There is so much to celebrate with Aspire 9 Camps, interschool sport, House cross country, Medieval Day and many other activities.

Aspire9

The past few weeks have seen much action on all the Year 7-9 Campuses with the launch of our Year 9, Aspire9 Focus Weeks. This has seen Mornington Year 9 students join their House community groups with Year 9 students from both the Rosebud and Tyabb Campuses.

Our Year 9 students were able to choose between a three-day city experience camp or a five-day outdoor education camp. The Outdoor Education program provides students with varying degrees of personal challenges, with the following four options:

• The Howqua Challenge (incorporating horse riding and mountain bike riding)
• Murray Canoe
• Murray Rafting

The three-day camp in the city enables students to develop their teamwork and navigation skills with group investigations based around the themes of history, diversity, and empathy.

Having been previously on the City Camp Group, I can attest to the wonderful opportunities for growth and personal development. Students benefitted from visits to The Shrine, the State Library, The Big Issue Head Office – with a focus on the issue of homelessness, and an Indigenous History Tour along the Yarra River. More importantly than all this perhaps was the opportunity for these students across the three Year 7-9 Campuses to come together in preparation for the important role as the inaugural combined Year 10 class on the Senior Campus in 2024.

Medieval Days

Thank you to the Humanities teaching team led by Learning Area Leader Mrs Emma O’Dowd for their work organising Year 8 Medieval Days earlier this term. Students engaged in a range of learning activities including archery, Medieval costumes and court life as part of an immersive day of learning.

Cross Country

Congratulations to Assisi House and Mrs Kelscha Hutchison and Mrs Beth Meades as victorious House Co-ordinators taking out the 2023 House cross country. Well done also to Romero House coming in second and Clare and Chisholm House which tied for third place. Thank you again to Mr Di Paolo, Mrs Whittaker and Mr Luppino for arranging the day.

Punctuality

The Year 7-9 Leadership team would like to support and encourage our students to make the most of class time, and we have in recent times been aware of a growing number of students late to homeroom and class.

Therefore, please be aware of the following arrangements designed to assist student punctuality.

Students late to homeroom or class on more than three occasions without valid reason will be contacted by their House Co-ordinator to determine the issue. If lateness continues to be an issue, students can expect an afterschool detention. Thank you all for your support with this matter.

Year 7 eXcel

On Tuesday 9 May, Mornington Year 7 students participated in several workshops designed to help them thrive in high school, use their God-given talents and learn when to put boundaries in place in their friendships.

They were treated to presentations from Sharon Witt, one of Australia's leading authors of books for children and teens on growing up, resilience, and wellbeing. An educator of over 30 years, she is a sought-after presenter in schools and conferences and is often called upon in the media.

Brainstorm Production's show, 'Wired', explored cyberbullying and mental health, and provided strategies for resilience, help-seeking and positive relationships.