Senior Campus, Civic Dve, Epping 3076 Ph: 9409 8222 Fax: 9401 5966 Middle Years Campus, Moorhead Dve, Mill Park 3082, Ph: 9407 9700 Fax: 9436 8016

Email: mill.park.sc@edumail.vic.gov.au

2 5 M A Y 2 0 1 8 - N O 7

Create your future

RESPECT ACHIEVEMENT RESPONSIBILITY ENJOYMENT Together, we engage, educate and celebrate excellence, developing students who are respectful and responsible

VCE PARENT STUDY SKILLS SEMINAR ON MONDAY 28TH MAY AT 7PM

VCE parents are invited to attend the VCE Parent Study Skills seminar on Monday 28th May at 7pm.

This seminar is designed to enable parents of VCE students at Mill Park Secondary College to support their children in the use of highly effective study and exam preparation habits. The seminar will be run by Elevate Education and link directly to the Study Sensai and Ace Your Exams seminars that year 11 and 12 students participated in during term 1 of this year. This means that parents will be taught the same study programs and techniques that students have been, allowing them to support their children in a more effective manner.

The session will run for 1 hour. Please RSVP by calling the General Office on 9409 8222.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS BBQ

Trish Horner, Peter Tonis and I were glad to be welcomed to the International Student Program BBQ at lunchtime on Wednesday 16th May. This annual event celebrates the role that International Students play in our school program. Ms Marilyn Pridmore and Ms Hai Ying Pan organised and cooked the BBQ and we thank them for their excellent work in the program and of course in organising the event.

GAT AND YEAR 10 EXAMS

The General Achievement Test is fast approaching. The GAT is held on Wednesday 13th June for all students studying a year 12 subject. This day will also be a study day for year 10 students who will then have exams in their Humanities and Science subjects the following day. There will be no regular classes on the 13th June and year 10 classes will not run on the 14th June to accommodate the exams.

YEAR 10 WORK EXPERIENCE

Work Experience is fast approaching and will be held in the final week of term between the 25th June and 29th June. Students without a placement should contact the Careers Office and Ms Belinda Mahony as soon as possible.

Senior Campus Principal’s Report

SCHOOL PRODUCTION - ”ALL SHOOK UP”

Term 3 - Week 2 - Wednesday 25 July, Thursday 26 July, Friday 27 July.

Bookings are open and can be made via www.trybooking.com/UTMM

or the General Office at both Campuses.

Trish Horner is on leave for the remainder of term 2. In her absence Colin Burke will be Officer in Charge until 15th June and Karen Eastlake will take over for the last 2 weeks of term.

Colin Burke Senior Campus

Principal

MY Campus Principal’s Report Simon McRae (A) Middle Years Campus Principal

NAPLAN

Our Year 7 & 9 students participated in NAPLAN testing last week and staff were very impressed with their efforts. It does require effort in terms of concentration and self-regulation, to stay focussed and allow themselves and those around them to work in a quiet environment, where they can give their best. This environment was not only evident in the Year 7 classrooms, but also in the gymnasium, where our Year 9 students had their first taste of an examination style setting. We are proud of this effort and would like you to emphasise that at home, as effort is the best predictor of future success.

30-DAY CHALLENGE UPDATE

We have worked through the first 5 days of our '30 day challenge' on bullying prevention. Students have been using the scripts designed by our student leaders to prevent bullying at our school. Staff, students and community members are recognising students who are displaying these positive behaviours and will form part of our acknowledgements in the coming year level assemblies. As family members, you are critical in helping to strengthen the positive culture of our community. Please feel free to call or email us to acknowledge any other community members who you see, hear, or hear of, who:

shows respect towards others. respectfully challenges disrespectful, harassing or bullying behaviour. respectfully challenge bystander behaviour that indirectly supports or ignores bullying. supports a victim of bullying, harassment or disrespect.

DEMONSTRATING OUR LEARNING

As we move towards the end of the semester, students are working hard to demonstrate their new learning (skills and knowledge). The assessments will vary slightly from subject to subject, however, it is important for students to know what the requirements are, to stay organised and to submit their work on time. It would be a great idea to support your children at home by asking them what assessment tasks they are working on, encouraging them to explain what they need to do and how they are going to do it.? You can further support their organisation, by discussing the work posted on Google Classroom and helping them to use their school diaries, to plan how they will best use their time to stay up to date.

YEAR 8 MENTORING PROGRAM

Earlier in the year, the State Government announced successful applicants for the Student Mentoring Program. We had applied for a grant as part of this program and were successful in securing $20,000 to fund a program, specifically designed to support our current Year 8 students, during 2018-19.

We have collaborated with Education Changemakers (http://educationchangemakers.com), an organisation with a history of success, when working with schools and young people. They commenced training this week and will support our program over the two years. Education Changemakers worked with staff volunteers and student candidates on Wednesday, to help us all understand our own values and strengths to help match mentor-mentee pairs. Friday’s training was a co-design process, where student participants, willing family members and representatives from the school community, helped to create a mentoring focus that meets the needs of the individual participants. We see potential for further growth in the participants through focussing on some of the following areas:

Goal setting and monitoring their own progress. Exploring how thinking about thinking is supportive for learning. Developing understanding of personal wellbeing strategies and supports available within the school and wider community. Building understanding of positive relationships. Promoting motivation and confidence for learning. Appreciating behavioural expectations for both staff and students. Developing appropriate responses to behaviours of concern. Developing strategies for demonstrating respectful, inclusive and positive behaviour with all members of the school

community. Understanding of school completion expectations and post compulsory options. Helping students engage with systemic support structures in a meaningful way.

Middle Years Campus Report

MELBOURNE POLYTECHNIC – HEIDELBERG TRADE TASTER DAY

On the 11th May, seventeen Year 9 students visited Melbourne Polytechnic, Heidelberg for a Trade Taster Day. The taster day gave students the opportunity to learn and trial a number of trades.

There were 14 trade areas to choose from such as: Hospitality, Agriculture, Painting & Plastering, Carpentry, Joinery, Furniture & Cabinet Making, Bricklaying, Hair and Barbering, Fabrication, Culinary, Animals, Plumbing, Jewellery, Horticulture (Landscaping), Locksmithing and Electrical

Students had a fantastic day experiencing the different areas with many having a clear vision of the pathway they intended to take.

Dianne Dickenson, Year 9 Level Coordinator

M.P.S.C.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PROGRAM LOCAL HOMESTAY FAMILIES WANTED

Host families are a very important factor in the success of our International Student Program and are greatly valued by the College.

Our program is growing, so we are looking for more families interested in providing a warm and supportive environment for an international student who has chosen to study at Mill Park Secondary College. Families receive payment to cover expenses for full board and our International Student Coordinator is available at all times, to provide ongoing support to host families.

For more information, please contact Marilyn Pridmore Phone: 9409 8222 or 0438 681 125

Email: pridmore.marilyn.j@edumail.vic.gov.au

CAMP, SPORTS & EXCURSIONS FUND (CSEF) CSEF is provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities. If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child. The annual CSEF amount per student is $125 for primary students and $225 for secondary school students. Please visit the General Office at both Campuses to collect a CSEF application form.

Applications for 2018 close 29 June 2018.

EDUCATION WEEK—Music Performance and Music Technology

To celebrate Education Week, our year 9 students studying Music Performance and Music Technology and Performance put on a great lunchtime concert this week on Wednesday in G2. Thank you to all the students that made the event possible by trans-forming G2 into a performance space, preparing their songs, and mixing all the live sound. Thank you also to the students and staff that came along to listen so that our year 9s had the opportunity to perform to a full house.

Ms Murphy and Ms Bohan, Music teachers

Middle Years Campus Report

DEBATING

Five of our Year 8 students ventured over to Plenty Parklands Primary School on Friday 18th May to perform a demonstration debate for the Year 6s, who are currently learning about debating and will soon be performing their own debates.

Our Year 8s debated whether or not we should have a congestion charge in Melbourne’s CBD, which was the topic of their inter-school debate the following Monday. They debated with excellent confidence, clarity and poise, and then answered a range of questions from the Year 6 cohort, including how they remained calm despite nerves, how they chose speaker positions, and what they found most difficult about debating.

Well done and a big thank you to Alex, Jessie, Vyomikaa, Jibreel and Sara for putting on such an excellent demonstration debate and making Mill Park Secondary College very proud. A special thank you to Alex, who stepped up to do two speeches (!) when another student was unable to attend.

Jennifer Ames, MYC Debating

Senior Campus Report

SENIOR CAMPUS OPEN NIGHT

Senior Campus Open Night was held on Wednesday 9th May. It was a very exciting night where staff and students were able to talk to parents and other students about the subjects that are on offer at the Senior Campus. Thank you to all the parents that came and invested time to find out about subjects that are available. This was the launch of Subject Selection for this year. There will be further information going home in coming weeks. Handbooks will be available on our website from 19th June. Subject selection forms are due Friday 3rd August.

Kate Clinton, Transitions and Pathways

THE LAKES TRANSITION DAY

On Wednesday 9th May the year 9 students from The Lakes P-9 College attended the Senior Campus for a transition day. Our current year 10 and 11 students made them feel very welcome; they showed them around the College and talked to them about life at MPSC. In the afternoon The Lakes students did workshops showing the amazing subjects on offer in year 10 here. They had a great day.

Kate Clinton, Transitions and Pathways