MWSC College News – Issue 1

Welcome back

I hope everyone had a safe, relaxing, and enjoyable holiday.  As College Principal I look forward to joining with 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 2022 VCE results were not only excellent but outstanding considering the last few years and is a testament to the dedication of our wonderful staff and the resilience of our students.  Our 2022 College Dux, Ewan Burgess, received an ATAR score of 99.85 which was an outstanding result. Twenty-four students received an ATAR over 95 and seventy-five students received an ATAR over 90 which was 19% of our cohort. Two students also received perfect study scores of 50 in Further Mathematics (NHT) and Legal Studies and 276 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:
Ms Rachel Rooney – Head of Pedagogy – German/English
Mr George Dimovski – Learning Specialist – English

Other New Staff :
Ms Francine Cimino-English
Mr Tristan Dunkley – Chemistry/Maths/Science
Ms Anita Huang – Maths
Ms Simran Kaur – Business Management/Vocational Major/Humanities
Ms Michelle Kelly – English
Mr Aayush Khosla – English
Ms Olivia Lin – Accounting/Maths
Ms Melinda Malom – English
Ms Brinda Manogaran – Humanities
Mr Kelvin Nguyen – Biology/Psychology/Science
Ms Eleni Stavrou – Legal Studies/ Year 12 Coordinator
Ms Sumitra Suderson – Maths
Mr John Ung – Science

ES Staff:
Ms Maya Aspock – German Language Assistant
Ms Amy Flanagan – Food Assistant
Mrs Anne Green – Executive Team Assistant
Mrs Cheryl Mace – Senior Campus Reception
Ms Irine Sojan – Student Wellbeing Coordinator

Welcome to Country

At our first Staff Meeting this year we were lucky enough to welcome Mr Arbup Peters who is a Wurrundjeri Elder and is also the NEVR Inner East Koorie Education Coordinator at the Department of Education. Arbup gave the Welcome to Country as well as performing a traditional smoking ceremony for our staff.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have performed smoking ceremonies for thousands of years to cleanse people and places of bad spirits and to encourage good health and wellbeing. These ceremonies are considered to be an important way of connecting people to ‘country’. What a special event for our staff to acknowledge to traditional custodians of the land on which our school is located.

Off to a Great Start!

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 camps 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.

School Council Election 2023

The Department of Education (DE) has approved the commencement of the electoral process for the election of School Councillors for 2023.

• 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 two student members end their term of office in March 2023

• 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 Madhur Gupta
Mrs Heidi Lombard
Mr Nishant Patel

Staff Members:
Ms Lisa McKiernan
Mr Bill Thomas

Student Members:
Krisha Patel
Qingran Wang

• Proposed Timeline
  Friday 10 February               Call for nominations
  Friday 17 February               Nominations close 4.00pm
  Monday 20 February            Nominations displayed at each campus
  Election held if required
  Friday 10 March                    Close of ballot 4.00pm. Votes counted
  Thursday 16 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:
  1).   Post or email your vote to the college to arrive by 4.00pm Friday 10 March
  2).   Students will receive electronic voting slips (if required)

• Nominations of Candidates
  For most school councils, there are four possible categories of membership:
  1).   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.
  2).   A mandated elected Student category – to be elected the person must be a student enrolled in Year 7 or above. These 2 members are elected by all students enrolled in Year 7 or above at the school.
  3).   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.
  4).   An optional Community member category – members are co-opted by a decision of the council because of their special skills, interests or experiences. DOE 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.

2023 College Uniform

All families should have seen a copy of our 2023 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

Please take time to remind yourself of the school’s collection statement, found on our website https://www.mwsc.vic.edu.au/privacy-policy-3/

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:

We know that your studies at Mount Waverley Secondary College have given you a strong foundation on your academic pathways.

COVID 19 Reminder

It is important that all members of our community remain vigilant regarding COVID-19.

It is recommended that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are used by students:

• If they have symptoms of COVID-19 infection, no matter how mild
• If they are a household or close contact of someone who has COVID-19
• If they are a social contact of someone who has COVID-19.

The Department of Health recommends that all Victorians should report their positive RAT result to the Department of Health online, or by calling 1800 675 398.

Where a student is identified as a positive case, the following steps should be taken:

• Parents/carers should inform the school by phone or written notification.
• Students who report a positive result must isolate for a minimum of 5 days and not attend school until their symptoms have resolved.

If someone in your household tests positive for COVID-19 please test your student each day with a RAT test and ensure that they have a negative result, before sending them to school. In this case your child should also wear a mask at school.

We have medically vulnerable staff and students at the college so please ensure that the above guidelines are followed to protect everyone in our learning community.

2022 Virtual Presentation Evening

Our 2022 Virtual Presentation Award Evening is scheduled for online viewing on Tuesday 28 February from 7.30pm.  The Presentation Evening is a special event in the college calendar where we celebrate the achievements of our students and enables us to recognise our Year 12 award winners and College Dux.  Further details regarding this event will be released over the coming weeks.

Mrs Karen Wade
College Principal

Welcome to 2023

Welcome to our new Year 7 families and welcome back to our returning year 8 families for 2023. The Junior Campus is an exciting place to be at this time of year. I am thrilled to be heading up the campus, alongside Mrs Debbie Sekula (Head of Junior School) and Mrs Danielle Mott (Junior School Leader). I would also like to acknowledge the work of our year level coordinators, who developed an engaging program to help all students and teachers settle into the year. At Year 7 we have Mr Jamie Stroud and Mrs Nicole Griffin and at Year 8 are Mr Patrick Thompson and Miss Danielle Robertson.

Thanks must also go to all of our Junior Campus staff and students for the way they have started the year. It is an exciting learning community and we’re looking forward to a great 2023.

Year 7 Camp and Year 8 Challenge Program

We are very excited to start the year with our traditional Year 7 Phillip Island Adventure Camp and Year 8 Challenge Program from 15 -17 February. Both programs are wonderful opportunities for our students to make new friends, challenge themselves, and try new things. Thank you to all staff who have volunteered to support these programs. We look forward to sharing our photos and stories in the next newsletter.

Parent Communication

It is extremely important that we communicate with each other as part of our partnership in educating your child. If you have any matters you wish to discuss with your child’s classroom teachers, please contact them in the first instance. If there is something else you would like to discuss following this, please contact a Year Level Coordinator who will assist or refer it to one of our Leading Teachers/Campus Principals.

Student Safety

With the commencement of the school year, it is timely to remind all members of our college community to observe all road laws.  In particular cyclists must wear helmets and when students are crossing roads, it needs to be done with care and observing traffic signals and the crossing supervisor if present.  Please discuss this with your son/daughter and emphasise the need to follow correct road safety practices to keep everyone safe.

Car parking at the Junior Campus

This is a reminder to all families that unfortunately there is no parking available on-site at the Junior Campus. We ask that any families travelling by car make use of the streets adjacent to, and opposite, the campus, while respecting our neighbours’ needs. We also ask that families refrain from stopping on Stephensons Road for pick-ups and drop-offs as this is very disruptive to the flow of traffic.

Student accident insurance, ambulance cover arrangements and private property brought to school

Parents/carers are reminded that the Department of Education does not provide personal accident or ambulance cover for students. Parents and carers of students, who do not have private health insurance or ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for their injured child.

Private property brought to the college by students, staff or visitors is not insured and the Department of Education is not responsible for any loss or damage. This can include mobile phones, calculators, sporting equipment and cars parked on school premises.  It is recommended that parents/carers consider insurance policies that can be purchased from commercial insurers.

Compass

All parents should now have access to Compass.  Compass is used to communicate with parents on a wide range of activities within the school.  Compass can be access through the college website using any web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari) via your desktop computer or mobile device.   Alternatively, parents can also download the Compass App from the Apple App store or Goggle Play by searching “Compass School Manager” which will allow you to access Compass through their mobile device.  It is important to note that some of features of Compass are only available in the “browser” version.

Student Diaries

Student have received their diaries which are valuable tool to support their learning.  Students should record homework and upcoming events to assist with time management and organisation.  The diary also contains many worthwhile resources and parents are encouraged to check it weekly and discuss “What went well” for the week
 
 

In each issue of the college newsletter this year I would like to take the chance to get to know one of our wonderful Junior Campus staff members a little better

Getting to Know…Mr Sheehan

How long have you been at MWSC?

I started at MWSC in 2007 as a student-teacher completing my final placement. I was lucky enough to be offered a position the following year.

What is your role at MWSC? Previous roles?

I am currently Campus Principal – Junior School. Prior to this I was the Head of Pedagogy for a number of years. Before that I had a range of roles in all three sub-schools at MWSC.

What do you like to do outside of school?

I enjoy running, reading, listening to music, gardening and generally being outside and active. Most of all I enjoy spending time with my wife and three children.

Favourite thing about working at a school?

I love that no two days are ever the same. I don’t think I have ever been bored at school. I also love the energy of working with teenagers. While the trends change each year, the common thing is that teenagers remain very entertaining.

If you didn’t work in a school, what would you be doing?

I knew I wanted to be a teacher from pretty early on, but I always wanted to be on the radio when I was a kid. Either commentating the cricket or spinning the latest hits.

What kind of student were you at school?

Relatively quiet, not as hard-working as I should have been, but knew how to knuckle down at the right time.

Mr Matt Sheehan
Campus Principal – Junior School

Welcome back to what will be another busy year in the Middle School. My name is Ian MacLeod, I am the Campus Principal who works with Middle School.  I would particularly like to welcome our Year 9 students and families as they start their journey at the Senior Campus of the college.  We welcomed our Year 9 and 10 students to the college last week.

Year 9 Inspire Program

The Year 9 Inspire program had many different activities for students and staff to engage with including a Careers session, locker allocation, a scavenger hunt and wellbeing sessions.  Thank you to Ms Asha Vazirani, Ms Jo Rogers, Mr Jackson Waters and Ms Juliz Mathews for their work in organising and running this program.

Year 10 Camp

Camp Coonawarra was the venue for our Year 10 Camp.  The students were kept busy with a wide range of activities including canoeing, raft making, flying fox and giant swing to name juts a few.  Thank you to at the staff who attended Linda Davies, Melissa Knowles, Tristan Dunkley, Amanda Irwin, Lisa McKiernan, Tristan Kent, Adam Wheeler, Olivia Lin, Kelvin Nguyen, Michelle Kelly, Mathew Turner, Stephanie Lamborn, Madeline Kerr, Sally Robotham, Jessica Panther, Tiffany Zhang, Robert Cetincic, Alisha Smith, and Anthony Borya.  To Jo Rogers, Grace Leszczynski and Stepahnie Xing thank for your work in organising and leading the camp – well done!

Middle School Team

The Middle School team are here to help you support our Year 9 and 10 students both inside and outside the classroom.  Please contact the coordinators if you need any support.

The team is as follows:
Head of Middle School – Ms Asha Vazirani
Leader of Middle School – Ms Jo Rogers
Year 9 Coordinators – MrJackson Waters and Ms Juliz Mathew
Year 10 Coordinators – Ms Grace Leszczynski and Ms Stephanie Xing
Middle School Admin Support: Ms Karen Box

Student Diaries

Student have received their diaries which are valuable tool to support their learning.  Students should record homework and upcoming events to assist with time management and organisation.  The diary also contains many worthwhile resources and parents are encouraged to check it weekly and discuss “What went well” for the week.

Parking in and around the Senior Campus

The Senior Campus has parking which is for staff only.  The carparks at the Senior Campus should not be used for dropping off or picking up students as this creates safety issues for both staff and students.  Students should be dropped off and picked up in adjacent side streets near the Senior Campus.  When parking near the college it is important that parking signs are observed and we ask that you respect our local residents by not blocking their driveways as you drop off or pick up your children.

Student Safety

With the commencement of the school year, it is timely to remind all members of our college community to observe all road laws.  In particular cyclists must wear helmets and when students are crossing roads, it needs to be done with care and observing traffic signals and the crossing supervisor if present.  Please discuss this with your son/daughter and emphasise the need to follow correct road safety practices to keep everyone safe.

Compass

All parents should now have access to Compass.  Compass is used to communicate with parents on a wide range of activities within the school.  Compass can be access through the college website using any web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari) via your desktop computer or mobile device.   Alternatively, parents can also download the Compass App from the Apple App store or Goggle Play by searching “Compass School Manager” which will allow you to access Compass through their mobile device.  It is important to note that some of features of Compass are only available in the “browser” version.

Holiday Works

Across the holiday period the ICT and Facilities Teams were busy improving the college.   If you see anything different from last year on campus it’s the ICT and Facilities teams that have made this happen!

The ICT Works undertaken included:

• Prepared new and setting up laptops and notebooks for staff
• Work on switches and ordered equipment for the STEAM building
• Replaced projectors in P4, LA21, and LA 63.
• Connected JC projectors to the network for remote access.
• Server updates
• Wireless software upgrade
• Organised new ICT equipment for H2 upgrade
• Assisted new students with their device set up
• Repairing damaged laptops
• Created network accounts
• Created Learning Tasks.

Thanks to Aro, Andrew and Jacob for their work across the break.  Well done!

The Facilities Team also worked hard across the break with the focus on the following:

• Filter changes in all Air Purifiers across both campuses
• Line marking on the Senior Campus
• Painting in various locations across both campuses
• Test and tagging
• Fire services inspections
• Resurfacing the hall floors on both campuses
• Cleaning drains and adding in new drainage on SC

Thanks to Wendy and Kevin for their great work across the holiday period.

Major Projects

STEAM Centre

Work has continued across the break on the STEAM Centre with much of the internal framework being completed.  We will see walls being added and windows across the coming weeks.  At this stage we are looking at taking ownership of the building in the middle of the year which is every exciting.

Courts and Oval

Work has continued across the break on this exciting project.  Work has concentrated on the Junior Campus to ensure we can get this back on-line for the students and staff as soon as possible.

H2 Food Tech Upgrade

The transformation of H2 into a modern Food Tech room is nothing short of amazing.  A huge amount of work happened across the holiday period, including the installation of all cabinetry and stainless benches, delivery and installation of cooktops and ovens and associated electrical and plumbing works as well as painting and installing ICT equipment.  This new room will be back on-line in March.

School Photos

Arthur Read Photos took our school photos on Thursday 9 February.  Information on how to order photos was given to students on the day.  For any students that missed out there will be a catch day on Monday 27 February.

Mr Ian MacLeod
Campus Principal – Middle School

The Middle School would like to extend a warm Welcome to the Senior Campus for the new year of 2023.  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 2023 Middle School Team:

Campus Principal: Mr Ian MacLeod
Head of Middle School:  Mrs Asha Vazirani
Middle School Leader:  Ms Jo Rogers
Middle School Administrator:  Mrs Karen Box
Year 10 Level Coordinators:  Miss Grace Leszczynski and Miss Stephanie Xing
Year 9 Level Coordinators:  Mrs Juliz Mathew and Mr Jackson Waters

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, Jo Rogers, Grace Leszczynski, Steph Xing, Karen Box and all the staff members who accompanied the Year 10 students on camp.  Congratulations to the Year 9 team, Jackson Waters, Juliz Mathew, Karen Box and all the staff who supported the Year 9 INSPIRE program.

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 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.

We have returned to the pre-COVID requirements and 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

As 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 2023.

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 Achievement’ – Charles Kettering

Ms Asha Vazirani
Head of Middle School

Welcome back to all of our senior students, it has been a productive and smooth start to the year. A special welcome to our new students and families who have joined our college community in 2023.

Senior School – First week back

Last week our students in Years 11 and 12 were involved in a range of different activities and programs. The Year 11 students attended a special program which included guest speakers, sessions by Elevate Education and a day at Deakin University to hear about courses and from Deakin students.

Our Year 12 students attended camps at Phillip Island and the college received a call about the excellent behaviour of our students.

Feedback from staff and students was positive and formal classes started on Monday this week.

Thanks to all of the senior subschool team who planned and organised the programs and camps and to all of the staff who were in sessions and the students for their active participation. A special thank you to the Senior Sub School Leader, Mr Matt Cara, Ms Sarah Chase, Head of Senior School and the year level coordinators; Ms Eleni Stavrou, Ms Beth Johnson, Mr James Johnston and Ms Lauren Lockhart.

Uniform and Student planners

All students have received a student planner. There are tips, ideas and strategies for managing their school work. It is an expectation that students use the planners to write in assessment and other activities and plan their homework and study timetables.

The college also asks for your co-operation in ensuring our students are in correct uniform and wearing the uniform with pride to and from school and during the school day. The uniform requirements are set out in the student planner and in the Uniform Policy on the college website. If, for some reason, your child is not in full school uniform please contact the subschool or provide a note so a uniform pass can be issued.

All VCE students should be in the VCE uniform which includes the navy VCE jumper and jacket.

Car Parking – Senior Campus

The car parks off Lechte Road and Gordon Road are for college staff only. There are a few spaces available near the General Office at the front of the college for visitors (not to pick up students at the end of the day). Parents and carers are asked to drop students off in the surrounding streets. Please obey the parking restrictions and do not enter the school grounds to ensure the safety of our students and staff. When dropping off and picking up students please be mindful of other motorists and pedestrians.

Year 11 Central Australia Trip

The college is offering a trip to Central Australia in the last few days of term three and into the term break. Details are being finalised and a virtual information evening will be held shortly. Students and parents will be notified.

Communication with staff at the college

The education of our students is a partnership between the school, teachers, the student and parents/ carers. Staff are happy to communicate with parents, however, as teachers spend most of their time in the classroom it is easier to contact teachers and subschool teams via email; teachers will respond.

Compass

Announcements, updates and information is available for parents and students through Compass, please check this on a regular basis.
All parents should now have access to Compass.  Compass is used to communicate with parents on a wide range of activities within the school.  Compass can be access through the college website using any web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari) via your desktop computer or mobile device.   Alternatively, parents can also download the Compass App from the Apple App store or Goggle Play by searching “Compass School Manager” which will allow you to access Compass through their mobile device.  It is important to note that some of features of Compass are only available in the “browser” version.

Assessment Tasks – Common Assessment Tasks (CATs), School Assessed Tasks (SATs) and School Assessed Coursework (SACs)

Students in Years 7 to 10 complete a number of Common Assessment Tasks (CATs) each semester. Students in VCE complete SACs and in some subjects’ SATs. Students enrolled in the Vocational Major program will be completing ongoing activities and complete coursework. Students will also receive an assessment schedule for the semester. Please check Compass regularly for student results and feedback on assessment tasks.

To make reviewing marks and comments for Learning tasks easier, MWSC has created a report that will be gradually populated over the semester. The assessment tasks will be visible by subject so this should be easier to navigate and check.

You can access this report at any time for up to date information. Not all learning tasks appear at the moment, the reported will be continually updated and teachers will notify you when feedback is available. The instructions to access the report are below;

Student accident insurance, ambulance cover arrangements and private property brought to school

Parents/ carers are reminded that the Department of Education does not provide personal accident or ambulance cover for students. Parents and carers of students, who do not have private health insurance or ambulance cover, are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for their injured child.

Private property bought to the college by students, staff or visitors is not insured and the Department is not responsible for any loss or damage. This can include mobile phones, calculators, sporting equipment and cars parked on school premises.

It is recommended that parents/ carers consider insurance policies that can be purchased from commercial insurers.

Student Safety

With the commencement of the school year, it is timely to remind all members of our college community to observe all road laws.  In particular cyclists must wear helmets and when students are crossing roads, it needs to be done with care and observing traffic signals and the crossing supervisor if present.  Please discuss this with your son/daughter and emphasise the need to follow correct road safety practices to keep everyone safe.

Mrs Julie Cain
Campus Principal – Senior School

My name is Maya and I am the new German language assistant here at Mount Waverly Secondary College. I am from Innsbruck, a small city in the Austrian Alps. I was lucky enough to spend Term 4 of the last school year in Bright as a language assistant and I am very happy to live and work here in Melbourne till the end of Term 1. Being able to share my culture and language with the students and teachers is my favorite aspect about my job.

Back home, one of my biggest passions is rock climbing, and in the warmer months I like to go hiking. Another passion of mine is food – especially Asian food and most of all Indian food. The fact that I don’t like winter or winter sports probably makes me a bit of an unusual Austrian, but out of this reason I am even happier to live in Australia during the summer months.

I am very happy to spend the last two months of my time in Australia here in Mount Waverly and I look forward getting to know many of you.    ~ Maya Aspöck

Mount Waverley Secondary College sincerely thanks the Halmai family who is providing a homestay experience for Maya for Term 1, and all other families who showed their interest in hosting Maya.  The generosity of the college community made it possible for us to have a language assistant at the college.

Ms Ayako Yasunaga
Head of Languages

Last Wednesday, theYear 10s headed to Coonawarra Camp. After a four-hour bus ride, we were greeted with a large shimmering lake surrounded by fields, lined with horses and bundles of pine trees; it was worth the long drive. Over the three days we partook in a range of activities; one that stood out particularly was the twin flying foxes. We raced in pairs over the lake, while taking in some incredible views, until we crash landed, not so gracefully, into a pile of tanbark.
Another activity that we did was canoeing, which wasn’t as easy and effortless as it first looked. There was a sense of bonding though, in that everyone had one similar goal – trying not to be the first canoe to capsize.
As for the sleeping situation, it seems nothing creates friendships like conversations held late at night while sleep deprived and amped up on sugar. Overall, Camp Coonawarra had great activities with enough time left over to hang out with friends and make new ones. 

by Keira G (10M)

From 1st to 3rd February, the Year 10 students went to camp Coonawarra as their Year 10 camp experience.  At 6.45am on the first day, the MWSC staff and students climbed onto the school buses, ready for the long journey ahead of them. The drive was lengthy and suspenseful with every turn being a surprise whether it was the turn to Coonawarra or not. The drive was also accompanied by beautiful scenery and greenery of the Victorian countryside. 

At long last we finally arrived. Three buses stopped at campsite Iguana and two were at Lakeside.  At campsite Iguana we were first welcomed by the lovely staff who showed us around the campsite and the structure of mealtimes and afternoon tea. We then settled in our cabins. During my three days at camp, I grew very close to my cabin mates, and everyone was friendly, supportive and we all bonded very well. Soon after we were assigned to our activity groups where we had our first activity. The activity that my group had was damper making where we made fresh dough together, placed it on a stick and cooked it over a bonfire. We then put jam on our breads and ate it. It was so delicious and an amazing snack. Some of the other activities that students participated in were the Giant Swing, Flying Fox, Canoeing, Raft Making, Rock Climbing, Labyrinth and Archery. 

On the second day we started off fresh with an early start with my favourite meal of the day, breakfast consisting of cereal, toast, beans and hashbrowns. Breakfast was then followed by a big day of activities. My favourite activity was canoeing where my friends and I had so much fun. We all tried to capsize each other and towards the end we got to swim in the lake too. It was a core memory that I will never forget, the amount of fun I had with my friends at the lake that day. For our final night’s activity, Ms. Xing and the teachers organised a trivia night. Everyone was so excited and pumped to answer the questions in their groups and even the teachers competed.

Before we knew it, Year 10 camp Coonawarra came to an end, and we were waking up and packing up our cabins to say farewell and go back home. In summary, camp Coonawarra was an amazing experience. Thank you to all the teachers who helped organise this trip for everyone and give us the opportunity to go to camp and make new memories and friends.

by Amelia K (10N)

Let’s celebrate school tour reunions!

This is a great opportunity to come back and visit your old school. There will be a school tour of the Senior Campus followed by light refreshments.

Take the chance to come and see how things have changed since you were last at school.  Meet up with old school friends and teachers.

If you have family or friends who went to Mount Waverley in the years listed below, please pass on the exciting news.

Class of 1973, 1983 and 1993 – 50, 40 and 30 years

Term 1 –  Friday, 10 March 2023 – 10am

Class of 2003 – 20 years – Term 2

Class of 2013 – 10 years – Term 3

Bookings essential. Details on how to book to follow shortly on our Alumni Facebook and LinkedIn pages and through our monthly newsletters.

February Newsletter

Welcome to February’s issue of the Alumni Monthly Newsletter. View February’s Newsletter here.

To register your details to become part of our Alumni community and to receive the monthly newsletter directly to your inbox, click on the link: Register

Ms Victoria Tortopidis
Alumni Coordinator