Welcome Back
I hope everyone had a safe, relaxing, and enjoyable holiday. As College Principal I look forward to joining students, teachers, and parents for another exciting and productive year of teaching and learning at Mount Waverley Secondary College.
I am pleased to report that the college continues to build upon our successes. Our 2025 VCE results were outstanding considering the past years and are a testament to the dedication of our wonderful staff and the resilience of our students. Our 2025 College Dux, Jadon Tu, received an ATAR score of 99.85 which was an outstanding result. Twenty-three students received an ATAR over 95 and one hundred and thirty-one students received an ATAR over 80, which was 45% of our cohort. Seven students also received a perfect study score of 50 in Biology NHT, Japanese Second Language, Legal Studies, Foundation Mathematics, General Mathematics and Specialist Mathematics and 309 students received their VCE certificate which was a great achievement.
A very warm welcome to all our new students and their families. You are embarking on a wonderful learning journey, which will be enhanced by always trying your personal best.
Mount Waverley Secondary College provides a learning community where we all respect and care for each other, always working cooperatively as a team. In addition, our college provides you with magnificent facilities and resources which are yours to use to maximize your learning opportunities. Please don’t be afraid to ask questions. Staff and students are eager to help you make a successful transition into our college.
Welcome New Staff
I would like to welcome the following new staff to the college:
New Leading Teachers/Learning Specialists
Mr Callum Hope – Leading Teacher-Legal Studies
Mr Stephen Hulse- Learning Specialist- English and Humanities
Other New Staff are:
Teaching Staff
Ms Tanya Alderton – Teacher Librarian
Mr Kristian Braaf – English
Mr Joshua Connelly – Food Technology and PE
Ms Carolyn Dunn- English
Mr Ryley Hannagan – Mathematics
Mrs Ruby Highnam – Design Tech/Science and PE
Ms Rachel Preston – Science
Ms Cherie Shao – Japanese
Mr Lucas Wang – Information Technology and Mathematics
Ms Summer Wu – Mathematics
ES Staff
Ms Liz Allen – Inclusion Aide
Ms Charli Bartlett – Careers Education
Mr Mano Doray – College Projects Manager
Ms Xin Yi Lee – Music Therapist
Ms Gaby Orr –Wellbeing Coordinator
Mr Chris Smith – Maintenance Worker
Ms Jodi Woolf – Inclusion Coordinator
We also welcome back our returning staff from Family Leave:
Ms Cara Hill-Food Technology and Health
Ms Elektra Sassos – EAL
Off to a Great Start!
Our staff returned on Tuesday 27 January and were lucky enough to hear from Mr Scott Darlow an Aboriginal singer, songwriter, public speaker and educator. Scott was very engaging and he gave a balanced view of historical events. His message about indigenous culture and racial tolerance was well received and will ensure we continue to celebrate diversity and inclusion at our school. His ‘FLUTE’ acronym is one that resonated with our staff. ‘Forgiveness, Love, Understanding, Tolerance and Empathy’ is an important message for all Australians.
It was wonderful to see all our students returning to school last week. Thank you to my dedicated and hardworking staff for accompanying our students on the Year 12 Camp and other activities on the Senior Campus during the first week back. I know that our students thoroughly enjoy these extra-curricular events which are important educational experiences. Our Junior Campus students will be taking part in the Year 7 Camp and the Year 8 Challenge Program during Week 3, and our rescheduled Year 10 Camp will now be held in Week 5.
School Council Election 2026
he Department of Education (DE) has approved the commencement of the electoral process for the election of School Councillors for 2026.
- Membership
Our College Council consists of seven parents, two students, five staff members (including College Principal) and four community members.
- Term of Office
Term of office is for two years with half of members retiring each year but eligible for re-election. Four parents, two staff members and one student member will end their term of office in March 2026
- Retiring College Councillors
The following members of College Council, while they may be eligible for re-election, retire next month:
Parent Members:
Mrs Chelsea Eow
Mr Fabian Kohlmann
Ms Kristen Nolan
Ms Joanne O’Mara
Staff Members:
Mr Ian Davidson
Ms Danielle Mott
Student Members:
Anshal Patel, Tejasvi Srinivas
- Proposed Timeline
Friday 6 February Call for nominations
Friday 13 February Nominations close 4.00pm
Monday 23 February Nominations displayed at each campus.
Election held if required.
Friday 13 March Close of ballot 4.00pm. Votes counted.
Thursday 19 March College Council AGM, followed by meeting of new Council.
- Voting
If the number of nominations exceeds the vacancies in either the parent, student or staff categories, an election will be necessary. All parents are entitled to vote for parent representatives; all students are entitled to vote for student representatives and Department of Education (DE) employees vote for staff representatives.
- Methods of Voting (voting slips available on college website). There are two ways in which you can record your vote on the official voting form during the election period dates as listed above:
- Post or email your vote to the college to arrive by 4.00pm Friday 13 March
- Students will receive electronic voting slips (if required)
- Nominations of Candidates
For most school councils, there are four possible categories of membership:
- A mandated elected Parent category – more than one-third of the total members must be from this category. Department of Education (DE) employees can be Parent members at their child’s school as long as they are not engaged in work at the school.
- A mandated elected Student category – to be elected the person must be a student enrolled in Year 7 or above. These members are elected by all students enrolled in Year 7 or above at the school.
- A mandated elected DE employee category – members of this category may make up no more than one-third of the total membership of school council. The principal of the school is automatically one of these members.
- An optional Community member category – members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests, or experiences. DE employees are not eligible to be Community members.
- Role of School Councillors
School Councillors currently play an important role in decision making and the management of our college. They donate many hours to the sub committees of Council: Finance, Education, Buildings & Grounds and Community Engagement. Councillors belong to one subcommittee, attend one monthly council meeting, and represent the college at functions.
SCHEDULE 4 – Notice of Election and Call for Nominations Nomination forms may be obtained from the college website and must be lodged by 4.00pm on Friday 13 February 2026. Following the closing of nominations, a list of the nominations received will be displayed at each campus. The terms of office, membership categories and number of positions in each membership category open for election are as follows:
Membership Term of Office Number of positions Parent Member 19 March 2026 to 19 March 2028 4 DE Employee Member 19 March 2026 to 19 March 2028 2 Student Member 19 March 2026 to 19 March 2028 2 If the number of nominations is less than the number of vacancies, a notice to that effect and calling for further nominations will be posted in a prominent position at the college. If there are more nominations than vacancies, a ballot will be conducted. The ballot will close at 4.00pm on Friday 13 March 2026.
Karen Wade |
2026 College Uniform
All families should have seen a copy of our 2026 College Uniform Policy. Your support in ensuring the correct uniform is worn is much appreciated.
If your child cannot wear the correct college uniform, a note from a parent/carer is required. This should be forwarded to the appropriate Year Level Coordinator before school. An out of uniform pass will be indicated in the students’ planner or a pass given.
Mount Waverley Secondary College is the college of choice in our local area, and it is important that our students wear the uniform with pride, representing the college in a positive manner.
Annual Privacy Reminder
Our school collects, uses, discloses and stores student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ privacy collection notice.
Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy Photographing-Filming-Recording-Students-Policy describes how we collect and use photographs, video and recordings of students. The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn.
We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use Microsoft 365/Google Workspace for Education safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information. If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using Microsoft 365/Google Workspace for Education, please contact the school.
Please take time to remind yourself of the school’s collection statement, found on our website MWSC Privacy Policy
For more information about privacy, see: Schools’ Privacy Policy – information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:
- Amharic
- Arabic
- Dari
- Gujarati
- Mandarin
- Somali
- Sudanese
- Turkish
- Urdu
- Vietnamese
Selective Entry High School
Congratulations to the following students who have been accepted into Year 9 at Selective Entry High Schools this year:
Aida A
Saakhi B
Khoi D
Grace F
Lyn K
Aarya K
Soham N
Carl R
Brandon T
Michael T
Hayden W
Nick Z
We know that your studies at Mount Waverley Secondary College have given you a strong foundation on your academic pathways.
A New Year of Learning
The Victorian Government has a website https://www.vic.gov.au/new-year-learning? to help your family prepare for the new school year. The website now has case studies and videos featuring teachers, students, and parents and carers sharing their transition experiences and advice.
The Mount Waverley Secondary College Behaviour Matrix
A team of very dedicated staff and students have spent the last 18 months volunteering their time to collaborate, consult and create our school-wide Behaviour Matrix. This framework allows our school community to develop a positive, safe, supportive learning culture through behaviours aligned to our ILEARN values.
The Behavior Matrix will assist us in improving social, emotional, behavioural and academic outcomes for all students.
In conjunction with the 5R Behaviour intervention process, the MWSC Behaviour Matrix will:
- Establish a common philosophy and purpose: Staff and students use a common language to discuss behaviour. School philosophy emphasises the need to teach appropriate behaviour much like academic learning.
- Clearly define a set of expected behaviours: Clear, positively stated examples are identified and displayed in different school settings.
- Establish procedures for teaching and practising expected behaviours: A school-wide plan is developed to ensure behavioural expectations are taught to all students by all staff.
The Behaviour Matrix will officially be launched within our learning community in the coming weeks.
Thank you to Mrs Asha Vazirani, Head of Middle School for leading this initiative and all of the students and staff who have been involved in its development.
Mrs Karen Wade
College Principal