MWSC College News – Issue 8

Magnificent work of our Education Support Staff                                                            

On 19 May Education Support staff were acknowledged and celebrated for their contribution to the college.  We are very fortunate to have a terrific team of support staff helping to care for and education your children, and run our college.  Our Education Support staff, to mention a few, include our friendly and caring Admin and Finance staff, Integration Assistants, Nurses,  Interpreter/EAL Assistants, Resource Centre, Science Laboratory and Food Tech staff, as well as skilled maintenance and ICT staff.

It is such personnel who are quiet achievers and who so admirably support our teaching staff in effectively delivering the curriculum.  This large team of personnel are ably led by our talented Business Manager’s Mrs Linda Westgarth and Mrs Judith Walsh.

On behalf of the college community I wish to thank our Education Support staff for their significant contribution to our college.

Correction Day

Please note due to the lockdown and examination dates being postponed, the Correction Day will now take place on Friday 18 June and this is a student free day.
This day will enable teachers to finalise their Semester 1 assessments.
Our Semester 2 classes will now begin on Monday 21 June.

The Arts on Display 

Over the past two weeks there have been fantastic Arts ensembles and performances on display. The Year 10 and Year 11 Drama students performed their pieces and were assessed on their work. The Year 10 and 12 Music Performance students also played to an audience of friends, parents and staff and were assessed by our Instrumental and Classroom Music teachers.

Congratulations to all of our talented students, you should all be very proud of your achievements.

Senior Campus Careers Week

Special thanks to Mrs Joanne Hall our Careers Education Manager and Ms Athena Geros our Careers Education and Alumni Coordinator, for putting together a fantastic program of sessions for Career Week last week. It was pleasing to see so many students engage across the week with presenters including the Defence Forces and major universities.

Year 10 Work Experience

Please note for the safety of our students these programs have been cancelled and normal classes will run during these times.

Celebrating Diversity

Our Respect Club organised activities on both campuses to help celebrate diversity at Mount Waverley Secondary College last week. It is lovely to see that we are an inclusive school and artist Ulla Taylor did an incredible job of creating a 3D Unicorn.

Monash Tech School Industry Immersion Day

Year 11 Technology and Visual Communication students had an opportunity to visit the metro tunnel HQ recently. Students were able to investigate occupations and pathways in construction, engineering, and Victorian rail infrastructure. They were able to learn how STEM subjects are used in real-world Logistics, Engineering & Construction sectors. Thank you to Mr Ian Shaw and Mr Alan Yeung, two of our Technology teachers, who accompanied our students on the day.

Red Shield Appeal

At this time of year, Mount Waverley Secondary College students would usually be out knocking on doors to help raise funds for the Red Shield Appeal. This year, the Salvation Army needs to do things differently and so their Appeal has moved to a digital platform.

Please help the Salvation Army by getting involved in their Digital Doorknock https://digitaldoorknock.salvationarmy.org.au/t/waverley-vic-salvos.

Mrs Karen Wade
College Principal

Campus Tours

Since the start of term two we have resumed tours at the Junior Campus. The purpose of these tours is to allow our prospective students and their families the opportunity to see our college on a typical learning day.

We have had close to 500 visitors come through so far this term, and the feedback about the conduct of our students, their work ethic, and the positive and respectful learning environment that we share has been overwhelming. We are so fortunate to have the wonderful students and teachers that we do, and it has been a delight to showcase both groups in their element.

Furthermore, Ms Sam Cody, Mrs Debbie Sekula and I have been joined on each tour by our Junior Campus Captains, Vice Captains, and House Captains. Each of these students has impressed us with their impromptu public-speaking and considered responses regarding their experiences at our school. They are truly a credit to us, and their families.

A busy Term

Over the past few weeks the Junior Campus has been busy, as always. Year 7s completed NAPLAN for the first time as secondary school students, both Year 7 and 8 undertook the annual Attitudes to School Survey, the SYN Radio program has continued, and the Year 7 Monash Tech School visits have resumed. Additionally we have had students training for and competing in various sports teams, the Production rehearsals have been in full swing, we’ve had guest speakers, and of course the everyday teaching and learning program. This is without even mentioning the dozen or so lunchtime clubs that run each week.

The Junior Campus offers a lot of opportunities for students to try new things, meet new people, and share in a sense of enjoyment in their surroundings. I would like to congratulate those students who have participated this term, and encourage the others to find their own way to be active participants in our thriving learning community.

Mr Matt Sheehan
Acting Campus Principal – Junior School

Classroom Music Recitals

It has been a few busy weeks for the music faculty with preparation and performances for classroom music recitals. The Year 12 Solo Performance students executed a wonderful recital on Thursday 13 May, providing the audience with a wide variety of instruments, musical genres and musical works. The students have been working hard towards this recital, that constitutes half of the program that they are preparing for the end of year exam, worth 50% of their grade for the subject.

Likewise, the Year 10 Recital took place on Friday 21 May and gave many of our Year 10 classroom cohorts their first taste of performing as a soloist. The large class were well prepared and delivered their performance with musicality and professionalism. Well done to both of these classes for participating in these performances.

Junior Campus Lunchtime Concert

On Wednesday 19 May, the Junior Campus held their first lunchtime concert for the year. The concert featured the “Goat Band” and both of the Junior Guitar Ensembles. It was a well prepared and attended concert and I’d like to extend thanks to the junior music leaders and our Head of Strings, Mr Timothy O’Connor for organising this event.

Mrs Tijtje Keatley
Music Director

On Monday 24 May,  six year 11 leadership students  -Sophia C, Kyra H, Natalie L, Daanish S, Charlotte W and Jenny Z attended the Halogen ‘National Young Leaders Day’ conference.
The conference comprised five key speakers from across the community, Josh Pyke and Jimmy Rees (The Arts), Jordan Lewis (Sport), Lachie Smart (Explorer) and Michelle Young (Community Service). Each speaker gave a fascinating insight into their backstory and personal ideas about leadership. The students were lucky to hear from such a broad range of Australian leaders who each had a unique take on what leadership can look like and some great advice for all those who attended the conference.  ~ Mr Jacob Myers

National Young Leaders Day focused on inspiring Australian youth in becoming a leader and developing our leadership skills; with many amazing speakers there in a variety of fields to share their real-life stores and insights from their very own leadership journey.  Jimmy Giggle would probably be the highlight of the day for most of us, with the hilarious stories that he shared and the key advice he gave which was to really believe in ourselves and always be supportive to the people around you.  ~ Sophia C (11I)

Mount Waverley Secondary College proudly presents our 2021 College Production – “Seussical!”

Based on the works of Dr Seuss, ‘Seussical’ tells the story of Horton the Elephant and his quest to make the citizens of Whoville “heard,” to prove that a person’s a person, no matter how small.

It is a story of compassion, bravery, using your imagination and standing up for what you believe in.

Performances will be held at the Drum Theatre in Dandenong on Friday 6 August (7.30pm and Saturday 7 August (2pm and 7.30pm).

Tickets go on sale Monday 7June.  A link to purchase tickets will be posted on compass and college website in due course.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Mr Thomas Frost
Production Director