SCHOOL NEWS

YEAR 7 CAMP

On Monday 23 March the Year 7s travelled to camp at Phillip Island Resort. After a two-hour long ride on a bus due to traffic and road work, the Year 7s arrived at the Phillip Island Adventure Resort. On the first day the Year 7s were split into activity groups, and cabin groups, and quickly got prepared for their first activities. 

Over the course of the three days the Year 7s explored various activities ranging from canoeing and surfing to crate-climbing and high ropes. The Year 7s were served breakfast, lunch, dinner and other snacks throughout the day, during break times. The Phillip Island resort was a new experience for many of us; with a massive 100-acre land it was easy to wander off. 

Nighttime was not only a time for calming down and getting ready to fall asleep, it was also a time for having fun, and enjoying ourselves by participating in special activities like the Trivia Night or the Talent Show, both of which were organised by our lovely Year 10 Peer Support leaders. Our highlight of camp was surfing, as it was a unique experience that was offered by our wonderful hosts, the Phillip Island Resort. 

Camp was an amazing experience overall, and I can’t wait for next year’s camp!

Dion Chatterjee

Year 7 Student

DEBATING SUCCESS HIGHLIGHTS

Our students enjoyed a fantastic second round of debating, held at Brighton Grammar School on Wednesday 18 March. Teams from McKinnon Secondary College delivered outstanding performances across the board.

Whilst one of our Year 9 teams had a bye, the other five teams all won their respective debates and achieved the remarkable feat of also securing best speaker awards. These were awarded to Emanuel Xiberras (Year 10), Alex Rhode (Year 10), Arnav Chitnis (Year 10), Aafia Fatima (Year 9), and Yeona Joo (Year 9). A testament to their preparation, confidence, and persuasive skill.

On the night, students debated the topics: “That we regret the rise of social media as a primary news source” and “That it should be compulsory for young people to complete 50 hours of community service each year.” Regardless of whether our teams were arguing the affirmative or negative, they were successful in securing wins. Adjudicators were particularly impressed by the high quality of our students’ rebuttals, highlighting their ability to think critically and respond effectively under pressure.

Our teams delivered dominant performances against strong competition, including OLSH College, St Bede’s, Star of the Sea College, Huntingtower, and St Leonard’s School. Their ability to construct compelling arguments and respond with clarity and precision truly set them apart.

A special mention also goes to Arnav Chitnis, who has been selected to join the Debaters Association of Victoria Student Advisory Council. In this role, he will help shape decisions, improve programs, represent a diverse range of student voices, and support the development of debating across Victoria.

We are incredibly proud of all our debaters and look forward to their continued success.

Ms Zappner, Mrs Ozcagli and Ms Hooper-Duffy

Debating Co-ordinators

TESTIMONIAL BASED ON OUR DEBATING EXPERIENCE AT MCKINNON

Debating has significantly improved my public speaking skills. I have become more fluent and articulate when delivering oral presentations. Thanks to debating, I feel more confident that I will excel in my VCE oral presentation. In addition to enhancing my impromptu speaking skills, debating has also strengthened my critical thinking. Participating in this program has really helped with developing invaluable skills that will be advantageous when looking for a career. Debating is both an enjoyable and rewarding experience that provides students with opportunities they might not otherwise have at school.

Marcus Yuen & Chamath Dharmadasa

Year 9 Students

PUBLIC SPEAKING

On Thursday 19 March, McKinnon held its inaugural Public Speaking Gala Evening.

Thirty-eight students from Years 7-10 prepared persuasive speeches on preset topics, creating their own unique interpretations to present to an audience of adjudicators and parents. Students attended workshops throughout Term 1 to focus on what makes a speech engaging, brainstorm topic ideas, and how to present effectively. They then drafted and practiced their speeches and were excited and nervous to showcase their work at the Gala. 

The courage of these students was clearly evident on the night, and they absolutely blew the adjudicators away with presentations that ranged from serious, to heartfelt and funny. There was a winner from each of the five heats, with two honourable mentions. Sixteen students will be progressing through to compete at a variety of inter school public speaking competitions in Term 2.

The five heat winners were:

• Daniel Wright, Year 7

• Siyana Manjunath, Year 8

• Abigail Spencer, Year 8

• Jaiaan Kumar, Year 8

• Rachel Wang, Year 10

Honourable Mentions:

• Manasvi Prakash, Year 8

• Marly Erdenebilguun, Year 8

Ms Nesrene Barakat

Public Speaking Coordinator

YEAR 11 VM SOUP ANGEL

On Thursday 26 March, the Year 11 VM class took their skills to the kitchen, helping Nicole Lewis-Jacobs, founder of the Soup Angel Foundation, make 106 portions of soup. The class cooked from Period 1 to Period 4, with students offering to help during recess. It was a lot of fun to help Nicole and give back to the community. 

It was also a good opportunity for the class to come together as a whole and work together. Each student had a part in the finished result, and it was an amazing outcome. Thank you to everyone in the school community for donating food, allowing us to make so much. 

Ashley Hill

Year 11 Student

Pi DAY COMPETITION 2026

The International Day of Mathematics falls annually on the 14th of March and McKinnon marks this each year with our annual Pi reciting competition. Students are challenged to recite as many decimal places of the irrational number pi (3.1415926535 ....) as they can to celebrate all that is beautiful, challenging, powerful, rational and irrational about mathematics. 

As always, we had lots of fun and quite a number of students took on the challenge, perhaps because of the opportunity to receive a sweet treat! The effort made by all was very impressive, and it was very competitive at all year levels.

Whilst all competing students received a certificate, badge, lollies and house points for their efforts; the following students were the champions of their year level and will also receive a prize. Congratulations to all who competed and, in particular to Shraavan Balaji (Year 11) who was our overall School Champion with 422 decimal places, significantly more than last year!

The year level champions were:

• Year 7: Sneha Panwar - 100 digits

• Year 8: Jayden Bone - 374 digits

• Year 9: Evie Tan - 166 digits

• Year 10: Lucas Huang - 109 digits

• Year 11: Shraavan Balaji - 422 digits

• Year 12: Hamish McAllister - 143 digits

Special recognition to Hamish for his final Pi Day competition. He has competed every year since Year 7, winning year level champion many times. We will miss you next year Hamish.

A big thank you to all staff involved in running the event, students who competed, and friends who came and cheered on their peers. We look forward to seeing you all next year!

Emma Mullane

Key Learning Area Manager - Mathematics