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Newsletter Edition 10 – Friday 26 August 2022

26th August 2022

In this Issue:

College Principal’s Report
Middle Years Campus – Principal’s Message
Senior Years Campus – Principal’s Message
Language
Science
Physical Education/Health
English
Library
Visual and Performing Arts
Wellbeing
Student Success

Upcoming Events

Jun

10

Mon

King’s Birthday Public Holiday

Jun 10 all-day

Term 2 Finishes

Jun 28 all-day

School Holidays

Jun 29 – Jul 14 all-day

Term 3 Starts

Jul 15 all-day

Term 3 Finishes

Sep 20 all-day

June – September 2024 Jun – Sep 2024

College Principal’s Report

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Wear It Purple:

Friday 26 August is ‘Wear It Purple Day’ at Mill Park Secondary College many students and staff are wearing purple (or at least a little bit of purple) to show their support for same-sex attracted, non-binary and trans students). I am so proud to work in a school community that is diverse – from a social, cultural, religious, and personal perspective – our school reflects the rich and individual differences in our broader community. ‘Wear It Purple’ is a small but important step to celebrate this diversity and to highlight the importance of our college being a safe space for everyone. The pride flags are flying at each campus today and I congratulate students for their support of this initiative, and of course for their support of each other.

Celebrating Culture:

In recent weeks the school has acquired two new artworks through funds raised by our Student Wellbeing Ambassadors during Reconciliation Week. Both pieces were commissioned from a local contemporary Indigenous artist and ex-MPSC student, Kamilya Lowana.

These pieces will soon hang on the College walls near our General Offices, and I encourage you to come and have a look as they are both very special. Congratulations to all students involved in making this happen and of course to Kamilya for her beautiful work.

Hairspray:

I hope that you were lucky enough to have a ticket to our recent production of ‘Hairspray’. I attended on Wednesday night, and it was so uplifting to see what our students and staff have achieved together. The show had a strong ensemble cast and allowed for lots of participation by students from a range of year levels. It was also fantastic to see the support provided by a live band too. The value of this experience for our students cannot be underestimated, but it only happens through the committed and generous efforts of a dedicated team of staff. I would like to publicly acknowledge their efforts in getting not one, but two productions off the ground in a single year! Well done everyone.

Home School Partnership:

I was pleased to see many of our Year 8 families attend the recent Year 9 2023 Information Night at the Middle Years Campus. We are working hard to prove as many opportunities as possible for parents and carers to engage with us here at the college, so please keep an eye out for upcoming events, and provide us with feedback so that we can get a clear understanding of our needs.

One opportunity to do this is through the upcoming Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey. It is an annual survey offered by the Department of Education and Training that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. We encourage all families to participate in this survey. Our school will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.

It is completely anonymous. A random sample of approximately 30 per cent of parents/caregivers/guardians have been selected to participate in this year’s survey and if selected you will receive communication about this via email. The survey is available in a range of languages other than English.

The Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 15 August to Friday 16 September. Please take the time to complete it and tell us what you think!

Middle Years Campus – Principal’s Message

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Student reflections and asking the right questions at home

Year 9 students may improve engagement through setting learning goals…

Some goal related questions to ask at how:

What did you fail at today? This is great because it reinforces that failure is a step towards success and that unless we are prepared to fail, we never really grow.

What did you find challenging today and where do you want to get to next time? It is good to be challenged, but thinking about our next step helps to take us somewhere rather than be put off by the challenge.

Year 8 students can connect with learning better by considering their own understanding and experiences…

Connecting with the learning is important and a useful way is to consider the following;

What did you already know about what you learned in class and what was new?

What else has similarities to those concepts or ideas?

How could that be used in another way?

Year 7 Students will develop greater understanding by explaining their thinking…

To support this try the following prompts:

Tell me how you think that works?

You have some of the ideas right, but maybe not in the right order/context. Can you imagine another way this might make sense?

What’s something you learned today? That is a fact/true, but why do you think that’s the case?

Present, Centered and Grounded-why?

Next week we will be launching into our next 30 day-challenge focussing on the use of positive primers, brain breaks and reflection circles in class and students participation in these activities. They provide important elements to learning including connecting with each other or the learning, reflecting on our learning or practice, energizing us when we have “hit a wall” or helping to reduce the cognitive load (yes there is a significant benefit for VCE students).

How keen are our Year 8 and 9 students?

The information evening for Year 8 students going into year 9 was really well attended, with lots of good questions about what 2023 will look like.

Our Year 9s also enjoyed a visit to the Senior Campus for some fun orientation activities.

Senior Campus Information Night (Year 9 into 10 – subject selection)

What a great turn-out from students and families! We hope the night met family needs and would be happy to receive any feedback about what worked well or what we could include in the future.

Students were well supported by Pastoral teachers and a small number of students and families made appointments with the pathways/careers team for further guidance.

All students should have completed subject selections on Friday 26 August.

Senior Years Campus – Principal’s Message

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Preparations for Exams

The end of Term 3 is fast approaching, this marks the end of formal teaching for the Year 12 content. SAC’s will soon finish and be replaced with practice exams in preparation for final exams in November. This is a tumultuous time for Year 12 students as they come to grips with the end of their 12 years of formal schooling and get prepared for the next step in their lives. Some VCAL students have already secured apprenticeships while others are looking towards further study at TAFE or employment. VCE students are mostly focussing on further study at university, so they are looking at ways to maximise their ATAR score to secure a position in a University and course of their choice. There are several ways that students can be helped at this time of year.

Regular homework is a must. Students are in a competitive situation as the ATAR is a Ranking. All VCE students are RANKED against each other to obtain their final score.
The General Achievement Test (GAT) is run on Wednesday 7 September.

Section A – Literacy and Numeracy 9:30 – 11:45

All students doing a Year 12 subject including VCAL

BBQ lunch provided. 12:00 – 1:00

Section B – General Knowledge and Skills 1:15 – 3:00.

VCE students doing a Year 12 subject.

Practice exams Monday 19– Thursday 22 September.
Week 1 -3 of term 4 is revision, practice exams and more revision in class.
Week 3 of term 4 is home study. Teachers are available for help when needed.
Week 4-7 Formal Exams

Year 10 & 11 Student Subject Selections

Senior Secondary education in Victoria is changing to give more pathways and greater choice. From 2023, there will be two ways to obtain your Victorian Certificate of Education. You can enrol in VCE or the VCE Vocational Major, a new two-year vocational, applied learning program within the VCE. It replaces and builds on the strengths of Intermediate and Senior VCAL.

VCE in 2023

The VCE is a Senior Secondary qualification that opens pathways to tertiary education, higher-level TAFE or VET certificate courses, apprenticeships, traineeships and the workforce. There are more than 90 subjects to choose from across Humanities, Science, Mathematics, Technologies, Arts, Physical Education and Languages. There are also 27 vocational studies like Automotive, Health, and Hair and Beauty.

VCE Vocational Major in 2023

VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM) is a two-year vocational and applied learning program, now placed directly in the VCE. It is designed to equip you with the essential skills for work, further education and your personal pursuits as an active and engaged member of society. This is a great choice if you prefer to learn in a real-world, work environment and don’t need an ATAR for your post-school goals. This is a good pathway to an apprenticeship, traineeship, further study, or directly into a job. You’ll study core units – Literacy, Numeracy, Work Related Skills and Personal Development Skills – and complete 180 hours of Vocational Education and Training (VET) at Certificate II level or above. The VCE VM has no external examinations, other than the General Achievement Test (GAT) or in some VCE VET programs. This means you will not receive a study score for VCE VM subjects or an ATAR. You can add VCE subjects and VCE VET programs to your VCE VM learning program.

Many current Year 10 students have selected to study the VCE VM next year, with many taking on a VCE subject as well. This will be an exciting time as the new model allows students mix VCE classes and VET classes within the structure of VCE VM.

Richard Dungey

Senior Campus Principal

Language

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What are we learning in Italian?

This month in Italian the Year 7s have been learning about family nouns and how to describe people in families. We will be playing Guess Who in Italian so if you are able to play this at home you can ask your Year 7 child to play using the descriptions in Italian!

The Year 8s are preparing for a stylist assessment. They will be describing the outfits of different styled celebrities, practicing their new language skills.

The Year 9s have created a house of their dreams! They are now drafting how to explain how amazing their house is and the reason for some of the inclusions in their house.

Students in VCE are continuing to work very hard in Units 2 and 4. The Year 11 students have been particularly interested in the EuroChocolate festival that is held in Perugia every year. Year 12 students have been working closely with Ada Cosoleto in preparation for their Oral Exam at the beginning of Term 4, showing significant improvement and the hard work they have been putting in from the beginning of the year in preparation.

Language Week 2022

This term we also celebrated Language Week across the college. We had many students involved in many of the activities throughout the week. Thank you to the Italian team for your organization and thank you to those students who participated in the activities. It was a wonderful way to celebrate learning Italian!

We started the week with mask making to host our own Carnevale!

The Year 9 elective students enjoyed pizza during class! We used gestures and language to describe the pizza as buonissima! Well done to Daniel from the Year 9 elective, who also created and ran an Italian Kahoot for the Middle Years Campus students which was a huge hit!

Students participated in a scavenger hunt where students had to find flags! Some amazing Pinocchio pencil prizes were won by the very keen participants!

Mrs Filippone facilitated Briscola Italian card games. She taught the students the rules of the game and had two very successful games played simultaneously.

Ms El Mohammad and Mr Brown ran a trivia session at the senior campus. There was great participation and knowledge shared!

Science

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A range of fun science pracs and activities have been going on across both campuses recently. Students in Years 7 and 8 have been doing Biology, and learning about animal anatomy and function through fish and brain dissections

Year 8 STEM and SEAL students have been learning about the immune system, and designed and implemented their own practicals to model the second line of defense.

Up at the Senior Campus, the Year 12 Psychology students were looking at the difference between sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption. Students used vision goggles to see what it would be like with a BAC of 0.05 which has the same impact on your motor skills as being awake for 17 hours and driving. They also looked at if you were awake for 24 hours it would be double the legal limit of 0.10 BAC.They were amazed at how hard it was to do things with these glasses on!

A big thank you to Miss Pereira and the Year 7 and 8 students that volunteered to bake cookies for Wear it Purple on Friday. We can’t wait to try some!

Physical Education/Health

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National Physical Education and Health Week

Monday 5 September – Friday 9 September 2022 (Week 9)

From Monday 5 September through to Friday 9 September (Week 9) Mill Park Secondary College will be running a ‘Physical Education / Health Week’ as part of National Physical Education and Health Day recognised across Australia on Wednesday 7 September.

Across both Middle and Senior Campuses staff and students will be running numerous activities aimed at promoting and celebrating Physical Education and Health in schools including Yoga and Whole Body HIIT training sessions, Staff Vs Students Basketball match, Volleyball and Dodgeball tournaments, ESports sessions, Chia pudding, fruit and muesli and Smoothie stalls, dance performances and classes, weekly sports quiz and concluding with a Footy Codes (AFL, AFLW, Soccer, Rugby league/union) Colours Dress day whereby students will make a gold coin donation whereby all proceeds raised will go towards a chosen charity selected by the school SRC.

A timetable of all activities running across both campuses over the week will be posted to Sentral on Tuesday 30 August. I encourage ALL staff and students to get involved in the activities over the week.

The theme of National Health and Physical Education day is Good for Children, Good for Schools and Good for Communities and will be celebrated on Wednesday 7 September 2022!

Mr. David Maltby

College Physical Education

100,000 reasons why Health & PE is so important in Schools

The Australian Institute of Health & Welfare reports these facts. In 2017/18:

25% of children and adolescents (2 to 17) were overweight or obese
67% of adults were overweight or obese
31% of all Australians were obese – up 12% from 1995

It is estimated that there will be $88 Billion additional costs to the Australian economy in the 10-year period 2015 to 2025, if no action is taken to slow the rise of obesity. Schools and teachers play a critical role in teaching Australian children the benefits of leading an active and healthy lifestyle. Along with parents, the community and government, the obesity trend line can be changed. To help reverse the trend, we need to ensure that quality health and physical education (HPE) is being delivered into our primary and secondary schools. HPE is one of the eight learning areas in the Australian School Curriculum. Research shows that children’s participation in physical activity leads to better student engagement, improved academic achievement, and better health outcomes in adult life. HPE can help change the upward obesity trend.

Year 10 Outdoor Education – Archery

During Term 3, students have been focussing on risk assessment and associated potential risks with different activities. One of these activities included Archery. Students were able to break down the specific motor skills required to shoot a bow and arrow accurately and we even managed to see our first bullseye! It was also excellent to see students acknowledge the potential risks associated with the Sport and implement the appropriate precautions safely.

Year 10 Physical Education

Students have spent a majority of time in Term 3 focussing on Biomechanics and implementing practical activities to improve different functions of their bodies. Students have studied projectile motion and Newton’s three laws of motion specifically, which has allowed students to focus on topics such as force, mass and acceleration, equal and opposite reactions and the law of inertia. It was exciting to see students connecting topics learnt through theory lessons to practical sessions which further consolidated their understanding.

Mr. Gary Wilson.

Year 12 VCE Health and Human Development

Year 12 Health and Human Development students are currently exploring the objectives and rationale of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including investigating the Key features of Goal 3: Good health and wellbeing as part of the key knowledge required for Unit 4 Outcome 2. Students have been undertaking several Cooperative learning activities in class to further enhance their understanding of the topic.

Year 12 VCE Physical Education

In Year 12, as part of Unit 4, students have just completed their training method sessions. During this time the students have been able to participate in a range of different training programs, looking at how each one benefits the needs of different athletes. As the Term 3 nears to the end, the students are beginning to prepare for their end of year exam, with all of them eager to achieve their best possible results.

Year 9 Sports Coaching Elective (CRO)

This term the sports coaching elective has been focusing on developing lesson plans for specific warmups for different sports. They were able to practice coaching these warmups with their peers and classmates. They are now progressing into skill development and minor games, and eventually they will be coaching some of our Year 7’s every Monday afternoon in term 4. The progression they have shown so far has been excellent. Mr. Rogers

Year 7 Gymnastics

This term Year 7 students have put their skills to the test in their Gymnastics unit! Skills students have learnt over the past three weeks include, mat gymnastics, beam balances, ring somersaults, vault somersaults and the parallel bars. The level of enthusiasm and teamwork from all Year 7 classes has been very impressive! Miss Ashby

Senior Campus 3 X 3 Basketball /Tournament – Lunchtime Activities

Over the past few weeks, the Year 11 VET Sport & Recreation class have been running a 3×3 Basketball Tournament during Tuesday and Thursday lunch times. The planning and conducting of these sessions’ forms part of their modules they need to complete as part of their VET certificate.

There were 8 teams that had registered for the tournament with there being a mixture of year levels across the senior campus. Over the weeks, there has been an increase in staff and students coming down to watch and be a part of the successful tournament.

Year 12 VET Sport and Recreation Snowboarding Camp @ Mt Buller

MIDDLE YEARS AND SENIOR INTERSCHOOL SPORT NEWS

Basketball Term 3

This term the focus for Interschool sport has been Basketball. As a College we can proudly say we entered teams across all year levels. A big congratulation to all the students involved who have trained hard and participated in matches against other schools from our division. All the students worked hard and played in the right spirit throughout all their matches, with many of our teams surprising themselves with their results! Thank you to all the staff that helped train and take the students out for their round robin matches; Ms. Boyle, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Maya, Ms. Georgiadis, Dr Eeles, Mr. Scherf, Mr. Patterson, and Matthew Bell (pre-service teacher), without the dedication and commitment from the staff these teams would not have been able to run! A special mention to the Senior Girls team who progressed to northern metropolitan region finals, narrowly missing out in their games to progress to the state final, well done to all involved!

Senior Boys Soccer

Our Senior Boys Soccer team will be participating in the State finals on Thursday 1 September. Congratulations to all students involved and Mr. Beagles. Good luck for next week, you have already done the college so proud with your achievement of making the final.

Mr. Jordan Lewis

College Sport Coordinator

Upcoming Basketball Program

The College would like to extend an invitation out to all students who are interested in Basketball, whether they played in the inter school team or not. Next term we’ll be starting morning Basketball training for all students who are interested. This will be a great opportunity for students to practice their Basketball skills and meet new people! Please keep an eye out on the schools Facebook page, Sentral and Newsletter for more information next term.

English

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What are your students learning in English

This month in Italian the Year 7’s will be moving on to study classic Greek Myths and will present to the class. Speak to your student about some of the classic Greek Myths which still resonate today. But be careful not to open Pandora’s Box!

The Year 8’s are finalizing their study of Nona and Me and will be starting their major essay soon. This novel is set in the remote north of Northern Territory. Ask your student to tell you a few things about that area of the world. The Year 8 SEAL class have just finished out their own dramatic re-enactment of a new ending to “To Kill a Mockingbird”. We definitely saw a few budding thespians in the class and some wonderful southern accents. Look out for them on the stage or screen in the future.

The Year 9’s continue to study the classic gothic mystery “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and will have developed a wide range of new vocabulary that is contained within the text. Ask them to give you some new words to use in your everyday.

The Year 10’s have had a deep dive into the Holocaust via the novella “Night” and will now have a better understanding of this harrowing time through the first hand experience of the author, developing some deep empathy for the suffering of the Jewish people. This is always worth a sensitive discussion at home

Students in VCE are continuing to work very hard in Units 2 and 4 as the end of the VCE year approaches fast. It’s a stressful time for many students, and English can provide some challenges, but encouraging your students that they should continue to make solid, steady and manageable progress is important. Keep it up crew!

Book Week

Many parents often ask teachers what they can do to best support their children at home. And the number one answer for English is to encourage reading. Regular reading increases one’s vocabulary by as much as 4 times as someone who does not read. And without words, we can not understand the world we live in, nor communicate as effectively. If you are struggling to find appropriate books ask the teachers, the librarians and also the Mill Park Library is a fantastic resource which should be utilised. Reading will create a better future for you!

Library

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Book Week @ Senior Campus

Book Week was an exciting and fun filled week in the library this year. Students participated in many competitions and activities, aligned with this year’s theme ‘Dreaming with eyes open’. Our library was colourfully decorated and filled with beautiful displays.

During lunchtime, students participated in competitions such as ‘Serial Killer or Author’, ‘Blurry Book Covers’, ‘Silhouettes’ and ‘Twitterature and Classic Book Titles’. Many students also had a go at guessing how many lollies were in the lolly jar.

Thank you to all of the staff and students who participated in activities this week, our College value of ‘Enjoyment’ was definitely on show!

Book week @ Middle Years Campus

The theme for this year’s CBCA Book Week (20/08 – 26/08) is “Dreaming with Eyes Open”. In honour of this week, there have been a variety of activities happening across Middle Years Campus. Teachers have created posters of their own book recommendations relating to the theme of dreaming and these posters have been displayed across the MY library. The Year 7-9 homegroups are participating in a ‘Book Week Bingo’, where students are encouraged to read from a variety of categories, ranging form “a fantasy book” to “a book you own, but have not read yet”. To end book week, students and teachers will be dressing up as their favourite book character, and SRC will be running a parade and competition to reward the best-dressed.

Further activities taking place throughout the week:

All Week:

Design a Bookmark Competiton: theme ‘Dreaming With Your Eyes Open
Timed ‘Where’s Wally?’ Hunt
Guess the Jelly Beans in the Jar
Mystery Book Borrowing

Monday, Tuesday and Friday: Movie Screening

Wednesday: Dreamcatcher Making

Thursday: Trivia

Special thanks to Miss Ziajka, Ms El-Mohammad, Miss Fahie, and the library monitors.

Visual and Performing Arts

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MPSC College Production “Hairspray Jr”

Congratulations to the cast, crew, supportive families, and the production team for the recreation of a second outstanding show for 2022. The musical ‘Hairspray Jr’ was performed at the Plenty Ranges Arts & Convention Centre on Wednesday 10 – Friday 12 August. It was the 27th College Production, showcasing the talents of a students from Years 7 to 12.

The musical provided the opportunity for students to participate in a professional theatrical environment, while simultaneously targeting multiple senses and learning styles: visual, aural, verbal, and physical. They also developed new skills, confidence, and positive relationships. The cast, crew and staff worked in collaboration to achieve a highly professional and entertaining school musical performance of “Hairspray Jr”. The 1960’s story and characters were transformed into an entertaining show with positive messages of ‘acceptance and equality’

A very special thank you to the Cast, Crew and (Production team – Mr Kneebone, Mrs Nagel, Ms Arsana, Ms Ashby, Mr Gooding, Mr De Leucio and Mr Pijpers), whose outstanding contribution, dedication and enthusiasm has brought the musical from script to stage.

The Director

Mr Kneebone, was responsible for overseeing the creative cast and ensuring that all aligned in re-telling the “Hairspray Jr” story. He was not only directing the show, but also designed the sets/props and lighting. His creative vision and direction was developed over the past four months with the assistance of Ms Arsana.

The Choreographer/Stage Manager

Ms Arsana, assisted by Ms Ashby created the outstanding and unique dance moves/styles of the 1960’s. They were also responsible for many other roles including the direction of backstage crew, costume sourcing, make up, and ensuring the rehearsals were fun filled and on schedule.

The Music Director

The music was brought to life, by the talented band and the masterful musical direction of Mrs Nagel, who was also responsible for vocal coaching. It was a delight to once again have live music performed by our college band, which not only elevated and defined the expressive elements within each scene but accentuated the on-stage performances.

Band members

Kane Yodchan, Alexia Eddy, William Brown, Henry Werner, Timothy Eddy, Josif Domazetoski, Amitoz Singh Kang and staff Mrs Nagel, Mr Gooding, Mr Pijpers.

Prop Painting

Ms Wilson, Year 10 Graphics & Painting & Drawing classes.

Special Effects

Mr Haggerty for your designs and special effects for the screen projections.

Printing & Admin Support

Mr Barnard, for printing signs, images promptly and Ms Quale for assistance with moving the props and ensuring the equipment was ready to use.

Ms Arsana for the ongoing assistance with costume and prop sourcing and the ability to find the most suitable ones. Mrs Carroll, Ms Charles and Ms Hyland for your ongoing administrative support.

Bump In/Bump Out crew

Mr Cetin, Mr Pijpers, Mr De Leucio, Mr Kneebone, Ms Arsana, Mrs Nagel, Mr Vidot, Ms Nagel.

On behalf of the production team, I wish to thank our College Principal Mr Tim Natoli. Campus Principals, Mr Richard Dungey, Mr Simon Mcrae. Assistant Principals, Ms Melissa Stephens and Mr Peter Tonis and for their ongoing support throughout the challenges of 2022.

Congratulations again to the talented production team: staff, student cast – leads, ensemble, dancers, designers/stylists and the crew and their supportive families.

Ms Gina Palamara

College Arts Coordinator/Producer

Wellbeing

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Wear It Purple DAY

Friday 26 August 2022, is Wear It Purple Day, with this year’s theme, “Still Me, Still Human”. Wear It Purple strives to foster support, safe, empowering, and inclusive environment for rainbow young people. Supporters wear purple to celebrate the diversity and young people from the LGBTIQA+ community.

To help support and celebrate, a bake sale was organised at Middle Years Campus, along with hairspray and handing out of purple ribbons. There was a class competition at Senior Campus involving the Pastoral class with the most students dress with purple, won a hot chip lunch. Other activities at senior campus were handing out of purple ribbons, purple hairspray, making beaded bracelets, and affirmation poster were available for all students and staff to join, support, and celebrate.

New Indigenous Artwork

The 2022 theme for National Reconciliation Week is Be Brave. Make Change. The student wellbeing ambassadors and wellbeing team commissioned two pieces of Aboriginal artwork with funds raised from the Reconciliation Week BBQ held in May 2023.

The piece of artwork titled “Learning Journey” will be placed at the Middle Years Campus. The artwork tributes the land on which the College campuses are located and acknowledges the beauty of Wurundjeri Country. It represents the journey of learning and change through education. The school grounds are symbolised as a central meeting place surrounded by both children, young people, and adults. The extended sections further tribute the various stages of a student’s’ journey. In addition to the continuous work relating to the First Nations peoples, this artwork aims to create positive change within the College and the wider community.

This piece of artwork, titled “Soar”, will be placed at Senior Campus. The artwork tributes the land on which the College campuses are located and acknowledges the beauty of Wurundjeri Country. The soaring eagle symbolises the endless possible career paths that students may undertake under the guidance and support of their teachers. It signifies change, awareness and hope through education.

Both pieces were commissioned from a local contemporary Indigenous artist and ex-MPSC student, Kamilya Lowana, from funds raised by the MPSC Student Wellbeing Ambassadors and Wellbeing Team – “Be Brave. Make Change” Reconciliation Week 2022.

2023 Student Wellbeing Ambassadors – Applications Now Open!

Please come and chat with any members of the Wellbeing Team if you have any further questions or to express your interest in being a SWA. Applications close by the end of term as interviews will commence in Term 4.

International Day of Friendship

In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed International Day of Friendship (also known as Friendship Day) on July 30, with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures, and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.

Friendship day is committed to diversity, inclusion, and appreciation, embracing others that may appear different than us. Anyone can celebrate and learn to dispel hatred and be accepting of people with different backgrounds.

Throughout the week commencing July 25, 2022, students participated in making some friendship bracelets and some friendship egg and spoon race. We can continue to celebrate friendship through simple things such as leaving a note or sending a card to someone, meet a friend for a meal, or attend a community cultural celebration. We can reflect on current connections in our lives, reconnect with old friends, or open ourselves to new connections.

Child Safety

The new Child Safe Standards came into effect on 1 July 2022 (published on 24 June – Edition 8 Newsletter), which further strengthen child safety across schools and other organisations. Mill Park Secondary College have legal and moral obligations to report any significant concerns about a child’s safety and would like to share some ways of how parents can become involved as well.

It is important for families to be aware and understand that all school staff are mandated by law to report any known or suspected cases of abuse or neglect. It is not the responsibility of school staff to investigate suspicions or concerns, but rather only make the report. The Department of Families, Fairness, and housing (DFFH) role is to determine if the details of the report meet the criteria for referral to Child Protection for further investigation.

Many families report fear that their child(ren) may be removed from their if a report is completed to Child Protection about them. However, this rarely occurs as one large focus is on restorative practices (restore safe and healthy relationships within the family). We would like to support parents in our community to be equipped with the skills to be able to engage in appropriate management of behaviours.

There are some resources from Raising Children (a parenting website) to support parents and families for school-age, pre-teens and teens. It is encouraged to speak with a doctor or allied health professional if needing further assistance with managing emotions when disciplining your child(ren).

Some phone support services including 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) and/or the Orange Door, a FREE service for families needing additional support, including advice and guidance around parenting, discipline, and behaviour management as well as linking families to practical supports.

Tuning Into Teens – Emotion Coaching Program for Parents

The Tuning into Teens Program will be offered every term, commencing in Term 4.

What is it?

A FREE evidence-based program on emotion coaching is being offered each term to parents and carers of adolescents aged 12-18years old

Who is it for?

Parenting can be challenging at times, so it is for those who would like to help teach and manage their teenager’s emotions in ways that help remain close and keep communicating. It can help connect with your teen(s) and support them to manage conflict

What it involves?

Small group (up to 8) over 6x 2hr face to face sessions (date and time to be advised).
Safe and supportive environment to share thoughts and ideas, and learn from other with similar experiences
A positive and practical approach that builds on strengths within yourself and in your relationships

How to get involved?

Please see flyers with more information.
There are limited places available, and registrations are essential – please contact the MHP to express your interest and/or register.
Please nominate what days/times may suit and we will attempt to cater to it.

Groups at Headspace

Headspace Greensborough is currently running a group called Mood matters. This group is a way for young people to socialise, have fun, and learn new skills. Topics rotate each week for 4 weeks. Registration is required but attendance to all weeks is not required but rather the topics of interest.

Topics include Art Therapy, Exploring Emotions, Games, and ground. Groups run on Thursday afternoon from 4pm – 5.30pm. Attached is a flyer with a QR code to express interest or can call headspace Greensborough on 9433 7200.

School Holiday Fun

Victorian Youth Festival 2022 – September 20 to 22

Satellite will be part of Little Dreamers Youth Festival happening from 20 – 22 September! Over three action-packed days, participants will have the opportunity to join a ton of creative arts-based activities including photography, graphic design, theatre, communications, and media.

This event is for all young people aged 12-25 and registration is FREE.

Visit https://www.littledreamers.org.au/event/victorian-youth-festival-2022/ to register.

Study Participation Sought – Orygen

Orygen provides specialist mental health services for young people aged 15-25 years in the Western and North-Western part of Melbourne. Orygen are currently seeking participants for TWO studies that they are undergoing.

ORYGEN DIGITAL RESEARCH

Orygen Digital designs, delivers and evaluates evidence-based digital technology for youth mental health. Our mental health technology provides online support to young people and features tools to help them get back on track with the things that matter – like friends, mental health, work and study.

We are currently looking for participants aged 14–27 who can take part in our research studies to measure whether our technology can improve mental health outcomes for young people.

If you know anyone who may be suitable, please share this link with www.orygen.org.au/rebound-screen

Ethics approved SEP v1310322 HREC/42967/MH-2018

PERSONALITY DISORDER STUDY

One in five young people who come to youth mental health services experience a borderline or severe personality disorder.

Borderline or severe personality disorder are terms used to describe symptoms that occur over a number of years, may be upsetting, and can affect many areas of life, (such as friendships, work, study, housing). Symptoms include strong and unstable emotions, problems with self-image, and intense and stormy relationships. There are many treatments available to help young people with personality disorder.

As part of the new EScAPe study, Orygen researchers want to find out how new screening measures for helping to diagnose personality disorder work with young people.

Young people aged 12–25 may be eligible for this study. Participants will be given a small payment for their time. To find out more, including information about eligibility, visit www.orygen.org.au/escape1

Ethics approved: SEP v1 061221 HREC/ 2022-22831-26810-4