Dear members of the MLMC community
As I sit to write to you this morning it is very cold outside at minus two degrees, it is still dark and a thick fog is rolling up the hill to remind us that we are in the midst of a cold winter. Charlie, our College wellbeing dog, is snuggled up against my feet in front of the heater trying to gain a little extra sleep, although he does whimper occasionally indicating that soon it will be time to brave the cold to allow him to go to the toilet.
Welcome to Term 3 and Semester 2 after what I hope was a rewarding and restful holiday. If you were able to travel, I hope it was restful and provided quality family time.
(1) COVID-19 update
Last week I took the opportunity to write to you all to welcome you back, but also to indicate the importance of wearing masks in confined classrooms and maintaining personal hygiene regimes as we continue to try to work in an environment of this COVID-19 pandemic. The staff at the College are doing their best and wearing masks whenever possible. Unfortunately, I do not see the same among many of the students and I must admit I wonder if we have entered a period of complacency, whereby we believe that everything is now normal as per pre-COVID days. Please allow me to inform you that nothing can be further from the truth.
Although the press might not report daily COVID-19 numbers and hospitalisation rates as they did at the height of lockdowns during 2020 and 2021, it is clear that infection rates, hospitalisations, and daily deaths due to COVID-19 are increasing at rapid rates, with some people being infected for the second or third time.
This is also evident on campus as the number of students reporting sick each day is again increasing, as are reported COVID-19 infections.
We are really struggling to keep our College programs going as staff shortages are impacting programs. Yesterday we had 29 staff absent from the College due to some form of personal leave and this number does not include staff away from campus due to camps or excursions. The daily operations of the College include hiring 10-12 casual teachers when we can hire them, many teachers taking extra classes beyond their daily requirement and the combining of other classes for supervision.
This is simply not sustainable. Other schools have declared student free days or have started sending year levels home on a rotation to do various forms of remote learning, but thus far we have managed to maintain our programs. The question remains, for how long?
I again ask you to discuss mask-wearing with your children and ensure they have masks each day and wear them properly whenever indoors. I understand that the government has not mandated this, but it is the clear advice of the Victorian Health Department and we must do everything possible to minimise opportunities for COVID-19 and influenza transmission.
Please ask your children to wear masks while indoors at school. If they need another mask, they can collect them from their Year Level Leader, from their Campus Director or from Student Reception at the Main Office.
From Monday, I will be asking teachers to remind and ask students who are not wearing masks to do so. Please support this request.
(2) Community Forum Group (CFG)
Last term I informed you about a new group being formed at the College, which is called the Community Forum Group (CFG), whose role is to be a consultative group in matters around College Policy and Curriculum initiatives to be introduced. I am still looking for two parents to join this group. The commitment would be two meetings per term at 7.30pm. For each meeting discussion items would be published and besides the permanent members up to another 10 parents may join on a casual basis.
The meetings times for this term are:
- Tuesday 9 August
- Thursday 8 September.
Both meetings will commence at 7.30pm and will be held in the Staff Lounge.
At the first meeting items to be items to be considered include:
- the VCE Vocational Major
- Year 10 Curriculum 2023
- a future Year 7 structure (might be second meeting)
- changes to the College Uniform.
If you are interested in being involved in discussions about such matters as either a permanent member or a casual one-off member please email me at principal@mlmc.vic.edu.au.
Please note the meeting will only proceed if parents indicate a desire to be involved.
(3) Building program
Again, a reminder that our builders, Becon, have taken possession of the site for the construction of the new Heath building and the refurbishment of the Campbell building, having demolished the old Heath and old Ford buildings.
This construction will be underway until at least April 2023, and while in progress Allison Crescent is no longer an entry point into our College for students or for student drop-off. We ask parents to either use The Eyrie or Anderson Street. If using The Eyrie, parents should not drive cars through the College, but only drop off in the street.
(4) Main Office
Please note that we are also changing the hours of operation of our Office in Dublin House. With the increased volume of work at the start of the day, often due to COVID-19 inquiries, and with staff shortages to be covered, we need more staff available at the beginning of the day rather than the end of the day.
The office will now be open from 8.00am until 4.00pm each day rather than 4.30pm to allow more staff to start work early and deal with the rush.
(5) Archbishop’s Letter
Archbishop Peter Comensoli has written to all Church communities regarding the second and final Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in Australia. Please find the letter below.
In the Spirit of Catherine, may you all be safe
God bless
Philip A Morison
Principal
