College News · 2014. 3. 28. · 27 March 2014 1 Station Street, Mordialloc 3195 Australia Telephone (+613) 9580 1184 Facsimile (+613) 9587 5443 email [email protected]

Newsletter 27 March 2014

1 Station Street, Mordialloc 3195 Australia Telephone (+613) 9580 1184 Facsimile (+613) 9587 5443 email [email protected] www.mcsc.vic.edu.au

Director of Numeracy Improvement - Update

College News

No.8

Continued on Page 2

As first term draws to a close, and it has been a hectic one, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all staff and students for their hard work and effort. Interim reports should be available next week which will give parents a chance to speak to teachers regarding their son/daughter’s progress.

All parents of Year 7 and 8 students should have made an appointment with home group teachers for the Student Led Conferences. If you have not had the opportunity to do so yet, these conferences take place this week and also in the last week of term.

Professional Development for Staff A key priority in Mordialloc College’s Annual Implementation Plan is Differentiation. This refers to teachers meeting the emotional, social and academic needs of all students, no matter what their ability is. Teachers have participated in a number of workshops based on planning lessons and units of work for differentiated learning. Teachers are implementing what they have learned in these workshops in the classroom and our coaching program (where staff observe each other and provide effective feedback) is focussed on coaching teachers for differentiated learning.

This will be a focus for all teachers for the next three years and will be one of the focuses for our performance and development review.

What does this mean for your son or daughter? Usually they will do some sort of pre assessment to find out their current knowledge in a particular area. Based on this, you may see them working on different units of work or activities to others in the class - they may have extension work to finish, they may be choosing to present their work based on their learning style, they may get to choose the groups that they work in or sometimes the teacher will strategically

choose who works with who, they may be asked to attend special workshops that are aimed at particular skills.

In Year 7 and 8 Maths, students should have a Maths

Tracker which is a curriculum outline for the unit of work they

are currently undertaking. It is expected that students self- assess themselves as they work through the unit and provide evidence of their learning which may come in the form of games, activities, websites and exercises from the textbook that they have completed. This Maths Tracker also contains websites and iPad apps that are applicable to each of the units of work. If students have no Maths homework to do, it is expected that they will take the opportunity to practice their skills on some of these apps. If parents are interested in what their child is studying in Maths, please check the Maths Tracker.

Mangahigh Based on feedback from both staff and students, we are using Mangahigh as a supplementary computer-based interactive Maths program which provides tutorials and games to practice Maths skills. The website is www.mangahigh.com. All students from Year 7 to Year 9 should have a login code for this from their Maths teacher. They should be also able to login to this website from home.

Australian Mathematics Competition All SEAL students are registered and participate in the Australian Maths Competition sponsored by the Commonwealth Bank each year. I would like to open this opportunity to invite any other students who are interested in participating in this competition to speak to their homegroup teacher. The cost is $6 per student for any students not in the SEAL program and the test is usually conducted in August but registration will have to be in by the end of April.

example of the Maths Tracker

http://www.mangahigh.com

Senior Maths Just a reminder that all students doing Senior Maths should have a CAS calculator. We use CAS at that level because it is required at Year 12 Further and Methods is a CAS course. A CAS calculator is not prescribed for the General Maths classes, however the students still require some form of calculator in all Maths classes. If you have any queries regarding Maths at the College, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Bryony Lowe, Director of Numeracy Improvement

Page 2 Newsletter No.8


Year 9 French students went to the Kino Palace Cinema to see a French Film called ‘Belle et Sébastien’ on 12 March. The movie was based

on the French book and 1960s TV series. It showed the story of a young boy, barely 8, who

befriends a huge dog that the locals of the tiny

French village believe to be vicious. Throw in a sub-plot about Nazi oppression of the village and

a romantic arc between a baker and a refugee smuggler and you’ve got the recipe for an enjoyable drama. And whatever faults the plot had, nothing

could be said against the impressive cinematography of the movie, every

shot seemed beautifully and carefully crafted, and the breath-taking, yet not overused, panning shots of the French/Swiss Alps and surrounding areas

were a defining feature of the film. At the end, and with several sobs from the more emotional members of the group, we left the cinema to spend

lunch in the both impressive and expensive Collins Place. The day was a successful one and we eventually headed back to school on the train.

Finn McHenry, Year 9 French Student

French Film FestivalFrench Film FestivalFrench Film Festival

Continued on from Page 1

To celebrate Cultural Diversity Week at Mordialloc College, we had a series of events happening during the week. The first day of the week started with a big bang from Ms Muir organising yummy multicultural lunches with her Year 12 VCAL class for all staff and interested

students. Food items on the menu included Mexican, Chinese, Italian and Greek cuisines. Staff

and students enjoyed their lunches – thank you Ms Muir!

At Years 8-12 levels, students who study French were given opportunities to attend the French Film

Festival at the Kino and Como Palace Cinemas. With the help of several teachers - Ms Commons, Ms

Vrettos, Ms McIvor, Ms Leppin and Ms Ilott - this wonderful opportunity was made viable for students. For Harmony Day (which was also celebrated on Friday 21 March), our nurse, Jenny Muir, together with a team of students

distributed orange ribbons to the school community on that day, to raise awareness about individual differences. Well done to Nurse Jenny and her team!

Throughout the week, our Year 7 team of teachers were very well organised to assist students with their Cultural project.

Students were very proud to display and reflect on their work and invite their parents to visit their Expo. Friday ended up

as a very busy, but fun day for the Year 7 students. The morning started with the African drumming and dancing session, followed by finalising the displays for parents and other school staff to view.

Thank you very much to Ms Karamanis, Ms Hughes, Ms Wood and Mr Tzimourtas, Ms Butler, Ms Danckert and Ms Ilott for

their support. Great team effort!

Bibi Peerbux – French teacher

Important Dates

March 2014 Friday 28/3 Y7 Melbourne Museum

Y8 Sport Round Robin

Monday 31/3 Y12 VCE Media - Top Designs

April 2014 Tuesday 1/4 Y7 Sport Round Robin

Y11 Study Sensei Thursday 3/4

VCE English Seminar

Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews

Friday Last Day of Term 1 4/4 House Athletics

School holidays Monday 21/4

EASTER MONDAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Tuesday 22/4 Term 2 commences

VCE Drama Excursion Y11 Elevate Education

Wednesday 23/4

SRC Anzac Day Shrine Thursday 24/4

Southern Metro Snr Golf Friday 25/4

ANZAC DAY

Newsletter No.8


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Mordialloc College celebrates Cultural Diversity Week

As part of Cultural Diversity week, Year 7 students chose a country and worked in groups to create a project.

Last Friday, parents and teachers were invited to our Expo and everyone had great fun. We learnt a lot of new things and a bit about different cultures. Some groups even had food. The group who did Italy as their chosen country had pizza and those who did Greece had spinach and feta cheese pie.

Everyone’s stall looked amazing and we were very proud to showcase our work to our parents, teachers and friends. It was a very enjoyable day!

By Eleni Hatzis – Year 7D

African Drumming Session for Year 7 students

Last Friday started with some fun - we had a workshop with the African Drummers. We learnt a bit about the African culture (the food, traditional dress, their people, language and particularly their music). We had the opportunity to experience the African music and beat the drums, dundun according to the tunes guided by the drummers.

We also watched the film ‘Around the World in 80 days’ where a scientist took the challenge of completing a world tour. In the afternoon, parents and teachers were invited to visit our Expo which displayed information on several countries.

My group chose Greece as the country to explore. We researched about the different traditions and what life is like in Greece. I felt very happy and proud when parents and teachers came to our table with some great comments about our display. I was also happy when people tried the Greek Spanakopita that my grandmother made. Overall, I enjoyed working on the project and researching information.

By Paris Gorozidis – Year 7B

Newsletter No.8


FFFRRREEENNNCCCHHH

NEWSNEWSNEWS Our College is planning a French School Trip

to France during the January 2016 school

holidays. We are currently sourcing the best

costs with several travel companies. At this

stage, the approximate cost of the 16-day trip

will be approximately $5000 per student. This is roughly

estimated on at least 15 students and 2 teachers going on

the trip. We will let you know as soon as we have a more

accurate quote.

The 16-day trip will cover a week in Montpellier with 15

hours of lessons at the language school; visits to the cities

of Nimes and Avignon, 3 days in tours to visit the Loire

Valley and Chateaux and 4 days in central Paris to visit all

the famous icons. The week in Montpellier will include a

home-stay experience for students staying in pairs with an

allocated family.

Please note that students in Years 9-12 by

January 2016 will be eligible to attend.

A letter will be sent out to French students soon with more

information regarding this event. If you are interested in

your son/daughter participating in this school event, please

email Bibi Peerbux at the following address:

[email protected] to express your

interest and you will be informed of a future information

session.

Many thanks for your continued support to learning French.

Bibi Peerbux French teacher/Languages

Program Leader

School Trip

to France

January 2016


mailto:[email protected]

One Team, One Goal – Celebrating Diversity

At Mordialloc College we always encourage students to be respectful and supportive of each other.

We are excited to be participating in a new AFL and Victorian Government competition using football as a way to celebrate multiculturalism and diversity.

In the competition – One Team, One Goal – Celebrating Diversity – our school can win a $5000 grant, a football clinic with an AFL footballer, tickets to an AFL match during Multicultural Round and limited edition AFL footballs.

To enter, students need to design a logo reflecting the competition’s theme – with the winning logo to be printed on limited edition Sherrin footballs.

This is a wonderful opportunity to talk to your children about diversity and to support them to develop a logo.

The competition website has more information about how to enter: www.education.vic.gov.au/oneteam

Dobson’s

Uniform Shop

at Mordialloc College

New telephone

number: 9587 0738

Trading Hours

Monday 8.30 - 11.30 am

Wednesday 12.30 - 4.00 pm

Situated off the foyer of

the School Hall

Unifo

rms

Unifo

rms

Unifo

rms

Mordialloc College staff and students share and proudly demonstrate our

agreed values of

Personal Best Personal Best Personal Best IntegrityIntegrityIntegrity Respect and Respect and Respect and ResponsibilityResponsibilityResponsibility

STUDENT INTERIM REPORTS

Interim student reports will be available on Compass from Monday

March 31. Please access prior to Parent/Teacher Interviews.

Page 5 Newsletter No.8


All advertising enquiries may be directed by

email to

[email protected]

Advertising

MORDIALLOC NEIGHBOURHOOD

HOUSE

Occasional Care Child Care:

School Holiday Program Monday – April 7: Pyjama Day

Wednesday – April 9: Teddy Bear’s Picnic

Monday – April 14: Story Book Day Wednesday – April 16: Rainbow Day

All Sessions: 9:15am – 12:15pm For bookings or further information,

Please phone: 9587 4534

Documents

College News · 2014. 3. 28. · 27 March 2014 1 Station Street, Mordialloc 3195 Australia Telephone (+613) 9580 1184 Facsimile (+613) 9587 5443 email [email protected]