PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

RENAMING OF SENIOR CENTRE

I am thrilled to announce to the community that the Senior Centre building on the main campus of McKinnon Secondary College will be renamed as the ‘Pitsa Binnion Senior Centre’, as approved by The Hon. Natalie Hutchins MP, Minister for Education and Minister for Women.

On Monday 31 July we held a special assembly where Mrs Binnion was honoured and the staff and students were informed.

This occasion was both momentous and exciting as we celebrate the incredible difference Pitsa has made to the thousands of students and families that have passed through McKinnon Secondary College.

THE WEDDING SINGER

Last week was performance week for the much anticipated school production of 'The Wedding Singer'. A cast and crew of more than 80 students have worked tirelessly since auditions at the end of 2022, and their efforts rewarded us with a spectacular show full of energetic dance moves, laughs, and outrageous 1980s costumes. 

I would like to congratulate everyone involved, and especially commend Ruben Stein-Fooks (Year 12), Meirav Berger (Year 12), Tom Wever (Year 12), Aziz Sharipov (Year 12), Seffra Tienstra (Year 12), Anthony Kostelac (Year 11), Mabel Green (Year 12), Bella Rubenstein (Year 12) and Ashley Blutman (Year 12) for their impressive lead performances. 

I also thank the staff who make this all possible, including Lucy Angell, Megan Papworth, Ellie Adler, Natalie Same, Natalie Wood, David Graham, Michael Birkett, Caleb Goldwaser and Nick Xanthoudakis. 

PREMIER’S VCE AWARDS

On Thursday 27 July, Kellie Felmingham and I had the pleasure of attending the 2023 Premier’s VCE Awards which recognise the outstanding academic achievements of individual students.  

This year's recipients were Lehan (May) Ding (Year 12) for Visual Communication Design and Sofia Linardou (Year 12) for Greek undertaken at The Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria.

Congratulations to both Lehan and Sofia on these incredible results. Your hard work certainly paid off and we are so proud of you.  

TALKING ON THE TURF

Congratulations to Year 12 students, Frederik Rowe Hansen, Aziz Sharipov, Heidi Robertson-Reid, Nadya Mapitiya, Ariel Golembo and Luc Georges who delivered their Point of View Oral Presentation speeches on the A1 stage at lunchtime on Wednesday 2 August. 

These were thought provoking persuasive speeches about current issues in the media. Well done to these students, who presented unique issues, and were engaging and enthusiastic presenters.

Thank you to the English Department and in particular Charlotte Douglas who coordinated this event.

2023 VICTORIAN YOUTH SUMMIT

Students from 15 secondary schools from around Victoria presented their ideas about diversity and inclusion to politicians and community leaders at the inaugural Victorian Youth Summit at the University of Melbourne on Tuesday, 18 July. 

Members of Parliament and community and religious leaders were invited to watch presentations on ‘Diversity and Connection’ and responded to students' ideas about how to build and maintain a fair and inclusive society. 

This opportunity offered our students a great opportunity to deepen their knowledge around intercultural issues, which are relevant to our community, and enhanced their leadership skills

Congratulations to Anya Aquende (Year 10), Abby Butterworth (Year 9), Maleesha Dharmadasa (Year 9), Obert Han (Year 10), Yanmeng Jia (Year 10), Avani Kulkarni (Year 9), Ava McLaughlin (Year 9), Ignacy Swider-Figureoa (Year 10), Dionne Tran (Year 10) and Leo Yang (Year 10) for participating in this incredible event. Thank you also to Ilya Zyuzin (Year 11) and Shauri Pedavalli (Year 10) for helping with the presentation.

Thank you to Andrea Fowler for overseeing this initiative.

VOLLEYBALL 3 DAY SCHOOLS CUP

On Monday 24 July - Friday 28 July the Victorian Schools Cup Volleyball competition was held at Dandenong Stadium for all year levels. McKinnon Secondary College entered 17 teams and our most successful teams won medals in the following divisions:

Open Honours Girls - Bronze

Year 11 Honours Girls - Gold

Year 9 Honours Girls - Bronze

Year 8 Honours Boys - Gold

Year 8 Honours Girls - Bronze 

Year 7 Div 1 Boys - Gold

Congratulations to these teams and to Sophie Kay who was awarded the Year 8 Girls MVP for the tournament. 

Thanks to our wonderful McKinnon Volleyball community for their team spirit and the exceptional teamwork of players, teachers and coaches. Thank you to staff Liam Adlington, Carly Moore, Ashleigh Bell, Ray Braniska, Mara Karro, Jemma Owen, Ellie Adler and Sandy Hope.

Thank you to additional coaches: Arwen Verdnik, Tayla Fischer, Zoe Fischer, Minja Zlatic, Stef Baker, Tom Howells, Amy Van der Linden and John van Noorden.

COURAGE TO CARE

Our Year 8 students will be participating in the Courage to Care Upstander program over the coming weeks if they haven’t already done so. This initiative aims to help people to become aware of their potential to make a positive difference and how to counter the dangers of racism, prejudice, bullying and discrimination.

Each form group attends a double-period session which involves a guest speaker followed by a group workshop. The sessions are delivered by volunteers who will be sharing personal stories of resilience and empowerment to promote empathy and help students understand the importance of building an inclusive community. The feedback has been very positive and staff and students moved by stories of resilience.

I would like to thank Mike Zervos OAM, the CEO of Courage to Care, and all the volunteers who generously shared their time and experiences.

BRASS NIGHT 

Brass Night on Tuesday 1 August was a fantastic showcase of our talented musicians. The evening featured an array of ensembles, ranging from junior to senior levels, each delivering outstanding performances.

The senior ensembles light up the stage with their energy and precision. Their renditions of contemporary brass arrangements were executed flawlessly, displaying a level of maturity beyond their years. Junior ensembles from both campuses enchanted the parents with performances of classic brass pieces.

Throughout the night, the students exhibited incredible musicianship, evident in their seamless ensemble work. The audience was captivated by the emotive solos by Years 9, 11 and 12 students. It was evident that these students had devoted countless hours to perfecting their craft.

Overall, 2023 Brass Night was a magical evening that showcased the immense talent of these young musicians. It was a reminder of the power of music to transcend barriers and evoke powerful emotions. Congratulations to Ms Tracy Videon, Ms Colleen Wurfel and Mr Dmitry Serebrianik for preparing students over the course of this year. Gratitude to the support crew, multimedia team and other teachers for creating an unforgettable musical experience.

VICTORIAN SCHOOLS MUSIC FESTIVAL 

On Thursday 27 July, the students in Keenan Strings and Orchestra performed at the Victorian Schools Music Festival at the Hawthorn Arts Centre. This event provides students with an opportunity to perform, work with a guest conductor and hear other schools performing. Both ensembles performed to a high standard and were awarded a silver medal. As a reward, everyone got to have dinner at Sofia's restaurant, which was well deserved. 

Many thanks to Georgina Mead for stepping in at the last minute and conducting Keenan Strings due to Stuart Cook's illness. As always, Tracy Videon did a fine job of conducting the Orchestra. Thank you to Clare Bugeja, Bernadette Russo and Christine Vincent for supporting the students on these events. 

SPORTING SUCCESS

McKinnon has had some outstanding success on the sporting field with a number of teams winning the Kingston Division and progressing to SMR finals, these include Football, Soccer, Table Tennis and Netball teams from all year levels. 

This is an excellent achievement and we hope many of these teams will join the Senior Girls Netball team by making it to State Finals. 

Good luck to all of our students who are representing the college and the division and thank you to the sports teachers for their support and encouragement.

In the last edition of the newsletter, I congratulated Year 12 student Caitlin Lyon for being selected as a flag bearer at the Women's World Cup Matildas V Canada on Monday night. Caitlin has generously shared a few photos of this incredible experience and we are very excited that the Matilda’s were victorious. Thank you to Caitlin for these behind the scenes shots.

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Today we had the pleasure of bringing the whole school community together at the Athletics Carnival. These events really showcase the McKinnon Magic with students from all year levels supporting each other and competing in all of the competitive and novelty events. 

Good luck to all the students who have qualified for the Kingston Division Athletics Championships later this month. 

The winning house will be announced shortly.

WISDOM AND SERVICE BADGE RECIPIENTS

I was recently contacted by a local resident to praise two of our Year 10 students. Over the holidays her dog escaped and was found at the Red Rooster on North Road. The boys who found the dog door knocked local houses to find the owner. These students were Ewan Little and Cameron Hovanesian.

The dog who is 15 and deaf, means everything to this family and they were just so grateful to have her returned. This act of kindness is living our values. Well done to Ewan and Cameron and thank you for being such great ambassadors. You will both receive a Wisdom and Service badge.

I was also able to present Asher Dunne, Luke Kennedy, Kane Vaughan, Aidan Jobling and Kieran Wall (Year 11 students) with their badges which I informed the community about in my previous report here .

SCHOOL REVIEW

During Term 4, McKinnon Secondary College will be undertaking our four year school review through the Department of Education. To prepare for the Pre Review Self Evaluation Report we are collecting information from the school community; students, teachers and parents/carers. This report is a collaborative effort that informs a collective view about how well the school has performed.