MWSC College News – Issue 19

2026 Early Commencement

Our whole school rolled over to our 2026 timetable on Monday 24 November and our 2025 Year 8 students began classes on the Senior Campus.  Early Commencement is a great way for students to get a head start on their studies for next year.  I encourage all students to complete set homework and read their texts before returning to school next year. A special thank you to the staff for their efforts in running this program and in particular, the sub school teams, faculty heads and Mr Scott Smith (timetabler) for all their hard work.

Secondhand Uniform/Book Sale

Special thanks to everyone who donated books or uniform items to our second-hand sale which was held on Friday 28 November. We raised over $11,000 which will be used to help support student-led initiatives. I would like to sincerely thank all of our wonderful parent volunteers who ran the sale on this day.

Uniform Shop Volunteers and Community Partners

On Wednesday 3 December we held a brunch to thank our wonderful volunteer parents who run our Second-hand Uniform and Book Shop and other community partners. Having people volunteer to support our learning community is such an important resource. Congratulations to everyone involved and we will be calling for expressions of interest for more parent volunteers to join our team early next year.

Jazz Night

On Thursday 4 December we held our annual Jazz under the Stars Night. The music was superb, and parents, staff and students all enjoyed the evening. Thank you to the parents who manned the sausage sizzle on the night and all the instrumental staff and other staff who supported this event. Special thanks to Mrs Tijtje Keatley – Music Director for overseeing this event along with our 2026 Music Captains – Tai and Nicholas. Funds raised will go towards the Generations in Jazz Tour in 2026.

Semester Two Reports

Teachers have been completing reports and feedback for their students.  Year 7 to Year 11 students and parents/carers will receive an end of semester report via Compass on Tuesday 9 December. The reports are a culmination of the written feedback from their teachers with additional information on work behaviours and, for Year 7 to 10 students, Victorian Curriculum levels.

Year End Program (YEP)

The YEP Program will then run from Wednesday 10 December until Friday 12 December for students in Years 7-9 who have enrolled in this program. Students will receive information regarding this program shortly.

Presentation Night

This year, Presentation Night will be held on Tuesday 16 December at The Besen Centre, 7.00pm, 87-89 Station Street, Burwood.  Students have been notified if they are to receive an award and were invited to attend a rehearsal at the college on Thursday 4 December. Information regarding how families can purchase tickets for the night has been emailed out.

How to support your child under 16 with the new social media age restrictions

From 10 December 2025, the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 will require social media platforms to:

• prevent children and young people under 16 from having a social media account
• deactivate or freeze existing accounts held by people under 16.

Delaying access to social media protects the health and wellbeing of young people and gives them extra time to build real world connections and digital literacy skills. The responsibility will be on the social media platforms, not parents, carers, children or schools, to implement these new restrictions. Most popular social media platforms will be age restricted. These include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Reddit and YouTube. Messaging services and online games, as well as apps and platforms that support health and education, can still be used.

How to help under 16s prepare for the change

Parents and carers play an important role in supporting their children to be safe online.

To help get under 16s ready for the social media minimum age requirements, you can go to the eSafety website to learn more about the social media age restrictions and find tips on how to talk about social media age restrictions with young people.

What the change means for our school

At our school, most age-restricted social media platforms are blocked for student use on the school network. Our school allows student access to YouTube in a logged-out state. However, this access is restricted so mature content cannot be viewed. To keep up to date about the new social media age restrictions, visit the eSafety website and subscribe to their newsletter.

Mrs Karen Wade
College Principal

Early Commencement Program

It has been wonderful to have our year 7s move up to year 8 over this last week. The Early Commencement Program has a number of benefits to students and teachers; familiarisation with next year’s curriculum, meeting new friends, and finishing the year on a strong note. This is a great time to reflect on the first year of secondary schooling, and establish new goals for 2026.

Junior Sub School 2026

The Early Commencement Program has brought a change in team in the Junior Sub School. Ms Jo Rogers takes the reins from Ms Debbie Sekula, who led the campus well over the past 5 years. Ms Danielle Robertson moves into the Sub School Leader role vacated by Ms Danielle Mott who is leaving the college next year.  Our Year 7 Coordinators will be Ms Brinda Manogaran and Mr Jackie Chan, and our Year 8s will be led by Ms Eliza Yates and Mr Will Keep. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms Sekula and Ms Mott for their tremendous leadership over many years in the Junior Sub School. They have certainly set up a wonderful culture for our staff and students.

Year End Program

This is a reminder that the Year End Program will be based at the Senior Campus from Wednesday to Friday next week. The Junior Campus will not be open for students on any of these days.

Mr Matt Sheehan
Campus Principal – Junior School

Early Commencement Program

It’s a new beginning for our students as they move into their 2026 year levels. We have welcomed our current Year 8 cohort to the Senior Campus as they begin Year 9, while our Year 9 students have taken the next step into Year 10. This transition marks an exciting stage in their learning journey, offering new opportunities, increased independence and fresh challenges.

The Early Commencement Program plays an important role in preparing students for the year ahead. Teachers have introduced course expectations, established classroom routines, and begun initial units of work to ensure students are well-positioned for a smooth start in 2026. This early engagement helps build student confidence, familiarity, and motivation as they enter their new classes.

It has been particularly pleasing to see how positively students have embraced the program. Their level of participation, curiosity, and willingness to adapt demonstrates their readiness for the next phase of their education. We look forward to supporting them as they continue to grow and thrive in the coming year.

Middle School Team

Alongside students transitioning into their 2026 classes, we have welcomed a new and enthusiastic team into the Middle School. Ms Asha Vazirani continues as our Head of Middle School. Asha brings extensive experience and a strong commitment to student engagement and academic growth. She will be supported by Mr Callum Hope, our Middle School Leader, who will formally join the team at the start of 2026. Callum’s leadership experience and passion for student wellbeing will further strengthen our Middle School team.

Our Year Level Coordinators for 2026 are Mr Tristan Dunkley and Ms Cathleen Howell for Year 9, with Ms Jess Panther and Mr Aayush Khosla leading Year 10. Each brings a wealth of expertise and a genuine dedication to supporting students through this important stage of their schooling. Together, the team will work closely with students to guide them academically, foster positive relationships and help them develop the skills and confidence needed for success in the coming years.

We are excited about the Early Commencement Program and the year ahead and look forward to the positive impact this team will have on our Middle School community.

Mr Ian MacLeod
Campus Principal – Middle School

2026 Parent Financial Contributions

The 2026 Parent Financial Contributions are available on your Parent Portal in Compass. Please click on the ‘Payments Centre’ tab, under the heading of 2026 School Contributions.

While the Department of Education provides funding to schools each year on a per student enrolled basis, this funding only covers a portion of the core operating costs of running the school. It covers things such as salaries, utilities, some repairs to buildings, and some curriculum support.

The funding does not cover the additional programs run at MWSC that support our student’s wellbeing and growth, or the consumables required in the classrooms for use throughout the 2026 school year. Our specialist programs rely heavily on parent contributions to ensure we have access to the latest equipment and resources.

Additional projects around the school including garden upgrades, repurposing buildings, additional furniture and shade sails are all only made possible via fundraising and voluntary parent contributions.

You can find the Compass contributions parent guide here: https://home.compass.education/hubfs/Billing%20-%20Parent%20Guide.pdf.

You can pay in full or instalments. If you would like a custom payment plan, please call the finance team on 9803 6811 or email finance@mwsc.vic.edu.au.

Thank you for supporting our college.

Ms Kari Simmons
Business Manager

As our 2025 ensembles and instrumental lessons draw to a close, it has been great to see so many of our 2026 ensembles beginning to rehearse as part of the Early Commencement Program.

Starting the 2026 ensembles now provides a fantastic head start, allowing students to begin learning their new repertoire and fostering teamwork among new and returning members of the bands and orchestras. We highly encourage all students to practice their new parts over the upcoming break to master them. This preparation is crucial, as it will allow our more experienced ensembles to focus on refining and polishing their music right from the start of the new year.

This week, the lists for 2026 instrumental lessons were finalised. Families can expect to receive email correspondence from instrumental teachers over the next week outlining the opportunities and expectations for the program next year.  We are incredibly excited by the outstanding level of interest, and particularly by the thoughtful instrument choices students have made, which will further strengthen our successful ensemble program. With over 300 students enrolled in lessons, it is a wonderfully exciting time for music at the college.

2025 Jazz Night

On Thursday, we hosted our annual Jazz Night, a fantastic showcase of the hard work and dedication of our jazz ensembles, featuring both current students and talented alumni.

The weather was beautiful, and it was wonderful to see the college community gather to support these groups. The night also marked the first performance for our newly formed 2026 Jazz Band and 2026 Stage Band. Fittingly, this event served as a major fundraiser for these groups, who are preparing to attend the prestigious “Generations in Jazz” National Championships in Mount Gambier next May.

Thank you to everyone who attended and supported this important event.

We extend our sincere thanks to the entire college community for your support throughout the year. Congratulations to all our hardworking students on a successful 2025! We are very much looking forward to another successful year of music in 2026.

Mrs Tijtje Keatley
Music Director

Year 9 – Morrisby Profiling

Morrisby Profiling for our Year 9 students will commence on the first day of school in 2026. To help students feel confident and prepared, we recommend they practise answering sample questions prior to the session. Practice questions can be accessed here: https://app.morrisby.com/practice-questions

The Morrisby Profile provides personalised career suggestions based on each student’s abilities, interests, and personality traits. The report also includes recommendations for senior subject selections that may align with their strengths and future pathways.

Following the profiling, students will take part in a 30-minute one-to-one interview with a Morrisby-trained Careers Consultant during school hours, at a scheduled time later in the term.

Year 12 – Change of Preference (11 – 13 December)

ATARs are released on Thursday 11 December from 7am. The VTAC Change of Preference period is your opportunity to review, adjust, or reorder your course preferences before offers are released. Whether you are reconsidering your pathway, have discovered new options, or just want to double check your preference list, the Careers Team is available to support you during this process. Students are encouraged to book an appointment on 11 and 12 December.

As always, the Careers Team is here to help, reach out if you have questions or need guidance.

Mr Phil Newnham and Ms Victoria Tortopidis
Careers Education

Reunion – MWHS Class of 1975

I just heard this event was a cracking success! Held at the Notting Hill Pub Beer Garden on Saturday 29 November. There were just over 40 former students in attendance, many of whom travelled over 1000 kilometres to get there and they had an excellent catch up. More photos coming in the next Alumni Newsletter.

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Stay connected by joining our Alumni Network and be part of future events and reunions. Reconnect with former classmates, share your journey, and stay updated with school news, special events and exclusive alumni opportunities.

Register here your details to be part of our Alumni community.

Ms Victoria Tortopidis
Careers Education and Alumni Coordinator

The BIG Summer Read 2025/2026 Now Commenced

Once again, The BIG Summer Read 2025/2026 has commenced! While MWSC libraries are closed for the summer holidays, students are able to continue reading at any of the participating public libraries. Children and youth are encouraged to join and participate at public libraries in multiple Australian states, even if families are on holidays.

The BIG Summer Read is a public libraries reading initiative within a single state. During summer school holidays, children and youth are encouraged to keep reading to maintain their reading and comprehension skills. Throughout reading, all forms of reading material are accepted: novels, picture books, graphic novels, ebooks, magazines, audiobooks, etc.

Participants are able to discover various books and are also given rewards and prizes that can be won through participating in the initiative. Here is more information from the Public Libraries Victoria website: BIG Summer Read – Public Libraries Victoria

How to Join

Families can join The BIG Summer Read instantly through their public libraries or even through the internet. As soon as children are registered, they can start reading and tracking their reading, obtaining badges, and having fun with stories for the summer holidays.

Read more by following or copying and pasting this link: Big Summer Read.  The BIG Summer Read has begun! JOIN, READ and WIN!

If your children join in the library team will enjoy their feedback.  Any questions please email me on tho@mwsc.vic.edu.au

Ms Stephanie Thomas
Teacher – Librarian, Junior Campus