Term 1 - Week 6– 8th March 2016

Mortlake College Newsletter 10 Hood Ave

Mortlake, Vic, 3272 Ph: 03 5599 2204

Fax: 03 5599 2503 Email: mortlake.p12@edumail.vic.gov.au

Website: www.mortlakep12.vic.edu.au SMS Mobile: 0427 841 239 (Text Only)

Principals Report -

Mid-West Swimming Sports/Primary Divisional carnival

Congratulaons to our Years 7-12 swimming team who competed so well at the inter-school sports

last Friday. Mortlake College won the Aggregate Shield and we also had six individual champions

which was a fantasc effort. Special congratulaons to Lizzy Kelly and Jackson Boyden who were

overall champions on the day. Thank you to those who helped ensure the day was so successful, es-

pecially Mr Jones who was responsible for all the organisaon of the event. Twenty-five swimmers

have qualified for the next level of compeon which will be held later in the month. Also, I would

like to wish the twelve swimmers who will be compeng in the primary divisional swim carnival in

Warrnambool on Wednesday all the best for a successful day.

Cycle 1 Reports

The first set of reports will be completed next week. They will be emailed to all families on Friday 17

March and a paper copy will be sent home with students the same day. As I have menoned previ-

ously this form of reporng which was introduced last year is designed to improve feedback to stu-

dents and parents, parcularly in terms of each student’s a2tude and effort over the reporng peri-

od. Our overall aim is to ensure that all students are achieving their potenal and doing the best

they possibly can. For those new to the school this is how the reports appear for each subject.

The Semester 1 Parent/Teacher/Student interviews will be held on Thursday 30 March between

12pm and 7pm. Bookings open on Monday 20 March and will close on the morning of the interviews.

Details of the booking process can be found in this newsle8er.

If you have any quesons or concerns about any aspect of the student reports and/or interviews

please don’t hesitate to contact the school.

Student Leaders’ Congress

Last Friday four of our student leaders, Sam Williams, Keely Moore, Zoee Boyden and Mitchell Hughes

a8ended the Student Leaders’ Congress held at Deakin University. The Congress is designed to give

student leaders in local schools the opportunity to receive leadership training without having to travel

to Melbourne. It also gives them the chance to network with other local schools

Vicki Jellie, who has just become the “Australian Local Hero of 2017”, shared her story of leading

‘Peter’s Project’ to build a local cancer care facility, whilst Hugh van Cuylenburg talked of his experi-

ences in India and how it led to him becoming the founding director of ‘The Resilience Project’. The

project is designed to help adolescent Australians be mentally healthy.

The second part of the day was spent planning a project to do with improving mental health back at

Mortlake College. The team has a plan which they will now organise and put into place with their fel-

low house group leaders and senior leadership team. We look forward to hearing more about their

ideas in the coming weeks.

Just a reminder to students to be aware of their surroundings walking to and from school, and not to

approach a car/person they are not familiar with. We received reports of child being approached by a

male person in a car near the town footy oval yesterday. The child responded appropriately and

walked away and police were nofied. Teachers have talked about this with students at school today,

but it would be appreciated if parents could also have a discussion at home about ‘stranger danger’.

Graeme Good

BIRTHDAYS

Happy Birthday to all students who have birthdays this week.

MARCH

9th—Ruby Schuuring 11th—Megan Wendt 12th—Sam Williams

Have you checked out the

“Mortlake College P-12” Facebook Page ??

Don’t forget to “Like” us on Facebook and keep up to date

on all that is going on at Mortlake College.

ENDEAVOUR HOUSE

FUNDRAISER

Endeavour house students will be selling

Mint & Chocolate ice-creams (in a cone) at

lunch time on Thursday 16th March.

Ice-creams will be $2 each (only 2 per

student)

P-4 students will be given their ice-

creams 10 minutes before the lunch bell

HAVE YOU GOT ...

A means tested Concession Card (Health Care Card, Pension Card etc.) or are you a Temporary Foster Parent? You may be eligible for CSEF. (Camp, Sports Excursion Fund)

If you have not applied for this yet, please fill in a form at the General Office as soon as possible.

OUT OF UNIFORM DAY The Senior Leadership team will be

running out of uniform days and at

the end of every month.

Gold coin donaon with the money

going towards small projects around the school.

This terms dates are: Friday 31st March

Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews Thursday 30th March 2017

The online booking system is for all students, Prep – Year 12.

Bookings will open Monday 20th

March 2017 @ 9am.

Bookings must be finalised by Thursday 30th

March at 10am.

For parents that do not have internet access, you are welcome to come into or phone the office

from March 20th on 5599 2204 where the office staff will make the bookings for you. The in-

struc2ons for using this system online are on the back of this le3er. It is important when mak-

ing your bookings to have a list of your child’s teachers with you.

Please note that the earlier you go online to book the more likely you are to get interview

2mes that best suit you.

BOOKINGS CLOSE THURSDAY 30TH

MARCH AT 10AM

On the day of the interviews:

Please print your confirmaon, and bring it with you to your interviews.

Prep - Four Interviews will be conducted in the classroom of your child.

Yr. 5-12 Interviews will be held in the senior rooms of the school.

Yr. Prep - Four Interviews are 15 minutes in duraon but in order to ensure that all parents

of students in Years 5-12 are able to see their children’s teachers, those interviews must

be limited to strictly 5 minutes in duraon.

The smooth running of our parent-teacher interviews relies on all parents keeping to the sched-

ule. Please consider other parents and end all interviews on me. If you need more me with a

parcular teacher, please arrange a separate meeng or phone call.

These are teacher/parent/student conversaons and students are expected to a8end.

Please bring your child’s most recent report for this year with you.

Now you can book school interviews for the times that suit your family.

Go to www.schoolinterviews.com.au and follow these simple instructions.

Enter your details

Select the subjects and then the corresponding teachers you wish to see for each child.

Please note:

Pat Gleeson is covering for Lyle Russell while she is away.

Yr. Prep – Four will just meet with their Classroom Teacher.

Michelle Carmody (P – 4 Leader) will also be available for interview.

School Welfare Office Kerry Boyden will be available for interview from 12pm – 4pm

Jess Courtney Special Assistance Co-ordinator & Literacy Support will be available for interview.

Select the appointment times that suit your family best.

When you click FINISH, your interview timetable will be emailed to you automatically. If you do not receive your email immediately –

Check your junk mail folder AND make sure you have spelled your email ad-dress correctly

You can return to www.schoolinterviews.com.au at any time, and change your interviews - until the bookings close on Thursday 30th March at 10am

Bookings will open Monday 20th

March 2017 @ 9am.

Bookings must be finalised before Thursday 30th

March at 10am, when book-

ings for this event will close.

You may change your bookings, any time prior to the closing date, by re-visiting the www.schoolinterviews.com.au website, and using the event code. Remember to use the same name and email address, you used when you made your original booking. Parents wishing to change their interview times after the closing date should contact the school di-rectly on: 5599 2204.

NOMINATIONS CLOSE FRIDAY 10TH MARCH

Hearing Screenings

On Monday the 27th March, Wimmera Hearing provided free hearing screenings. A pure

tone air conducon screening was carried out and if a student had a poor result or indi-

cated that they were having trouble hearing a Tympanic screening will have also been

conducted. This test determines what your child is hearing at the me of the screening.

The results include the soIest tone heard at different frequencies. These results were

sent home with individual students on Monday. If your child had difficulty, Kerry Boyden

would have made contact with you. If you have any concerns about the results please

feel free to contact Kerry to discuss them.

This valuable service managed to test 85% of our students in the one day which was a

huge effort by the two testers. A huge thanks to Wimmera Hearing Society for providing

this free service. Sadly, the Government will not be connuing to provide funding for this

service so Wimmera Hearing will be unable to provide this service free in the future. A

special thanks also goes out to the students who helped on the day. It was reported that

they were helpful, polite and professional which is a credit to them.

Important Dates

Hearing Screenings Monday 27th March

Vision Screenings Friday 31st March

P-4 Place Assembly Awards Monday 6

th March 2017

Prep: Holly McGuigan – for always showing enthusi-

asm in her learning

Daisy Jamieson – for being very brave at the P-12 as-

sembly

Year One: Laura Bray – for your

excellent stamina for wring

Mitchell Leske – for wring stamina

Year Two: Isaac Rose – for making lots of new friends

Israel Rose – for se8ling in to your new class and

school so well

3/4A: Declan Compton - Sheaves – for your research

enthusiasm

3/4B: Caitlin McDonald – for always being a safe, re-

specMul and responsible class member.

Congratula2ons to all of these students.

Our Prep students have been very busy in maths practicing count-

ing and writing their numbers up to 5. We have practiced counting

the number of times we do things, like clap our hands, wiggle our

hips, hop on one foot, and touch our knees. We are getting very

good at it!

HOUSE MENTORS

LINDA SIMKIN-TAYLOR, ANNETTE JANES & NIGEL BOYDEN

HOUSE CAPTAINS

Daniel Fowler—I wanted

to be house captain be-

cause it helps me to be

brave and encourage oth-

ers. I also have a lot of fun

playing and teaching oth-

ers in the P-4.

I look forward to having

fun with lots of kids in

games.

My name is Renae Reyn-

olds, I am senior house

captain for succeed this

year. Succeed is known

for always having a go,

working efficiently and

effecvely together as a

team. I look forward to

working closely with my

peers and teachers, col-

laborang with the oth-

er house captains, ini-

ang discussions and

ideas for a be8er house.

I look forward to extending my leadership skills and abili-

es throughout the diverse roles house captains perform,

such as sports coordinang, fundraising planning and

running house group meengs.

Hi my name is Bridie

McGuigan and I am look-

ing forward to being P-4

house captain for suc-

ceed. I am working with

Daniel Fowler. For fitness

on Tuesdays this term we

are doing relay races with

the P-4's. I am excited to

be able to help other stu-

dents in succeed.

Hi my name is Oliver Mar-

n. In my spare me I like

to play footy, cricket, bas-

ketball and Tennis.

ran for 5-7 Succeed house

captain because I wanted

to make a change in the 5-

7 area and make a differ-

ence in the the school. I

also wanted make new

friends and open up new

pathways.

My name is Grace Ware-

ham. I enjoy Swimming,

playing Netball and playing

Tennis. I ran for house cap-

tain because I wanted a role

in leadership and build rela-

onships with people I

don't usually hang out with.

I am in succeed and I hope

that in the future I could

even be the house captain

again in my senior years.

My name is Sam Wil-

liams, I ran for house

captain because I felt

that being a leader of

something as great as

this house would be an

important learning ex-

perience.

Succeed is a really spe-

cial house, everybody

gets around each-other

and puts their hand up

to parcipate no ma8er

what, I’m super excited

to work alongside Re-

nae and hopefully we can bring home a few trophies for

succeed

Make a Difference, Be Different - Inspire! House Mentors - 8-12 Eddie Morcombe, Andrew Bennett

& 5-7 Nicole King

HOUSE CAPTAINS

Hi my name is Molly and i

wanted to be house captain

because I'm respecMul to my

peers and responsible and

safe. I can show good

sportsmanship.

I am looking forward to do-

ing fitness and enjoying the

year as captain.

Chloe Goldsworthy—I wanted to

be house captain because i think

it would be very fun and I love

doing fitness. I am looking for-

ward to being a house captain

because I love to be in-charge

and teach people a lot of new

things.

I also am looking forward to play-

ing with my friends and geCng

to know new people, I hope to

have a great year.

Hi my name is Zoee Boyden and I'm 5-7 house captain

for Inspire. I decided to go for house captain to make a

posi2ve change to the 5-7 area.

I have many hobbies including

dancing, singing and playing

netball with my friends. I have

par2cipated in many school

sport days and eisteddfods for

the school and have enjoyed

them immensely.

I'm very excited to see what I

can give this year to Mortlake

College

Hi my name is Mitchell

and I am one of the 5-7

Inspire house captains.

I enjoy sports like football,

cricket and swimming.

I went for house captain

because I thought it would

be a great experience.

My name is Brooke Harfoot and I

am senior house captain for

2017, along with Jack Lehmann. I

ran for house captain because I

wanted to contribute to my

house and give back in my final

year at school. I also feel like this

would be a great opportunity to

develop my confidence and help

other students to develop their

own confidence through house

acvies.

I look forward to working closely with Jack and the other

house captains this year, to help make 2017 a year to re-

member for Inspire. I also cannot wait to work with my

peers and teachers to discuss ideas throughout Inspire and

to work with all year levels from Prep through to Year 12.

My name is Jack Lehmann, I

am Inspire senior house

captain this year, alongside

Brooke Harfoot. I ran for

house captain, as I believe

it is key in building leader-

ship skills and ini2a2ve.

I look forward to working

closely with my peers and

teachers to ini2ate discus-

sion and ideas throughout

Inspire. Working collabora2vely with the junior

captains also.

Inspire is known for their posi2ve encouragement,

and par2cipa2on in house sports, and fundraisers. I

look forward to carrying on this encouragement

this year.

House Mentors

Pat Gleeson, Robin Allinson & Geoff De Manser

House Captains We s�ck together!

My name is Jakalyn

Cooper and I am senior

house captain for En-

deavour 2017, alongside

my peer, Keely Moore.

Personally, I ran for

house captain because I

wanted to contribute to

my house and give back

in my final year at

Mortlake College. I also

feel like this would be a

great opportunity to de-

velop my leadership skils and offer support to help oth-

er students to develop in various ways through house

acvies. I look forward to working closely with Keely

and the other Endeavour house captains this year.

Jack Fowler

I wanted to be house

captain because i will

be safe, respecMul and

responsible and I am

looking forward to

teaching people new

games. I am also look-

ing forward to seeing

new people.

Hi my name is Josh

Slater. I am a house

captain in the P-4

area with Jack

Fowler.

I like cricket, foot-

ball, most sports. I

am looking forward

to being a house cap-

tain in 2017

My name is Keely Moore

and I'm the 8-10 house

captain for Endeavour.

My hobbies are reading,

listening to music and

binge watching TV

shows.

I'm looking forward to

being the house captain

to be able to help out

with the sports days and

all the other chances to help.

Well done to Endeavour on the win at

the House swimming carnival.

Hi my name is Liam Schuuring . In my spare time I like to play footy, cricket, tennis and bas-ketball. I went for endeavour 5-7 house captain because I wanted to make a differ-ence and follow on from last years house captain my sister Ruby Schuuring.

My name is Tasha Killen.

My hobbies include net-

ball, cricket, swimming

and running.

I went for Endeavour 5-7

house captain because I

feel that being a leader

will boost my self confi-

dence. This year I am

looking forward to the

house athle2cs and the

triathlon.

SPORT SPOT

P-12 Sport Dates Term 1

March

8th

March Yr 3-6 Division Swimming

9th

March Yr 5-10 House Athlec Trials—9.00am—11am

10th

March Yr 3-6 House Athlecs

14th

March Yr 7-12 MWC Triathlon Lake Bolac

24th

March 3-6 Regional Swimming

23rd

March Yr 3-6 District Athlecs

24th

March Yr 7-12 GWR Swimming—Ballarat

24th

March Yr 3-6 Regional Swimming

31st

March Yr P-2 Fun Athlecs

Emu Creek Pony Club

2017 Interschool Dressage Challenge

Equestrian Victoria Interschool Qualifier

Pony Club Grounds, Terang.

www.emucreek.ponyclubvic.org.au

Friday 31st March, 2017

Entries close Friday 24th March, 2017

All entries are only through: www.eventsecretary.com.au (No post or phone entries are

accepted).

Programs available from Equestrian Noceboard. Please sign sheet near programs on

no�ceboard if a�ending (otherwise student is marked as ‘absent’ rather than ‘sport’).

Thanks, Anne8e Janes

SPORT SPOT

MWD SWIMMING SPORTS Our interschool Swimming Carnival was recently held in Mortlake on the 3rd March.

Thank you to staff and student helpers for their support.

Congratulations to all competitors.

RESULTS:

Overall

1st

Mortlake 261

2nd

Hawkesdale 201

3rd

Lake Bolac 144

4th

Derrinallum 101

Age Group Champions

13 Male: John Roxburgh

14 Male: Todd MacDonald

15 Male: Darcy Hobbs

16 Male: Jackson Boyden

(Overall male champion)

17 Female: Lizzy Kelly

(joint Overall champion female)

17 male: Ryan Tanner

Age group champions and our Sports Captain Georgia Wareham

SPORT SPOT

School Sport Victoria Team Vic State Team Trial Registrations are closing Friday 10 March 2017, for the following

sports; Australian Football 12 Years and Under, Basketball 12 Years and Under, Football (Soccer) 12 Years and Un-

der, Netball 12 Years and Under. Swimming and Volleyball have a different closing date.

You can find all the details via School Sport Victoria’s website. http://www.ssv.vic.edu.au/team-vic ”

Informaon regarding state nominaons and other sports can be found on the School Sport Victoria website.

www.ssv.vic.edu.au

Parents and students can connect to School sports Victoria via Facebook and Twitter. Just follow the following links

http://www.facebook.com/SchoolSportVictoria

https://twitter.com/@SchoolSportVic

STATE NOMINATIONS / REPRESENTATIVE SPORTS / RESULTS

CONNECT

When: Friday 17th

March

Who: All students are encouraged to walk or ride to school.

Bus travellers will be dropped off at the Rose Garden in the

morning.

Mortlake Kindergarten Sll has posions available for the 2017 year.

If you would like to enroll you child in any of the programs below or for

more informaon please contact the kindergarten on 55992383

4 Yr old Kinder: 15 Hours per week

To be eligible for 4 yr old Kinder, child must have turned 4 by 30th April, 2015

3 Yr old Kinder: 3 hr session

running 9.00am – 12.00pm

To be eligible for 3 yr old Kinder, child must have turned 3 by 30th April, 2015

Classifieds

WESTERN PLAINS PHOTOGRAPHIC CLUB

9th

Lismore Photography Show, 2017

SPECIAL ADDITION

Sponsored by The Lismore Land Protec2on Group

SHOW DATE: 29th April, 2017, 9am – 4pm ENTRIES: Close 5pm Wednesday 19

th April, 2017

VENUE: Lismore Community Centre. ADMISSION: $5, under - 16 free.

ENTRY DETAILS:

SECTIONS: JUNIOR- 10yrs and under. YOUTH -11 to 16yrs. NOVICE: Must have never won a 1st

placing in a Lismore Photo Show: INTERMEDIATE: Can win up to three, 1st placings before going into Open.

OPEN SECTION IS UNAVAILABLE.

Judges, Peoples Choices, Presidents Encouragement Awards. Sponsored by R & J Framing & Plagues.

AWARD PRESENTATION: 3.30pm

CATEGORY:

10 - Landcare In Acon, Architectural Landscape.

DEFINITION:

A posive impact on the environment such as - land and wildlife conservaon ie planng flora, clearing wa-

terways, clearing rabbit burrows, flora and fauna protecon, building shelterbelt for wildlife - eg tree plan-

taons or areas around waterways planted with vegetaon etc.

Photos of a plant or an animal, unless it is a part of the above definion, does not qualify for entry in this

category, refer to Lismore Photo Show schedule – Creatures or Garden Categories.

Entries as per usual on the Photo Show entry form

Contact Shari @ Lismore Land Protec2on Group if in doubt of your subject. 55962384

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY:

Fees must accompany entries, unless entrant’s name & photo tles are sent via email, in which case fees

must accompany entries and be delivered on or prior to the closing date.

Images can be colour or monochrome. All categories.

Prints must be mounted on either board or card no larger than 40 by 50cm.

Entries must be clearly printed on with – Entrants name, photo tle, secon, category and an upwards ar-

row or word “TOP” on the back to indicate top of photo.

If a8ending, entrants ARE TO TAKE their own prints home from venue aIer presentaon but must present

themselves to Secretary prior to leaving venue.

Postage or cash therein must accompany prints needing return post, only.

Prints will only be held at drop off points, aIer the show, for two (2) weeks unless aIer arrangements are

made – otherwise they will be destroyed.

No photo winning a 1st in any secon or category can be re-entered in the Lismore Photo Show.

IF ACCEPTED names of late entries may not appear in Photo Show Booklet.

Judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

2017 CALENDAR

MARCH

Wed 8th Yr 3-6 Divisional Swimming

Thur 9th Yr 5-10 Athletics Trials 9.00am-11.00am

Fri 10th Yr 3-6 Athletics Carnival

Tues 14th MWD Triathlon

Wed 15th School Photos

Tues 21st School Council AGM

Thur 23rd Yr 3-6 District Athletics

Fri 24th Yr 3-6 Regional Swimming

Fri 24th Yr 7-12 GWR Swimming

Tues 28th Yr 5-12 House Athletics All Day

Wed 29th Warrnambool TIS

Thur 30th Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews Pupil Free Day

Fri 31st Out of Uniform Day—Gold Coin Donation

Fri 31st P-2 Fun Athletics Day

Fri 31st Vision Screening—P-12

Fri 31st Last Day of Term 1—School Finishes @ 2.30pm

Fri 17th Advance Excursion

Wed 22nd Year 7 Immunisations

Newsletter article: Bushfire At-Risk Register - Schools

School procedures for the bushfire season

Fire danger rangs and warnings are used in Victoria to pro-

vide clear direcon on the safest opons for preserving life.

Schools and children’s services listed on the DET Bushfire At-

Risk Register (BARR) will be closed when a Code Red fire dan-

ger rang day is determined in their Bureau of Meteorology

district. Our school has been iden2fied as being one of those

at high bushfire risk and is listed on the BARR.

Where possible, we will provide parents with up to four days noce of a potenal Code Red day closure by

le8er and SMS message/phone tree. A Code Red day will be determined by the Emergency Management

Commissioner no later than 1.00 pm the day before the potenal closure. Once we are advised of the con-

firmaon of the Code Red day we will provide you with advice before the end of the school day.

Once confirmed, the decision to close will not change, regardless of improvements in the weather forecast.

This is to avoid confusion and help your family plan alternave care arrangements for your child. It is also im-

portant to note that:

• No staff will be on site on days where the school is closed due to a forecast Code Red day.

• School camps will be cancelled if a Code Red fire danger rang day is determined for the Bureau of Meteor-

ology district in which the camp is located.

• As a bus co-ordinang school all bus routes will be cancelled.

Depending on which Bureau of Meteorology district is impacted bus route cancellaons may affect our school.

On these Code Red days families are encouraged to enact their Bushfire Survival Plan – on such days children

should never be leM at home or in the care of older children.

For those of us living in a bushfire prone area, the CFA advise that when Code Red days are forecast, the safest

opon is to leave the night before or early on the morning of the Code Red day.

As part of preparing our school for potenal hazards such as fire, we have updated and completed our Emergen-

cy Management Plan, repriorised any maintenance works that may assist in preparing for the threat of fire and

cleared our facility’s grounds and gu8ers

What can parents do?

• Make sure your family’s bushfire survival plan is up-to-date and includes alternave care arrangements in

the event that our school is closed.

• Ensure we have your current contact details, including your mobile phone numbers. Keep in touch with us

by reading our newsle8ers, by checking our website www.mortlakep12.vic.edu.au and by talking to your child’s

teacher or any other member of the teaching staff about our emergency management plan.

Most importantly at this me of year, if you’re planning a holiday or short stay in the bush or in a coastal area,

you should check warnings in advance of travel and remain vigilant during your stay.

If your child is old enough, talk to them about bushfires and your family’s bushfire survival plan.

You can access more informaon about children’s services closures on the Department of Educaon and

Training website – see h8p://www.educaon.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/pages/closures.aspx

For up-to-date informaon on this year’s fire season, visit the CFA website at www.cfa.vic.gov.au or call the 24-

hour Victorian Bushfires Informaon Line on 1800 240 667.