I feel the wind whistling past me,
humid breeze tickling me as I swing higher and higher
I taste the sweet spices
of cardamom and cinnamon and nutmeg
I taste the sour, tart flavor
of unripened fruit, acid sharp on my tongue
I hear a laugh, hearty and hoarse
as my tongue tingles from chili and my eyes bulge dramatically
I smell the sweet smoke from the fire
curling up in my lungs like an ashy kitten and pawing at my throat
I see kind eyes crinkling like newspaper at the corners
twinkling with mirth and affection
I see the curls of gray
nestled between the dark strands of hair
I hear a language I cannot understand,
but I also hear laughter and tenderness, warmth and comfort
I feel callused, wrinkled skin,
cool against my cheeks, warm against my palms
I feel love.
I see love.
I taste love.
I hear love.
I smell love.
…I am loved.